Episode 142: Remembering Normal Lear / Death by “Natural Causes”

Doctor Vs Comedian

Today, Ali and Asif discuss the career of the late Norman Lear (0:54) They discuss his early life (and how he based some of his characters on his parents), his military service and how he later began writing for television shows. They discuss his big breakthrough with ‘All in the Family’ and the various shows that sprung from it, including ‘Maude’, ‘Good times’, ‘The Jeffersons’, ‘One Day at a Time’ and many others. The guys then discuss Lear’s legacy and whether shows like ‘All in the Family’ could be made now.

Normal Lear’s official cause of death was due to “natural causes”. In the second half of the episode (23:41), the guys discuss exactly what this term means. Asif starts out by discussing how this is often used by coroners and pathologists, and distinguishes it from ‘non-natural causes’. Asif goes over the common causes of death in various parts of the world.

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Music courtesy of Wataboi and 8er41 from Pixabay

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Show Notes:

• Norman Lear, who made funny sitcoms about serious topics, dies at 101: https://www.npr.org/2023/12/06/334890639/norman-lear-who-made-funny-sitcoms-about-serious-topics-dies-at-101
• Norman Lear, Whose Comedies Changed the Face of TV, Is Dead at 101: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/arts/television/norman-lear-dead.html
• What Does It Mean To Die Of Natural Causes? https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-does-it-mean-to-die-of-natural-causes/
• What does it mean to die of ‘natural causes’? https://www.cnn.com/2016/02/22/health/death-natural-causes-meaning/index.html
• What Dying by Natural Causes Means: https://www.health.com/mind-body/dying-of-natural-causes-meaning
• The top 10 causes of death: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death