Chuck Lorre Inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame

18 Apr 2016

Creator, Executive Producer and Writer of The Big Bang Theory, Roseanne, Cybil, Two and a Half Men,  Mom, and Mike and Molly, Chuck Lorre was inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall  of Fame today during a luncheon at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The NAB Trade Show of the National Association of Broadcasters is the world’s largest electronic media trade show and is attended by approximately 103,000 attendees with more than 1,700 exhibitors.

Lorre has been involved in the Television business for 30 years, rising to become one of the top television comedy producers.  He has won many awards and nominated for many more.   Many of the characters he created have become American pop culture icons.   Lorre has produced well over 500 episodes of television and advises others on what he wished he knew up front when he began in the business, “nothing good comes from fear.”

“The anxiety and stress that comes from delivering a show you believe in, that’s worth watching, that’s truly funny, that’s worth people’s time — it’s enormous. I carried that with me for years, trying to get it right, trying to learn on the job, Lorre admits.  “I don’t know that quality comes out of anxiety. Ulcers do. Insomnia comes from it. I wish I’d had a little more faith early on.”

Accepting the honor, Lorre told of a moment in his career that still gives him chills, when Roseanne was in the third season and was the number one show on television:

“I went to the first rehearsal of the first script that I was involved with. There was a scene with John Goodman and Roseanne and Laurie Metcalf, and I remember they’re playing out the scene, and I turned to my friend who was the executive producer on the show, my boss, and I whispered ‘They’re saying what we wrote.’ I was in awe of these people and they were big stars, and they actually trusted us to write a script that they would then bring to life.”

Just as Emmy® award nominees are often asked what they were doing when they got the call that they had been nominated, Lorre was asked what he was doing when he received the call about being admitted in to the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.

“It doesn’t really register,” he explained why he really could not recall what he had been doing, “because all you do in your life is you show up every day and go to work. And you do the best you can, like anybody else does with any job. You show up and do the best you can. And I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do this one job for a long time. To be acknowledged for it, it’s a little staggering actually. It’s strange. I don’t want to think about it too much because tomorrow I’m going back to work. And this award doesn’t impact the work I have to do tomorrow. That’s the work, and it stands by itself.”

Lorre will return on set tomorrow to The Big Bang Theory for the penultimate episode taping, so only atteneded the NAB Show for one day, the day of the luncheon where he was honored.

When introduced, Lorre focused on what he always focuses on ‘people and words.’

“I think all storytelling, whether it be dramatic or comedy, is people and words,” Lorre commented. “Ultimately it all comes down to the old adage: If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage. And then if you don’t have the right cast, if you don’t have the right actors and actresses, it doesn’t matter what you write, you’re going to fail. So I’ve been really blessed I’ve been able to work with some extraordinary casts over the years. The trick was just to deliver scripts that were worthy of their talent.”

One wonders how a man like Lorre can be so prolific and produce so many quality shows, many which are still in production simultaneously.   He credits his writing teams with making it possible for him to accomplish all that he is able to do and to be able to keep multiple shows running at the same time.

“It really is a matter of listening and hearing the vision of other people that are brilliant writers, and then trying to help and encourage and help build their vision,” he said. “Because it’s an impossible job for one person to do. There’s not enough hours in a day, there’s not enough brain cells in the frontal lobe. You need to surround yourself with great writers, and I’ve been fortunate to have that on all the shows.”

Lorre isn’t hanging up his hat yet.  Good news for fans of his shows.   He hopes many of this shows will continue on for many more years and his creative mind is never sitting still.   We know we look forward to seeing more from Lorre!

Lorre was not the only person honored at the event.   Actress Keke Palmer also received the Chairman’s Award at the luncheon.