Long Live Laughter: Norman Lear, Carl Reiner and Other Wise Fools

Introduction

I started Silver Screen Studios a few years ago. My parents died young, and as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I didn’t have the role models to help me navigate life’s major milestones.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be here with all of you today, to share the legends we love, their stories, and hopefully some words of wisdom that we can all live by during this challenging time.

Thank you so much.

Chapter 2: Larry King

The toughest part of being 86 is that friends die. That is really sad. It is what it is.

I’ve had nearly every illness known to man. I’ve had heart and kidney problems, but I keep going. I don’t know what it is. A doctor once said that I have an indomitable spirit. I don’t know where that comes from, but I do love living.

I like being around. I like tuning in to things. I like opening my eyes in the morning and being relevant.

I have a lot of blessings. I’ve been at the head table of life. I’ve seen evil and good. I’ve seen bad things and nice things. I’ve had the chance to interview so many people, including world leaders.

I’ve been interviewing people for 63 years. You would think that after all this time, I would be tired of it, but I’m not. I still look forward to the next interview. I did two today.

I love asking questions. I love the whole ball of wax.

I’ve been blessed. I was given the opportunity to work at something that came easily to me. Interviewing was never difficult for me, although people used to tell me it was hard. The broader the subject, the more I liked it.

I’ve interviewed physicists, Nobel Prize winners, and heads of state. I’m still just as curious as I’ve always been. That is the one thing that has kept me going: curiosity. My endless search to learn more has never left me.

It’s good for all of us to stop for a minute. Stop and think about it. Look at what you have, where you’ve been, and what you want.

We’re too busy. This is a busy civilization.

Take a couple of days off. Do nothing. Sit in the garden. Think about your life, your parents’ lives, and what you want for the future.

We have so much in this country. We want to keep ourselves healthy and well, but how prosperous do you really have to be? You don’t have to have everything.

Take stock of all your blessings.

I’ve had a very good life, and it had a very difficult beginning. If things are difficult at the beginning, that can be what gives you drive and helps you become centered.

My mother came from the prairies of Saskatchewan with nothing. She told me, “You can be anything you want to be.”

That’s the way I was raised.

Chapter 3: Marla Gibbs

This is the point where I should remind you that I’m 30.

I’ve been 30 since 2004. I was 30 this year, and I’ll be 30 again next year. That way, I don’t have to hear, “It’s too late for this,” or, “You’re too old for that.”

My CD is called It’s Never Too Late. It’s never too late for life.

When I was on The Jeffersons and still working in theater, a woman came up to me and said, “Ms. Gibbs, I’ve always wanted to act. Do you think it’s too late?”

I asked, “Are you still breathing?”

She said yes.

I said, “Then it can’t be too late. It’s too late once you cross over, but it’s not too late now.”

I had a brain aneurysm at the end of 2006, and I struggled with it throughout 2007. When I thought that was the end, I found myself coming back and realizing it was simply another step.

Now I’m learning to stay in the present.

The news is always about yesterday and tomorrow, but we can’t visit tomorrow. We certainly can’t go there. I’m learning to stay in the now and quiet my brain, which is going all the time.

I’m learning to stop all the brain noise.

Chapter 4: Norman Lear

I believe that when a moment is ripe and good, every split second of the life that led up to it has been worth it.

That includes all the agony, pain, bad years, and trouble. It is what it took to bring you to this moment.

When I have my senses with me, I am living in this moment. This is my moment. It took every split second of my life to get here, so it has to be important.

I’m very aware of my age. It doesn’t scare me as much as it lingers in my mind, because I want more of what got me here.

I have 25-year-old twin daughters. Neither of them is married yet. My bucket list would include being there for the births of their children, but who knows?

I don’t even know what I’m having for dinner, and I’m looking forward to that.

Chapter 5: John Amos

I hope that years from now, decades from now, and hopefully at least a decade from now, people will say, “Man, he was a funny guy. He told great stories, and I miss him.”

That would be a sufficient legacy for me.

On a personal level, I think about my grandchildren. I have a grandson named Jazz. He is a special child. He was born very prematurely, and he will face developmental challenges throughout his life.

His condition has made me realize how fortunate and blessed I am to have a family that will support this young man for his entire life. We have already made an agreement about that. A challenge like this can keep a family together.

My son has a master’s degree in live-action film. My daughter is an accomplished businesswoman with interests that span the globe. My granddaughter is teaching overseas. She has her degree and plans to pursue a doctorate in education. Right now, I believe she is teaching in Taiwan.

I’ve been blessed to see my children and grandchildren recognize my aspirations and follow through on them because those aspirations were compatible with their own.

Chapter 6: Carl Reiner

A friend of mine wrote a novel called God Almighty. In the book, a man dies and goes to heaven, where he meets God.

God asks, “Who are you?”

The man says, “I’m a man. I was made in your image.”

God says, “I don’t remember you. I remember making the flowers because they’re pretty. I remember making little insects that can dance and jump around. But what do you do?”

The man decides to show God what people do. He performs a soft-shoe dance.

The epitome of humanity is Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly performing a soft shoe. You can’t help but melt when you see something like that.

The man dances, and God watches. Then God says, “Can you teach me that?”

At the very end, God looks up toward the sky, searching for God.

God looking for God.