Valerie Bertinelli remembers Norman Lear as one of the people who made her feel protected when she entered Hollywood as a teenager. She also spent years worrying that he might tell her she had done something wrong.
Bertinelli revisited her relationship with Lear while sitting down with former One Day at a Time costar Mackenzie Phillips on Getting Naked: The Podcast. She described the legendary producer as “so loving” but admitted she was “always afraid I was going to be reprimanded by Norman,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
Bertinelli said she felt “very, very protected” while working under Lear and considered herself and Phillips fortunate to have him as a mentor. Even so, she remembered being “in awe of him” and “afraid of him a little bit.”
One of her clearest memories came from the first season of One Day at a Time. Bertinelli was still learning how to act when the finale called for Barbara Cooper to cry, and she could not make herself do it.
Lear Stepped In When Bertinelli Couldn’t Cry
The scene came during “Dad Comes Back: Part 2,” the Season 1 finale in which Barbara and Julie Cooper have to accept that their divorced parents are not getting back together.
“He was the one that immediately took me aside when I had to cry in the finale of the first season and I couldn’t do it,” Bertinelli recalled.
She said embarrassment was part of the problem. “I wasn’t an actor. I was just learning how to do this,” she explained. Bertinelli added that crying for a scene is something she can handle now after roughly five decades of experience.
The episode aired in March 1976, near the beginning of a series that would ultimately run for nine seasons. Bertinelli played Barbara opposite Phillips as her older sister Julie, with Bonnie Franklin starring as their mother, Ann Romano.
Bertinelli Says Lear Made Her Feel Protected
Bertinelli’s nervousness around Lear existed alongside considerable affection for him. She and Phillips were still teenagers when they joined the CBS sitcom, and Bertinelli credited Lear with making her feel protected while she was growing up in Hollywood.
“Both of us are incredibly lucky to have such a mentor,” she said.
Bertinelli remembered regularly worrying that Lear might correct her or tell her she had done something wrong. She was still a teenager learning how television worked, while Lear was already one of the industry’s most influential producers.
Phillips also recalled a later period when some distance seemed to develop between Bertinelli and Lear. She remembered asking Bertinelli to split the cost of a full-page newspaper advertisement honoring him and initially getting a no. Bertinelli said she did not remember refusing, while Phillips clarified that her former costar eventually contributed to the ad.
Phillips Says She Put Lear on a Pedestal
@itsvaleriesplace My oldest friend. My honorary sister. The most requested guest in Getting Naked history. 🤍 Mac is FINALLY here! And after all these years, let’s just say… we had a lot of catching up to do. ✨ Part 1 is OUT NOW on Valerie’s Place! 🎙️ #GettingNakedPodcast #MackenziePhillips #PodcastOutNow #NewEpisode #PodcastInterview ♬ Ethereal Glow – Kairo Vibe
Phillips remembered Lear differently. She said she had a “wonderful relationship” with him and joked that she had “pedestalized” the producer.
Her affection extended to the scripts themselves. Phillips remembered getting revised pages marked “Lear Polish” in the upper corner, which told the cast that Lear had personally worked on the material.
Both actresses said they still have scripts carrying those markings.
Phillips spoke similarly about Lear after his death in December 2023. She told the Los Angeles Times that their relationship became strained for a period after her addiction affected her work on One Day at a Time, but Lear continued treating her warmly when their paths crossed.
“Norman just always had open arms and love for me, with a little bit of trepidation,” Phillips said at the time. She said that uncertainty eventually disappeared as their relationship recovered.
Lear died in December 2023 at age 101. One Day at a Time, which introduced Bertinelli and Phillips as Barbara and Julie Cooper in 1975, completed its nine-season CBS run in 1984.