Norman Lear, an icon who defined the sitcom genre, passed away on December 5. He was 101. Charles Barkley and his co-host, Gayle King, shared a close friendship with the legendary producer and his family. They celebrated his legacy on their CNN show, King Charles. Joining them was one of Lear’s closest friends, colleague, and an icon himself, Billy Crystal. He was one of the last people to speak to Lear and he had several stories to share.

Each of the three icons in their respective fields had a special connection to Lear. They all noted that if it wasn’t for Lear giving him his first breakout role, Billy Crystal wouldn’t have been receiving the Kennedy Center honor on December 3. They referred to the guest role, Al Bender, which appeared in a single episode of All in the Family but propelled him to fame.

King also personally reached out to Lear’s family and confirmed that he passed away peacefully surrounded by his loved ones. He enjoyed the theme songs of his famous TV shows in his final moments and King Charles also opened the show with the same music in his honor.

Lear was a strong advocate for social justice too. He put his beliefs into practice through his shows, breaking barriers with memorable POC and LGBTQIA+ characters in his scripts. He shared the same perceptions with Charles Barkley.

Chuck and Lear have had their intense discussions during past interviews like the podcast, All of the Above. Chuck mistakenly told him that there wouldn’t be any African American characters in mainstream TV. Lear balked at that idea.

Barkley seemingly forgot that while it was rare to see an African American character front and center, Lear made it a trend in the ’70s. With shows like Good Times centered around a working class African American family living in a public housing project in Chicago to giving the world catchy phrases from The Jeffersons, Norman Lear’s impact on putting families of color in the fore is still felt today.

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Stars who followed his blueprint of dignity with family comedy, like Tyler Perry, revived Lear’s influence on entertainment today. Barkley was glad to be able to pay tribute to a dear friend who inspired his advocacy through the CNN show.

Norman Lear’s undisputable impact

The lively centenarian was working all along, as Crystal testified himself. He had many shows in the works to keep the laughs going. One of them is an animated reboot of Good Times. The Netflix offering boasts Stephen Curry as one of its producers.

He was also negotiating details about the remake of Mary Hartman. His entire TV library is under Sony and word has it that several of his shows could be revived.

John Leguizamo paid tribute to Norman Lear with these words – “A master of storytelling and a healer through his shows.” That same masterful storytelling will continue for years to come through more of his shows.

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