(05.08.09) NARM announces that it will honor renowned television producer, writer and philanthropist Norman Lear with its prestigious Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award. Lear will be officially honored at the NARM Connects: Physical…Digital…Mobile Annual Convention Awards Dinner Finale on Wednesday, June 10, in San Diego, California.

In 1999, President Clinton bestowed Lear with the National Medal of Arts, noting, “Norman Lear has held up a mirror to American society and changed the way we look at it.” He has spent his entire career furthering an extraordinary lifetime commitment to equality, justice, peace and the First Amendment. Lear continually expanded and explored those themes first as the creative force behind many of the most beloved, important and groundbreaking television programs in history, such as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons and Maude, among others, and also through his fearsome, passionate and tenacious political activism. In 1991, Lear founded People For the American Way, a civil liberties advocacy organization that has thrived on the forefront of the fight for civil justice ever since. Lear established the Norman Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication in 2000, a multidisciplinary research and public policy center exploring implications of the convergence of entertainment, commerce and society. In addition, Lear and his wife Lyn purchased one of the first published copies of the United Sates Declaration of Independence in 2001. Through the end of 2004, the document traveled throughout the United States in the Declaration of Independence Roadtrip, so that, in his words, “the country could experience its birth certificate firsthand.” This amazing experience led to the formation of Declare Yourself, a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18- to 29-year-old in America to register and vote in local and national elections.

As a music industry professional, Lear is the co-founder and owner of Concord Music Group, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious independent record companies whose legendary family of labels include Concord Records, Concord Jazz, Fantasy, Stax, Milestone, Riverside, Specialty, Telarc, Peak, Heads Up, Pablo, Prestige and Hear Music, to name a few. Lear’s most recent musical passion is the extraordinary project, Playing For Change. The brainchild of producer/engineer Mark Johnson, Playing For Change combines performances from diverse artists around the globe in an effort to inspire peace and unity.

Of Lear’s extraordinary career, NARM President Jim Donio says, “We are proud to honor Norman Lear for his many outstanding efforts promoting civic consciousness. With his abundance of generosity and goodwill, his admirable selfless commitment to so many charitable organizations shows a genuine concern for and recognition of the dignity of individuals everywhere. NARM is thrilled to honor such a deserving individual whose philanthropic resume is unparalleled. He is a true inspiration to all of us.”

This award was established in 1984 by NARM to memorialize Chapin’s influential efforts on behalf of the environment and other humanitarian causes. Previous award recipients have included Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Hilary Rosen, and organizations, “Rock the Vote,” “Hands Across America,” and “Live Aid.”