Matriarch of ‘An American Family’ Was Reality TV’s First Mother – Deadline

Patricia Loud, the matriarch of the Loud family in the TV documentary An American family died on Sunday from natural causes. She was 94 years old.

News of Loud’s death was confirmed on Loud’s official Facebook page. “With inconsolable sadness, we are sad to share with friends and family the news that on Sunday, January 10, at 1:55 pm PT, Pat Loud passed away peacefully in his sleep from natural causes. She was safely tucked away in her comfortable home, assisted by loving children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant. “

Loud was born on October 4, 1926 in Eugene, Oregon. She graduated from Stanford University in 1948, where she studied World History and English Literature. Upon returning to her hometown, she met William Loud and they were to be married in Mexico City. Their first child, Alanson “Lance” Russell Loud was born in June 1951.

She and her family gained prominence as one of the themes of what is considered the first American reality show. Filmed from May 30 to December 31, 1971, An American family accompanies the daily life of the Loud family, an upper middle class family based in Santa Bárbara. What was initially a look at Loud’s life became a series that chronicled the divorce of William and Pat Loud.

The documentary was a cultural hotspot in its time, showing family turmoil and the departure of Lance, one of the family’s children, who is credited as one of the first openly homosexual characters on TV. He died in 2001 and William Loud died in 2018 at the age of 97.

An American family it aired for the first time in the United States on the Public Broadcasting Service and lasted for a season of 12 episodes.

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During his time on the series, Loud made appearances on The Dick Cavett Show and The Mike Douglas Show, as the PBS series caught the attention of American viewers.

In 2011, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini delved deep into the reality show with Cinema Verite. Written by David Seltzer, Cinema Verite introduced Diane Lane as the matriarch, alongside Bill Loud of Tim Robbin and Craig Gilbert of James Gandolfini.

Cinema Verite went on to receive several nominations for the Golden Globe and the Primetime Emmy. Diane Lane nodded at her representation of Patricia Loud.

Instead of flowers, the family thanks all donations made on their behalf to The Rescue Train in
therescuetrain.org

Read the Facebook post and watch the special video tribute to Patricia Loud below.

Scott Shilstone contributed to this report.