Pat Loud, the matriarch of the pioneering PBS documentary series “American Family,” has died. He was 94 years old.
She made history in pop culture when the series premiered in 1973. In short, Loud was the mother of reality TV.
Her family confirmed Loud last Sunday on her official Facebook page.
“With inconsolable grief, we are saddened to share the news with friends and family that on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1:55 p.m., Pat Loud died peacefully in his dream of natural causes,” the message reads. “She was welcomed into her comfortable home, which was attended by beloved children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant.”
“American Family,” created by documentary filmmaker Craig Gilbert, sometimes brightened the lives of the upper-middle class, school days, and the infidelities of Loud, her husband, Bill, and their five children in Santa Barbara, California. the series infamously featured the Louds’ separation from the camera and divorce, as well as the departure of their eldest son, Lance, the first openly gay person featured on American television.
The show spawned international headlines, some very critical of the Louds for broadcasting all their dirty clothes 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. Upon returning to his hometown, he met and fell in love with Bill Loud.
They married in Mexico City and their first child, Alanson “Lance” Russell Loud, was born in June 1951.
“Four more kids, a move to Santa Barbara and a famous TV divorce later, Pat’s brilliant second act was just beginning,” his family shared on his Facebook memorial. “A flat on New York’s Upper East Side and a new career in the business book were followed by a relocation to England’s favorite Roman spa town in the 1980s. But wherever it was, an invitation to his table meant an unforgettable evening of fantastic food, generous drinks and welcoming company. “
When the eldest son Lance, the star of the “American Family,” was diagnosed as HIV-positive in the midst of the AIDS epidemic, he returned to Los Angeles to care for him during the 1990s.
“Loud was a fierce, inflexible, direct, and faithful champion matriarch of outsiders and iconoclasts,” her family posted. “His door was never locked and there was always space on his desk. Never to regret or reflect, he advanced to life with enthusiasm and courage.
After moving to New York’s Upper East Side when the marriage exploded on national television, Loud wrote two books: “Pat Loud: A Woman’s Story” in 1974 and “Lance Out Loud” in 2012.
The Emmy winner, “Cinema Verite,” a fictional version of the creation of “An American Family,” premiered on HBO in 2011 and starred Tim Robbins as Bill, Diane Lane as Pat, Tim Robbins as Bill, Thomas Dekker as Lance and the late James Gandolfini as filmmaker Gilbert.
Lance died of complications from hepatitis C in 2001. Bill Loud died in 2018, also from natural causes, after spending the previous 17 years in the house he shared with Pat. (Yes, they finally got together.)
His sons Kevin Robert, Grant Randolph, Delilah Ann and Michele Summers Loud survive him.
Instead of flowers, the family is asking for donations made in their name to go to The Rescue Train, an animal welfare organization based in Los Angeles.
“But … you know what he’d like?” The family continued in their tribute on social media. “Throw something delicious in the oven and let the aroma fill the house. At 5 p.m., gather friends and family around a tray of savory delicacies. Fill a glass with ice and, if you really want to do it right, everyone drinks one, very large vodka. Maybe (definitely) two. Then sit down to dinner at a table full of people. He tells stories, puts on music, laughs and makes a lot of noise. You have seconds, clean the plates. And love each other.
She would love it. ”
