Norman Lear was not only a tycoon of television but also a very kind person, a World War II Veteran, a father, and a dear friend. During the Second World War, he served as a Technical Sergeant with the 463 Bombardment Group, as a radio operator and gunner on a B-17. He flew 52 combat missions and rightly received the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. His mother was from Ukraine, and his father’s family was from Russia, so I can only imagine that the Russian/Ukraine War was personally important to Norman. He went from being a World War II veteran to being a television tycoon. His television career is well documented, but what’s not well documented is Norman as a friend.
The first story that I have of the man is when I was just a baby. There is a picture of me with Norman in our living room, and I am straddled on his right leg as he is holding my two baby hands and giving me what I must have thought was the ride of my life at the time. But little did I know that it was Norman Lear himself playing with me; what a lucky baby I was. He would call us on the holidays or whenever he felt like it, meaning he would call my father mostly, as he and Norman were best friends. My father adored Norman. In fact, every time he called, my dad would get excited and yell his name in quite a way, “Norman!” I remember staying at his house in the hills a few times, and one time, it was just me, and I recall his daughters taking me around the area where he lived.
My last recollection that I have of Norman was when my wife and I were at our farm having a little bonfire at around 7:00 PM. I now carry my phone with me at the farm because of my wife; before, I didn’t. Because I had my phone, of all the people who could have called me, it was Norman Lear himself. Not only did he call me, but he called me with him being 100 years old on his cell phone! I had not heard from Norman for about 10 years or so at the time, and even though he called me to get my mother’s number, we talked for about half an hour. He asked me how I was doing, and I told him that I was creating a Tequila company down in Mexico. He told me he had a friend who had just started a tequila brand, continuing that if I wanted to, I could call him back the next night when his friend George was going to be there. Norman said he would introduce me to his friend over FaceTime. Right when Norman said George, I already knew who Norman’s friend was, and I couldn't believe it.
I called back the next night, and Norman answered, but he had his ear pods in, and they were connected to the phone via Bluetooth, and he needed a little help from his assistant, which took about five minutes or so for them to figure out. Once they figured it out, Norman's assistant gave the phone to his friend, who just so happened to spill red wine on Norman's rug and was cleaning it up. His friend George finally looked at the phone, and it was George Clooney himself. When Norman said, “George, this is my friend Quinn,” to George, he looked up and said…. “A very handsome friend.” I immediately thought to myself, “Did George Clooney just call me handsome?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard.
Getting back to what a good friend Norman was to me and to my family, he had always welcomed us into his illustrious life with open arms with “warm hospitality,” something that seems to be disappearing. I told my mother this morning, and she couldn’t believe it as she just went to another dear friend's funeral the other day, Warren Hoge. I know in my heart that Norman and my dad are upstairs with “The Big Guy,’ as my dad used to say when somebody passed. Life is funny; you're alive for what seems like an eternity, and then, in the blink of an eye, your time is done. But the world keeps turning, and people will remember you when it's your time. Most of them will move on. But it’s the ones who remember you that make living worth it. Norman will have a lot of people who remember him. I love you and will always miss you dearly, my old friend, just like my own father. Thank you for everything, Norman, and thank you for making this crazy world just a little bit better to live in.
Tribute to Norman from People for the American Way: