Vicki Abelson's Broadcast: The Road Taken

It took 2 1/2 yrs to nail down Norman Lear, a force of nature beyond compare at any age... at 96, in his Sony offices, where he still reads, develops, writes, produces daily, it's unfathomable. Norman’s worth waiting for. A four-time Emmy Winner, Academy Award Nominee, Peabody Award Recipient, American Humanist Award Winner, National Medalist of the Arts, Kennedy Center Honoree––Norman’s a goddamn national treasure.

The maverick who changed television, our thinking, and in so doing, our behavior, reflected back on his neglected childhood, his service bombing Berlin, facing his humanity, where his dream started and how it morphed into who he soon became. Why Norman’s championed women, always; missing Penny Marshall and what’s her name Fisher. Our friends Paul Hipp, and Phil Rosenthal, and why real Jews order Langers #19 without the cheese. He took us through the creation of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Fernwood 2 Night, Sanford and Son, sorry Redd Foxx, we all had a brain freeze; All in The Family, his fathe