Pat Loud - matriarch of the US's first ever reality show An American Family - dies of natural causes at age 94, as her loved ones pay tribute to the 'fierce, inflexible, forthright' mother-of-five

  • Loud, her husband Bill, and their five children became household names after the series chronicling their lives in Santa Barbara, California, premiered in 1973 
  • The show documented her separation and subsequent divorce from Bill as well as their eldest son Lance coming out as gay
  • Loud died in her sleep natural causes on Sunday, and her passing was confirmed on the family's official Facebook page with an emotional tribute   
  • The matriarch is survived by her children Kevin, Grant, Delilah, and Michele; Lance was diagnosed with HIV and died in 2001 from Hepatitis C complications
  • Loud had reunited with Bill as Lance's dying wish, and they shared a home for 17 years before he died in 2018 at age 97     

Pat Loud, the matriarch of the seminal PBS documentary series An American Family, which is considered the first reality show, has died at age 94. 

Loud, her husband Bill, and their five children became household names after the series chronicling their lives in Santa Barbara, California, premiered in 1973 — decades before people were keeping up with the Kardashians

Her death was confirmed on the Loud family's official Facebook page on Sunday with an emotional tribute to the first reality TV mom.  

Passing: Pat Loud, the matriarch of the seminal PBS documentary series An American Family, has died at age 94

Passing: Pat Loud, the matriarch of the seminal PBS documentary series An American Family, has died at age 94 

First reality show: Loud, her husband Bill, and their five children became household names after the series chronicling their lives in Santa Barbara, California, premiered in 1973

First reality show: Loud, her husband Bill, and their five children became household names after the series chronicling their lives in Santa Barbara, California, premiered in 1973

'With inconsolable sorrow, we are sad to share the news with friends and family that on Sunday January 10 at 1:55pm PT, Pat Loud passed away peacefully in her sleep of natural causes. She was snuggled up safe in her comfy home, attended by loving children Michele, Delilah, Kevin and Grant,' reads the post, in part. 

Loud was born Patricia Claire Russell on October 4, 1926, in Eugene, Oregon. She met her future husband Bill when she around six years old, as their families were friends. 

Bill would visit her from the University of Oregon when she was studying at Stanford University, where she graduated with degrees in world history and English literature in 1948.  

'He would drive down and pick her up and then go to Tijuana to see bull fights,' their daughter Delilah Loud told the New York Times. 'They had quite a courtship.'

The couple married in Mexico in 1950 and welcomed their first son Alanson 'Lance' Russell Loud, a year later in June 1951. They went on to have two more sons, Kevin and Grant, and two daughters, Delilah and Michele.    

Before Kris Jenner: Loud was well-read, witty, loving, and boisterous. She graduated from Stanford University, worked as a literary agent, and wrote two books

Before Kris Jenner: Loud was well-read, witty, loving, and boisterous. She graduated from Stanford University, worked as a literary agent, and wrote two books 

Looking back: The Loud family lived an affluent lifestyle in Santa Barbara, where they had a home with a pool and a Jaguar

Looking back: The Loud family lived an affluent lifestyle in Santa Barbara, where they had a home with a pool and a Jaguar 

The Loud family moved to Santa Barbara in 1962 and lived an affluent lifestyle thanks to Bill's business making parts for mining equipment. They enjoyed long vacations to Europe, had a house with a pool, and Jaguar to cruise around in, according to the Times. 

Delilah described her parents as 'adventurous types,' as she recalled them discussing whether they should document their lives in An American Family. 

'They wanted us to experience the world and they thought, "Well, what the heck, it’ll be a new experience,"' she said. Loud told The Time in 2013 that 'it seemed like a fun thing to do.' 

Created by Craig Gilbert, the series started filming at their Santa Barbara home in 1971 and lasted seven months. The footage was edited into 12, hour-long episodes, which premiered on PBS on January 11, 1973.   

A record ten million weekly viewers were riveted watching the Loud family's lives falling apart. Loud had previously said that the creators 'just went for the sensational stuff.' 

Keeping it real: Loud and her husband Bill, pictured on The Dick Cavett Show in 1973, documented their separation and subsequent divorce on the docu-series

Keeping it real: Loud and her husband Bill, pictured on The Dick Cavett Show in 1973, documented their separation and subsequent divorce on the docu-series 

Breaking boundaries: An American Family also chronicled the couple's son Lance coming out. Lance, pictured with his mom in 1990,  is credited as being the first openly gay person on TV

Breaking boundaries: An American Family also chronicled the couple's son Lance coming out. Lance, pictured with his mom in 1990,  is credited as being the first openly gay person on TV

The series documented Loud asking her unfaithful husband to move out, and in one episode, she opened up about Bill's affairs to her brother and sister-in-law. 

