Pat Loud, matriarch of the groundbreaking PBS documentary series “American Family”, has passed away. She was 94.
She made pop culture history when the series premiered in 1973. Basically, Loud was the mother of reality TV.
Her family confirmed Loud’s passing on their official Facebook page.
“With inconsolable grief, we are sad to share the news with friends and family that Pat Loud passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1:55 p.m. PT,” the report read. “She was safely in her comfortable home, attended by loving children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant.”
‘American Family’, made by documentary filmmaker Craig Gilbert, cast a sometimes harsh spotlight on the lives of the upper middle class, school days and infidelity of Loud, her husband Bill and their five children in Santa Barbara, California. The infamous series was the on-camera separation and divorce of the Louds, as well as the coming out of their eldest son, Lance, the first openly gay person to be seen on American television.
The show garnered international headlines – some were highly critical of the Louds for distributing all their 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 degrees in world history and English literature. When she returned to her hometown, she met and fell in love with Bill Loud.
They were married in Mexico City, and the first son – Alanson “Lance” Russell Loud – was born in June 1951.
“Four more kids, a move to Santa Barbara and later a famous television divorce, Pat’s brilliant second act was just getting started,” her family told their Facebook memorial. A flat on the Upper East Side in New York and a new career in the book world were followed by a move to England’s favorite Roman spa town of Bath in the 1980s. But wherever she was, an invitation to her table meant an unforgettable evening with delicious food, generous drinks and great company. “
When elder son Lance, breakout star of American Family, was diagnosed as HIV positive at the height of the AIDS epidemic, she returned to Los Angeles in the 1990s to care for him.
“Loud was a fierce, unyielding, outspoken matriarch and a loyal champion of outsiders and iconoclasts,” said her family. “Her door was never locked and there was always room at her table. Never one for regrets or reflection, she went on in life with enthusiasm and courage. “
After moving to New York’s Upper East Side when her marriage imploded on national television, Loud wrote two books, “Pat Loud: A Woman’s Story” in 1974 and “Lance Out Loud” in 2012.
A fictionalized take on the making of An American Family, the Emmy-winning ‘Cinema Verite’ 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 of natural causes, after spending the previous 17 years in the home he shared with Pat. (Yes, they eventually reunited.)
She leaves behind her children Kevin Robert, Grant Randolph, Delilah Ann and Michele Summers Loud.
Instead of flowers, the family asks that all donations made in its name go to The Rescue Train, an animal welfare organization in Los Angeles.
“But … you know what she would really like?” Continued the family in their tribute on social media. “Throw a treat in the oven and let the scent fill the house. At the stroke of 5 p.m., gather friends and family around a tray of savory treats. Fill a glass with ice and – if you really want to do it right – everyone have a VERY BIG vodka. Maybe (at least) two. Then, sit at an overcrowded table for dinner. Tell stories, put on music, laugh and make a lot of noise. Have seconds, clean plates. And love each other.
She would love that. “
