Norman Lear Had One Regret In His Career
It's not every day that a genuine legend of the industry leaves us after a long and fulfilled life that was lived to the absolute fullest. It's rarer still for one to live past the age of 100 without looking back and having a single regret. Norman Lear, the producing titan who defined the very concept of sitcoms as we've come to know it, sadly passed away this week after leaving his mark on an entire medium of storytelling. Along the way, the famed producer and Emmy-winner (six times over!) managed to put his stamp in Hollywood history throughout the decades ... but that's not to say that everything ultimately went according to plan.
When he was just about to turn 99, the late, great Lear was once asked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2021 whether he had any regrets about his lengthy and trailblazing career. More to the point, would he ever want to go back and change anything? Without missing a beat, Lear had a single answer at the ready:
"I can only think of one thing. One of the funniest people I've ever worked with, skipping over generations of people who made me laugh, was Nancy Walker. Nancy Walker was a major performer and comedian. And one of the funniest people there ever was. I did this show that was called 'The Nancy Walker Show.' And I didn't get it right. It didn't work as well as it should have worked for this great performer. It hurts for me to say this, but since you asked if I have a regret or would like to do something again, I would love to do that again."
A (nearly) spotless track record
Those in the television business know just how cutthroat it can be, but that's not exactly a new development. Even someone of Norman Lear's stature, who built a flourishing career from the late 1950s throughout the 1970s developing one hit sitcom series after another, had to experience the bitter aftertaste of failure a handful of times. The New York Times documented one such setback in painful detail soon after "The Nancy Walker Show," starring the great "McMillan & Wife" and "Rhoda" actor Nancy Walker, came to an ignominious end by the end of 1976. Created as a starring vehicle for Walker to take advantage of her rapid rise in popularity, the series only lasted 12 total episodes before ABC officially cut its losses due to poor ratings. In the long run, Walker went on to work as both an actor and a director without missing a single step. But Lear, who co-created and produced the short-lived series, would clearly hold onto this regret for decades.
That's just the kind of empathetic and people-minded creative that Lear was. In fact, the New York Times article includes a delightfully revealing quote about his unique work ethic and rare consideration for the talent he tried to work with again and again. According to Lear:
"People ask me, 'How many shows will you be satisfied with?' As if I had set out to get 10 shows. You'd have to be nuts to make that a life goal. 'Here I am with my 150 television shows!' In order to keep good people, we had to promise them they could try to develop new shows for us."
Lear maintained that ambition for as long as he made television shows, earning a sterling reputation that the entire industry is now celebrating anew.