Norman Lear & Kathleen Turner
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-06-20/norman-lear-kathleen-turner
Norman Lear and Kathleen Turner at a People For the American Way event in 2011.
Photo courtesy of People For the American Way.
"All in the Family," "Maude," "Sanford & Son," "Good Times," and "The Jeffersons." These iconic television shows all have something in common: producer Norman Lear. The shows addressed some of the most pressing social and political issues of the day. Lear received four Emmys, a Peabody and the National Medal of Arts. In presenting the latter to him, former President Bill Clinton said, "Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it." Lear is also politically active -- he founded People For the American Way, of which actress Kathleen Turner is a board member. Turner is best known for her films “Body Heat,” “Romancing the Stone” and “Peggy Sue Got Married.” Norman Lear and Kathleen Turner talk about their careers and shared political activism.
Guests
Norman Lear
Television writer and producer, and founder People for the American Way, produced "All in the Family," "Maude," "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and "The Jeffersons."
Kathleen Turner
actress, director and political activist; her films include "Body Heat," "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Romancing the Stone."
Comments
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Kathleen Turner - yes! yes! yes! The misogyny in season 1 of Mad Men turned me off forever, even though later seasons have been referred to as the most subversive feminist show on TV.
Thank you!
Why not a sequel to Body Heat? I would have loved to have seen Body Heat II. The revenge factor for Ned along with another similar outcome for him would have made another very good movie.
ed
Great job Terence Smith. Very intelligent moderation. Well done. Hope to hear more of you.
Happy Birthday to both of You!:) So grateful to both of you for all the years of public service thru the many civic organizations you both support. And thank you Mr.Lear for your creative writing and giving us the Bunkers and to Kathleen for following a wonderful path of generousity and for bringing back Molly Ivins. I was missing her voice!
To many more Happy and Healthy Birthdays.
Susie.
Ms. Turner,
I regularly meet young women who speak disparagingly of feminism and other progressive movements that have helped them excel. Do you, as a woman of great experience, have any idea where this comes from?
Thank you Norman.
I was born in '58 and went through my adolescent years and later watching your shows.
You instilled the expectation of social relevance and thought in my entertainment ( You and Roddenberry).
You also instilled an appreciation of the disturbing. Edith's rape, Maude's abortion, growth thinking through and coming to terms with the disturbing.
If All in the Family was very much like my family. I have no reason to believe the issues in your other shows, though fiction, based in fact. Thank you for the window to other realities, that were also similar to my own.
Thanks again.
I would have enjoyed the program so much more if Ms. Turner and Mr. Lear had kept their political views to themselves. I have a masters degree and I am working on my doctorate. I seriously doubt that anyone in the TeaParty or the Republican Party can influence my thinking. Yet, I am a Republican and quite frankly, I am sick of Hollywood and the liberal biased media characterizing all Republicans as ignorant, brainwashed religious bigots. Which is basically what NPR allows their guests to do when they say things like, the Tea Party tells people what to think, (Turner) and "we have ceded" God, family values, etc (Lear) to the right.
Ms. Turner, Hollywood does a much better job at brainswashing the public mindset than the Tea Party. And, Mr. Lear, as much as I appreciate the comedy of your shows, if the left had not tried to change the definition of God and of traditional family values, perhaps the left would not have lost that argument. The real question that Hollywood and the liberal left spokesperson, the media, has not answered is, "How do we promote equality of humanity while honoring God and Country?" So far, Hollywood and the Democratic party has failed the challenge this question poses. That, Mr. Lear, is why the left has ceded the issues of life to the Conservatives.
I hope the next time Ms. Rehm is away she will invite a host and guests who have the freedom of the press to express a conservative view to counter the liberal view that today's show promoted.
Thank you for this morning's great show. Growing up watching all of Norman Lear's TV shows I really did not understand how valuable these shows were to America. The themes made people question themselves, I'll use what former President Bill Clinton said, "Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it." I like that. And I hope some day, people will see how important the arts in all forms are to the world.
Terence Smith, Norman Lear, Kathleen Turner, all of you have made the world a better place! Thanks......
As an aging (60) baby boomer - I LOVED Norman Lear's idea for a new show, "Guess Who Died"! I have several ideas for scripts based on my parents (ages 86 and 91) assisted living facility, and my own aging boomer friends! Its a goldmine of stories!
I would be glad to be part of a grassroots campaign to lobby the cable and networks! Just like the twitter campaign that got Betty White on SNL!
chrisgw52
I would have liked to have heard more from Norman Lear--who at 90 seems sharp as ever--and less from Kathleen Turner. Perhaps in Diane Rehm's absence the substitute interviewer was unable to direct the flow of discourse. The interview seemed tilted so far left, with Turner surprisingly doing most of the pushing. Lear was delightful, intelligent and reflective. However, the entire show had me cringing for the lack of balanced viewpoints.