Norman Lear, the legendary TV producer who changed the face of comedy care of groundbreaking series like All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude, Good Times, The Jeffersons and One Day at a Time, has died. He was 101.

“Thank you for the moving outpouring of love and support in honor of our wonderful husband, father, and grandfather,” said Norman Lear’s family in a statement. “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. Knowing and loving him has been the greatest of gifts. We ask for your understanding as we mourn privately in celebration of this remarkable human being.”

Born on July 27, 1922 in New Haven, Connecticut, Norman Lear his start as a writer for radio and TV in the post-war years. At a time in 1960s when television was riddled with escapist comedies like The Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Addams Family and The Munsters, Norman Lear and his producing partner, Bud Yorkin, tackled then taboo subjects such as racism, abortion, menopause, rape, homosexuality and religion. And the audience took notice following the debut of All in the Family on January 12, 1971, which rose to the top-rated series in primetime by season two.

More to come