Norman Lear was serenaded with the theme songs of his TV career when he slipped away, according to his son-in-law.
Lear’s son-in-law and CBS News’ chief medical correspondent, Dr. Jonathan LaBook said Lear’s family was with him and made sure to give him a “soft landing on the flight”.
Lear, creator The Jeffersons, Maude, One Day at a Time, All in the Family, He died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles, 101.
“The family was gathered around the bed, he was resting very comfortably and peacefully, and we did what he wanted us to do,” LaBook said today. CBS Morning. “We were singing songs collection, He loved, and some songs from his TV shows.
When they get to the theme The Jeffersons, Labook said he was overcome with emotion. “You never know when these moments are going to sneak up on you,” he said. “I kept it together, [but] We were singing ‘movin’ up on the east side, ‘to a deluxe apartment in the sky’ I heard myself, and I lost it. Because he’s going to some sort of deluxe apartment in the sky.
Of that “soft landing,” LaPook said, “We wanted him to have a soft landing and be pain-free. Asking someone in their 40s, ‘How do you want to die?’ [they would probably say,] ‘At 101 years old, surrounded by loved ones, singing and laughing with me, with no pain,’ that’s what happened. He had this expression: ‘Next again.’ When something is over, it’s over and it’s ‘next’.
LaPook added, “It’s the best definition of living in the moment.”
