Pat Loud, the matriarch of the revolutionary PBS documentary “American Family,” has died. He was 94 years old.
She made pop history when the series premiered in 1973. In short, Loud was the mother of reality TV.
Her family confirmed Loud’s passage on their official Facebook page on Sunday.
“With an inconsolable sadness, we are sad to share the news with friends and family that on Sunday, January 10, at 13:55, PT, Pat Loud died peacefully in her sleep due to natural causes,” the post reads. “She was safely housed in her cozy home, which was attended by loving children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant.”
“The American Family,” created by the documentary Craig Gilbert, shone a sometimes harsh reflection on the life of the middle class, school days, and the infidelities of Loud, her husband, Bill, and their five children in Santa Barbara. California. The series infamously featured Louds’ separation from the room and their divorce, as well as the release of their eldest son, Lance, the first openly gay person to appear on American television.
The show spawned international titles – some extremely critical of Louds for airing all its dirty laundry to the general public – and was even parodied by the original cast of “Saturday Night Live”.
Born Patricia Claire Russell on October 4, 1926 in Eugene, Oregon, Loud graduated from Stanford University in 1948 with a degree in World History and English Literature. When he returned to his hometown, he met and fell in love with Bill Loud.
They married in Mexico City, and their first son – Alanson “Lance” Russell Loud – was born in June 1951.
“Four more children, a move to Santa Barbara and a famous divorce televised later, Pat’s second brilliant act was just beginning,” her family said in their Facebook memo. “An apartment on New York’s Upper East Side and a new career in biz were followed by a move to her favorite Roman spa town in Bath in the 1980s. But wherever she was, an invitation to her table meant an evening of biz unforgettable, with great food, generous drinks and friendly company. “
When the eldest son of Lance, the outspoken star of the “American Family,” was diagnosed with an HIV positive at the height of the AIDS epidemic, she returned to Los Angeles to care for him in the 1990s.
“Loud was a ferocious, inflexible, direct matriarch and loyal champion of outsiders and iconoclasts,” her family posted. “Her door was never locked and there was always room at her table. Never out of regret or reflection, she moved on in life with enthusiasm and courage. “
After moving to the Upper East Side of New York, when her marriage exploded on national television, Loud wrote two books: “Pat Loud: A Woman’s Story” in 1974 and “Lance Out Loud” in 2012.
Emmy Award-winning “Verite Cinema,” a fictional interpretation of “An American Family,” premiered on HBO in 2011 and starred Tim Robbins as Bill, Diane Lane as Pat Rob Robins. as Bill, Thomas Dekker as Lance and the late James Gandolfini as filmmaker Gilbert.
Lance died of complications caused by hepatitis C in 2001. Bill Loud died in 2018, also from natural causes, after spending the last 17 years in the house he shared with Pat. (Yes, they finally reunited.)
She is survived by her children Kevin Robert, Grant Randolph, Delilah Ann and Michele Summers Loud.
Instead of flowers, the family requests that any donations made on her behalf go to The Rescue Train, a Los Angeles-based animal welfare organization.
“But do you know what she would really like?”, The family continued in their tribute on social media. “Throw something delicious in the oven and let the aroma fill the house. At 17:00, gather friends and family around a tray of delicious delicacies. Fill a glass with ice and – if you really want to do well – everyone takes one, VERY BIG VODCAS. Maybe (definitely) two. Then sit down to dinner at a crowded table. Tell stories, play music, laugh and make a lot of noise. You have seconds, clean the plates. And love each other.
She would love that. “
