"An American Family" update- the Louds are back together, memorabilia going to Yale University

[Liberal_in_LA]

EXCLUSIVE: They were the Kardashians of the 70s...attractive, wealthy, dysfunctional. The Louds broke reality TV ground as Pat kicked husband Bill out and oldest son Lance revealed he was gay to 10m viewers
In Lance Out Loud, Pat Loud, now 89, celebrates her son Lance, who died of complications from AIDS in 2001





Yale University will acquire the original Loud and Lance Loud memorabilia on Wednesday
Pat reveals there was nothing negative brewing in their family until the cameras arrived
She says PBS viewed the family as California airheads and coerced her into asking her husband for a divorce on camera
Pat is now happily living with ex-husband, Bill - again!


They were the Kardashians of the 70's - attractive, wealthy and dysfunctional. They were the Louds: Pat and Bill and their five children, ranging from age 14 to 20 - Lance, Delilah, Grant, Kevin and Michele.

The Louds were the subjects of the first ever television reality show, An American Family, broadcast on PBS in twelve hour-long episodes beginning on January 11, 1973. The show took viewers up close and personal in the home of the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California.

Parents Pat and Bill and their kids became household names living in front of the camera for seven months taped the year prior to the broadcast.
A record ten million weekly viewers were riveted watching the Loud family's lives falling apart. On camera, Pat asked her husband, Bill to move out, and Lance, the oldest son, was the first gay to come out on television.

Pat Loud, with the editorial help of Christopher Makos, is about to reissue reissued a collection of photographs, writings and personal papers of her son Lance for the book, Lance Out Loud, published by Glitterati Incorporated in conjunction with the acquisition of the private memorabilia by Yale University.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3015341/They-Kardashians-70s-attractive-wealthy-dysfunctional-Louds-broke-reality-TV-ground-Pat-kicked-husband-Bill-oldest-son-Lance-revealed-gay-10m-viewers.html#ixzz3VtsG45dZ
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[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Loved the Louds.... esp Pat... and the whole concept.

It was ORIGINAL and it BROKE GROUND and the subjects were ( ok: CLOSE to ) themselves.

What's a "Kardashian"? Sounds like some kind of exotic turnip.

[KamaAina]

2. ROFL!

A Kardashian is one of three loathsome sisters who are fueling the reality TV craze.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. I'm glad I'm not the only one familiar with the Louds.

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. There's a a lot of us left.

I think it actually aired in 72/73, but footage was from 70/71.

And then it kind of reappeared periodically on PBS after that.

Not everyone liked the Louds, though I don't remember anyone saying the documentary series wasn't excellent.

But I actually liked the whole family and thought the dynamics among them were fascinating.

Pat was particularly interesting. The way she spoke, carried herself, etc.

It's amazing she's 89. That means Bill's probably in his 90s.

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. yes, the mom was very interesting. iconic scene - when they go out with her friends

And the camera catches her watching the husband flirt with her friends
At the table.

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. I heard of it in the 70s but didn't watch it unil years later. The eps are around, maybe on youtube

Very nostagic to watch. The clothes, the home, the cigarettes.