‘Wow!’ Watch Jason Sudeikis Learn That Norman Lear Is Almost 99

Join the club! Jason Sudeikis was visibly in awe of Norman Lear as the TV writer was honored with the Carol Burnett Award at the 2021 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, February 28.

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During his virtual acceptance speech, Lear, 98, reflected on his storied career and contributions to the small screen, including the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, Maude and One Day at a Time. While thanking his wife, Lyn Davis, his six children and his grandkids, Lear noted that he is “close to 99,” which shocked Sudeikis.

“He’s 99? Wow,” the Ted Lasso star, 45, mouthed on camera from his home as Lear spoke.

Jason Sudeikis and Norman Lear NBC

The legendary producer is only the third recipient of the Carol Burnett Award, which the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gives to stars who have made outstanding contributions to the TV industry. Carol Burnett was the first to receive her namesake award in 2019, while Ellen DeGeneres took it home in 2020.

“To accept an award, this award, in the name of Carol Burnett, I could not feel more blessed,” Lear said on Sunday. “I am convinced that laughter adds time to one’s life, and nobody has made me laugh harder, there’s no one I owe more time to than Carol Burnett.”

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He later thanked Burnett, 87, for the “joy, surprise, delight and laughter” she has brought into his life before tugging on his ear, a nod to the Carol Burnett Show alum’s iconic gesture honoring her late grandmother.

While countless Twitter users applauded Lear for his articulate speech, many flocked to the social media platform to point out Sudeikis’ wonderstruck reaction.

“Jason Sudeikis watching Norman Lear like a gal with a crush is *everything* I needed from tonight,” one fan tweeted. Another viewer wrote, “What an elegant acceptance speech 98-year-old Norman Lear just gave at the #GoldenGlobes! All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Sanford and Son… This man changed American TV in such an important way. I, too, felt a little like Jason Sudeikis fawning over him tonight.”

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The Horrible Bosses star also won big on Sunday, taking home his first-ever Golden Globe for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Ted Lasso.

Sudeikis was all smiles as he watched the ceremony in a tie-dye hoodie. It marked his first public appearance since the news of his split from Olivia Wilde, with whom he shares son Otis, 6, and daughter Daisy, 4.

Us Weekly confirmed in November 2020 that the former couple had called off their seven-year engagement. After Wilde, 36, quickly moved on with her Don’t Worry Darling costar Harry Styles, a source told Us that Sudeikis was “desperate” to win the Booksmart director back, adding, “He [has his fingers crossed] that this is just a phase and that Olivia will snap out of it or that Harry will get bored and move on before too long.”