Norman Lear: Sitcom writer and producer dies aged 101

Sitcom writer and producer Norman Lear has died aged 101, a spokesperson for his family has confirmed.

Lear was best known for his trailblazing sitcoms in the 1970s and 80s, including Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons.

The celebrated US writer was a five-time Emmy Award winner and a member of the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

In a statement, his family said knowing Lear had "been the greatest of gifts".

They added: "Thank you for the moving outpouring of love and support in honour of our wonderful husband, father, and grandfather.

"Norman lived a life of creativity, tenacity, and empathy. He deeply loved our country and spent a lifetime helping to preserve its founding ideals of justice and equality for all."

Lear died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles.

Paying tribute, George Clooney said in a statement: "It's hard to reconcile that at 101 years old, Norman Lear is gone too soon. The entire world of reason just lost its greatest advocate and our family lost a dear friend. A giant walked in his shoes."

Actress Jane Fonda said Lear "changed the face and soul of American comedy", adding: "My heart is heavy."

Avengers actor Mark Ruffalo praised Lear as one of the "great Humanists who changed the world by being honest about the love, laughter, and troubles we all share".

Rolling Stone's chief TV critic Alan Sepinwall said Lear was "one of the greatest to ever do it".

"Almost single-handedly transformed our idea of what kinds of stories TV was capable of telling. To do that within the confines of the multi-cam sitcom format is almost unfathomable."

Sharing a photo of herself with Lear, actor Jamie Lee Curtis said in a post on Instagram that she was had recently been working with the sitcom writer.

"He was working on a project with me and he and Lyn welcomed us into their home in October where we talked politics and comedy and family," she said.

"Norman Lear was a great example to me and millions and millions of other people."

Lear, born in 1922, grew up in Hartford, Connecticut and began his career in PR after the war where he was part of the army air forces based in Foggia, Italy.

His career as a comedy writer began in 1970 with his first sitcom, All in the Family, a US remake of the British series Til Death Do Us Part.

The show, which followed two working-class families living in Queens, New York, was often seen as controversial for its depiction of the day's political and and social issues.

The ground-breaking show ran for nine seasons until 1979 and earned 57 Emmy nominations, winning 22 of them, including outstanding comedy series.

He previously said that the character of Archie Bunker was based on his father, a Jewish traveling salesman who was sent to prison for selling fake bonds when Lear was nine.

Archie Bunker's wife, Edith, was based on Lear's mother Jeannette.

Across his decades-long career, Lear wrote a number of other comedy shows including 1974's Good Times, which was the first show to regularly feature an African-American family on TV.

His subsequent sitcom, The Jeffersons, which ran from 1975 to 1985, unapologetically portrayed the success of an African-American couple in New York society.

During the mid-970s, Lear had five popular sitcoms airing in prime time. According to broadcaster CBS, an estimated 120 million Americans were watching his shows each week.

Among them was Sanford and Son, which retooled the BBC's Steptoe and Son for a US audience, and was one of America's Top 10 most-watched programmes for five of its six seasons.

Lear also produced a number of films including 1963's Come Blow Your Horn starring Frank Sinatra and Divorce American Style in 1967 which received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay.

In addressing issues such as misogyny, racism and homophobia, Lear became a controversial figure, and earned a spot on president Richard Nixon's so-called enemies list.

Lear, who married three times and had six children, also said he was called "the number one enemy of the American family" by televangelist Jerry Falwell.

In a 2016 documentary, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, comedy writer Phil Rosenthal said: "Television can be broken into two parts, BN and AN: Before Norman and After Norman".

Fellow comedy icon Mel Brooks hailed Lear as "the bravest television writer, director and producer of all time."

Actor Albert Brookes said Lear was "the greatest of the greats", while filmmaker Rob Reiner called the sitcom writer a "second father".

The Simpsons writer and producer Al Jean said: "RIP Norman Lear. Comedy colossus, tireless fighter for the little guy and a pleasure to know. Will be well and truly missed."

In recent years, Lear had collaborated with TV host Jimmy Kimmel on several Live in Front of a Studio Audience! specials in which star-studded casts performed remakes of his classic shows.

He continued to be politically active and founded the liberal non-profit organisation People for American Way which challenged the religious right way of thinking.

Kimmel told Deadline: "It is obviously silly to want more time with a person who outlived a whole century but losing Norman Lear, even at 101 years old, feels unfair.

"His bravery, integrity and unmatched moral compass were equalled by his kindness, empathy, and wit."