The 2009 AARP Andrus Award

In addition to People for the American Way, Mr. Lear has founded other nonprofit organizations, including the Norman Lear Center at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication (2000-present), a multidisciplinary research and public policy center dedicated to exploring the convergence of entertainment, commerce, and society; the Business Enterprise Trust (1989-2000) to spotlight exemplary social innovations in American business; and with his wife, Lyn, cofounded the Environmental Media Association (1989-present), to mobilize the entertainment industry to become more environmentally responsible.

In 1999, President Clinton bestowed the National Medal of Arts on Mr. Lear, noting that "Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it." He has the distinction of being among the first seven TV pioneers inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame (1984). In addition to his awards for "All in the Family," he has been honored by the International Platform Association (1977), the Writers Guild of America (1977) and many other professional and civic organizations.

In 2001, Lyn and Norman Lear created the Declaration of Independence Road Trip, a four-year educational initiative and national multimedia tour of one of the surviving original copies of the Declaration, which they purchased to share with the American people. As part of the project, Mr. Lear launched Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan youth-voter initiative that registered well over four million new young voters in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 elections.

At the Presidential Inauguration in 2009, Declare Yourself premiered BornAgainAmerican.org, featuring an inspiring music video that millions across the country have viewed. It is part of an ongoing drive to promote active and thoughtful citizenship, as embodied in the Declaration of Independence, which continues to tour.

Mr. Lear is married to Lyn Davis Lear and resides in Los Angeles. He has six children: Ellen, Kate, Maggie, Benjamin, Brianna, and Madeline, and four grandchildren: Daniel, Noah, Griffin, and Zoë.