Frances Lear

Used part of her $112 million divorce settlement from Norman Lear to found Lear's magazine. (1988)

"All That Glitters" is a television-sitcom by producer Norman Lear, who marketed the syndicated program through his company, Tandem - TAT Communications' program syndication division. The series ran five nights a week. The series consisted of 65 episodes; aired, beginning the third week in the month of April, between Monday April 18, continuing 13 weeks, ending Friday, July 15, 1977 in broadcast syndication. Jimmy Carter was the U.S. President (Democratic). People were listening to "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston. In the U.K. "Knowing Me Knowing You" by Abba was in the top 5 hits. "Annie Hall," directed by Woody Allen was one of the most viewed movies released in 1977 while "Oliver'S Story" by Erich Segal was one of the best selling books. The daily week-day "All That Glitters" sitcom, a spoof of the soap opera format, depicted the trials and tribulations of a group of female executives at the "Globatron" corporation. The twist of the series was that it was set within a world of complete role-reversal: Women were the "stronger sex," the executives and breadwinners, while the "weaker sex" - the men - were the secretaries or stay-at-home house-husbands. Men were often treated as sex objects. The series featured Eileen Brennan, Greg Evigan, Lois Nettleton, Wes Parker, Gary Sandy, Tim Thomerson, Jessica Walter, Rhea Perlman and Danny De Vito. Comic actor and cartoon voice artist Chuck McCann was also a regular. Linda Gray played transgender fashion model Linda Murkland, the first transgender series regular on American television. "All That Glitters" was series creator Norman Lear's attempt to duplicate his success with the syndicated soap opera spoof "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." Lear described the premise simply: "God created Eve first, took out her rib and gave her a companion so she wouldn't be lonely." Lear came up with the idea on a trip to Washington, D.C.. "I had visited the Institute of Policy Studies, and I just loved the whole thing. And I thought there was a series in it - a-five-times-a-week series: I went to bed thinking about that, and I woke up the next morning thinking what would happen if the male-female equation were changed? What would happen if the women had all the power and all the advantage, and the men had what the women normally would have?" The world of "All That Glitters" had always been female-dominated but Lear also used the series to comment on changing sex roles in the United States in the 1970s. In test screenings prior to its premiere, reaction to the show was sharply divided. Producer Stephanie Sills said of the sitcom, "the strongest negative reaction came from male executives. They didn't mind being portrayed by women. It was simply that they detest the way we depicted them." Feminists were uncertain how to react to the series, with some being concerned that audiences would not perceive the show as satire but as an attempt to represent how a female-dominated society would actually operate.

She is known for her work on Divorce American Style (1967), He & She (1967) and All That Glitters (1977). She was married to Norman Lear.

Frances Lear was born on July 14, 1923 in Hudson, New York, USA as Frances Loeb.