Credited cast: | |||
John Amos | ... | Himself | |
Bea Arthur | ... | Herself (archive footage) | |
Adrienne Barbeau | ... | Herself | |
Valerie Bertinelli | ... | Herself | |
Todd Bridges | ... | Himself | |
Gloria Calderon Kellett | ... | Herself | |
George Clooney | ... | Himself | |
Dabney Coleman | ... | Himself | |
Keaton Nigel Cooke | ... | Young Norman | |
Kim Fields | ... | Herself | |
Marla Gibbs | ... | Herself | |
Alan Horn | ... | Himself | |
Louise Lasser | ... | Herself | |
Norman Lear | ... | Himself | |
Jay Leno | ... | Himself |
How did a poor Jewish kid from Connecticut bring us Archie Bunker and become one of the most successful television producers ever? Norman Lear brought provocative subjects like war, poverty, and prejudice into 120 million homes every week. He proved that social change was possible through an unlikely prism: laughter. World Premiere -Opening night selection, Sundance, 2016.
Actually, that's not completely true. "Cold Turkey," which Lear wrote and directed, and a few films he produced, such as "Divorce American Style" and "The Night They Raided Minsky's," were flashed briefly on screen, for about three seconds. If you look really fast you can see them.
But little or no mention at all of Lear's longtime producing partner, the late, great Bud Yorkin.
This is especially disappointing in light of the fact that Yorkin died last year, which barely made the news. He was not recognized by the Academy, of course... but most people behind the scenes aren't.
If it weren't for Yorkin, there would likely be no "Blade Runner." And Yorkin was a pioneering TV director, brief clips of which are seen in the film... but again, no mention of the man.
Sure, you can always make the argument that EVERYTHING in a person's life can't be included, but come on -- a ten second snippet of an interview is all that remains of a 20-year partnership? And a fifty-year friendship??
This seems extremely odd, and disrespectful.