Loud told The Times in 2013 that she was 'coerced' into filming that conversation, but Gilbert denied the allegations. 

'I said, "Pat, we must shoot that,"' he told The Times in 2013. 'She said, "I do not want you to." I said, "We must, Pat, because otherwise it’s going to come out of the blue. No one will understand it." She finally agreed, and her brother and sister-in-law were in the room when she agreed to it. And now she says she was coerced.' 

Loud told her husband she wanted a divorce in the final episode, and according to Delilah, her mother didn't care who was watching at that point.  

'She just wanted Dad out,' she said. 

An American Family also chronicled the couple's eldest son Lance coming out and his flamboyant lifestyle in New York, where his loving and supportive mother would visit him, cameras in tow. Lance is credited as being the first openly gay person on television.  

Doting mom: Loud moved back to California to be with Lance in the early 1990s after he was diagnosed with HIV. He died in 2001 from Hepatitis C complications

Doting mom: Loud moved back to California to be with Lance in the early 1990s after he was diagnosed with HIV. He died in 2001 from Hepatitis C complications

Portrayal: The Loud family's foray into reality television inspired the 2011 HBO film Cinema Verite, a fictionalized account of An American Family starring Diane Lane as Loud

Portrayal: The Loud family's foray into reality television inspired the 2011 HBO film Cinema Verite, a fictionalized account of An American Family starring Diane Lane as Loud 

Voyeuristic eyes were mesmerized by the watershed cinema verité event as they viewed unscripted moments in the family's life that the press described as being exhibitionist. Critics were harsh, with one calling Loud an 'affluent zombie.' 

In 1974, Loud and her daughters moved to New York, living in an apartment on the Upper East Side, where she stayed for more than a decade working as a literary agent. The year she moved, she published her first of two books: Pat Loud: A Woman’s Story. Her second, Lance Out Loud, debuted in 2012. 

The mother of five lived in Bath England in the early 1990s, but she moved back to California to be with Lance after he was diagnosed with HIV.

Without his mother's knowledge, Lance asked the original camera and sound equipment operators from An American Family to document his final days. He died in 2001 from complications due to Hepatitis C. 

'Loud was a fierce, inflexible, forthright matriarch and loyal champion of outsiders and iconoclasts,' her family wrote in their Facebook tribute. 'Her door was never locked and there was always room at her table. Never one for regrets or reflection, she moved forward in life with enthusiasm and courage.' 

Back together: Loud, pictured with Mick Loud in 2005, reunited with Bill as Lance's dying wish, and they shared a home for 17 years before he died in 2018 at age 97

Back together: Loud, pictured with Mick Loud in 2005, reunited with Bill as Lance's dying wish, and they shared a home for 17 years before he died in 2018 at age 97

Legacy: Loud, pictured with Christopher Makos and Roseanne Barr in 2014, is survived by her children Kevin, Grant, Delilah, and Michele

Legacy: Loud, pictured with Christopher Makos and Roseanne Barr in 2014, is survived by her children Kevin, Grant, Delilah, and Michele

Loud had moved back in with her ex-husband Bill one of Lance's final wishes, and they shared a home for 17 years before he died of natural causes in 2018 at age 97. 

The Loud family's foray into reality television inspired the 2011 HBO film Cinema Verite, a fictionalized behind-the-scenes account of the creation of An American Family. 

Diane Lane played Loud, earning a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal. The film also starred Tim Robbins as Bill, Thomas Dekker as Lance, and James Gandolfini as Gilbert.  

Loud is survived by her children Kevin, Grant, Delilah, and Michele Loud. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made in her name to The Rescue Train, an animal welfare organization based in Los Angeles.   

'But…you know what she’d really like? Throw something delicious in the oven and let the aroma fill the house. At the stroke of 5pm, gather friends and family around a tray of savory treats,' her family wrote. 

'Fill a glass with ice and — if you really want to do it right — everyone take one, VERY LARGE vodka. Maybe (definitely) two. Then sit down to dinner at a crowded table. Tell stories, put music on, laugh, and make a lot of noise. Have seconds, clean plates. And love each other. She’d love that.'

Paying tribute: Loud's death was confirmed on her family's official Facebook page on Sunday

Paying tribute: Loud's death was confirmed on her family's official Facebook page on Sunday

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