The Life and Times of Norman Lear

TV Confidential with Ed Robertson

TVC 672.1: Ed welcomes entertainment journalist and comedy historian Tripp Whetsell. Tripp’s latest book, Norman Lear: His Life and Times, is the first comprehensive biography of the legendary, Emmy Award-winning producer of All in the Family, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Fact of Life, and many other series that helped elevate the American network sitcom. While much has been written about Norman Lear, before and after his death on Dec. 5. 2023, Tripp’s book shows that there remains much to learn about the legendary “man in the white hat”— since Lear himself was often reluctant to discuss his early life in great detail. Topics this segment include how Lear got his foothold in show business by way of Danny Thomas, and his roots in the golden era of variety television throughout the 1950s and early ’60s. Norman Lear: His Life and Times is available wherever books are sold through Applause Books. For our listeners in Southern California, Tripp Whetsell will appear at Book Soup, 8818 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood on Wednesday, Jan. 8 beginning at 7pm.