Norman Lear's family sang him TV theme songs as he died

Norman Lear passed away listening to the sound of his own legacy. The legendary TV producer and writer died Tuesday at 101 years old, surrounded by his family as they serenaded him with some of his favorite songs. This comes via his son-in-law, Dr. Jonathan LaPook, who told CBS Mornings that Lear’s family “did what we knew he would want us to do” as he died. “We were singing songs from Les Mis, which he loved, and also some of the songs from his TV shows,” LaPook said.

Lear created multiple iconic series throughout his career, like All In The Family, Maude, One Day At A Time, Sanford And Son, Good Times, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Fernwood 2 Night, and The Jeffersons. While singing the theme song from this last show, LaPook felt a flood of emotion. “We were singing ‘movin’ on up to the East Side’ and I heard myself saying ‘to a deluxe apartment in the sky,’ I just lost it. Because he’s going to some deluxe apartment in the sky,” he said.

It sounds like Lear’s family was also able to celebrate his extraordinary life as he died. “We wanted him to have a gentle landing and have no pain,” LaPook added. “If you were to say to someone in their 40s, ‘How do you want to die?’ [they would probably say,] ‘At age 101, surrounded by loved ones, with them singing to me and laughing and without any pain,’ and that’s exactly what happened. He had this expression: ‘Over and next.’ When something was over, it’s over, and it’s onto ‘next.’ It’s the best definition of living in the moment.”

Lear’s family aren’t the only ones mourning his loss right now. Upon news of his death, a flood of stars, colleagues, fans, and admirers came forward to pay tribute to the TV pioneer. Today, Lear’s co-creator of the One Day At A Time reboot, Mike Royce, weighed in on his colleague’s legacy in a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter: “May his memory be a blessing. He’s the rare person who is pretty much guaranteed it’s going to be. He’s created memories for so many people. He’s changed the life of everybody in the country; he changed my life personally. America is a different place because of him. And certainly, television charted an entirely new path led by him.”