Kim il-Toit, a righteous, manly man, not to be confused with other guys named Kim, like il-Jong and  Bassinger, linked to my 10 Worst People in American History deal, and a chap named Coalyard  commented:

"Norman Lear, certainly, but with one caveat. All In The Family. I love that show."

Most of you know this, but it's important to understand that Lear created All in the Family by lifting, whole, the BBC television series Till Death Us Do Part. Watch this clip and you'll see what I mean . What appealed to Lear was the Brit version of Archie Bunker who, with his conservative tirades, was the perfect foil for the calm, reasoned socialist clap-trap served back by dotty  daughter Gloria, and son-in-law Michael 'Meathead' Stivic (Rob Reiner in a non-acting role).

Much to Lear's surprise (Liberals are always surprised to discover that their ideas don't work as planned), the American television viewing public saw in Archie Bunker someone who manifested their own hopes and fears;  and validated their own contempt for liberal ideas like "The Great Society."  He was the hero;  Meathead was the fool. 

After a few years Lear simply became heavy handed, and began to force his views in some very unfunny episodes. In one, a war hero friend of Archie's, whose son had been killed in Vietnam, sides with Meathead in an anti-war diatribe, and wishes his son had fled to Canada to avoid the draft. As noxious as the show's content would become, it's own inertia carried it for another few years, but it was no longer particularly funny (Like MASH, after Alan Alda took control) . I wasn't around for the last show, and don't even know when it aired. That's what liberals do, fuck up a wet dream.

What really earns Lear a spot amongst the very worst people in American history though, is his People For the American Way. I've said enough about that before. They are bad people, and so is Lear.