Norman Lear is “living in the moment” as he celebrated his 101st birthday on Thursday.
The legendary writer-producer posted a video on his Instagram to give an update on life as well as to share some wise words.
“It’s Norman Lear here, dribbling a bit because he’s entering his second childhood,” he said in the clip followed by a laugh. “I have just turned 101, and that is, they tell me, my second childhood. It feels like that, in terms of the care I am getting. I get the kind of care at this age that I see children getting, toddlers getting.”
He continued, “And so, I am now a 101-year-old toddler, and I am thinking about two little words that we don’t think about often enough, we don’t pay enough attention to: over and next. When something is over, it’s over, and we have the joy and privilege of getting on to the next [thing]. And If there were a hammock in between those two words, it would be the best way I know of identifying living in the moment. That hammock between over and next.”
Lear, an icon in Hollywood, has amassed a career like no other. Before becoming a pioneer in television, breaking barriers with his projects such as All in the Family, Good Times, Maude and The Jeffersons, he also served in World War II, flying combat missions. He is also a philanthropist, father, grandfather and the oldest Emmy winner in history.
“I am living in that moment now, with all of you,” he concluded in the video. “Bless all of you, and our America.”
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter after his 100th birthday last year, Lear opened up about his secret to longevity. “As someone who believes that music and laughter, especially laughter, adds time to one’s life, I am convinced that everyone we’ve been talking about [fellow showrunners and writers] added some time to my life,” he said at the time.
More recently, Lear has also shared his support for the writers who are currently on strike. He took to his Instagram last month, writing, “While I have served other posts, I have been, at my core, a writer. A writer who struggled and anguished to put words to paper that would provoke, create conversation, humanize us, help us see each other – words that would matter.”
“I wrote in the very first year of television, when writers were revered. I now watch talented writers struggle to earn a living wage without the path to a career like mine,” his post continued. “The stories we tell, the stories I can now watch on any device, are the stories that connect us, engage us, make us laugh and cry together, and inspire understanding and compassion. That is something to be protected and cherished. I stand with writers and with the Writers Guild of America, my union. The industry is stronger when we stand together to protect our collective community.”
