Norman Lear knows that you always gotta open with a joke. When the legendary 92-year-old writer and producer joined a conference call to discuss his horses in this year's Emmys race, he responded to questions of "Is that Norman?" with "I'm just checking to make sure — let me look at the label on my coat. Yes, it's me." Lear's first writing credit was in 1950, and since then he's been a force whose influence has reverberated through the world of television. And thanks to executive producer Jimmy Kimmel, some of his most iconic …