Sherman Hemsley

Known for ActingBorn 1938-02-01Died 2012-07-24Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor, best known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen, and B.P. Richfield on the ABC series Dinosaurs. For his work on The Jeffersons, Hemsley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. He also won an NAACP Image Award. Hemsley was born and raised in South Philadelphia by his mother, who worked in a lamp factory.[1] He did not meet his father until he was 14. He attended Barrat Middle School, Central High School for 9th grade and Bok Technical High School for 10th, when he dropped out of school and joined the United States Air Force, where he served for four years. On leaving the Air Force, he returned to Philadelphia, where he worked for the United States Postal Service during the day while attending the Academy of Dramatic Arts at night. He then moved to New York, continuing to work for the Post Office during the day while working as an actor at night. He starred as Gitlow in the early 1970s Broadway musical Purlie. While Hemsley was on Broadway with Purlie, Norman Lear called him in 1971 to play the recurring role of George Jefferson in his new sitcom, All in the Family. Hemsley was reluctant to leave his theatre role, but Lear told him that he would hold the role open for him. Hemsley joined the cast two years later. The characters of Hemsley and co-star Isabel Sanford were supporting occasional roles on All in the Family, but were given their own spin-off, The Jeffersons, two years after Hemsley made his debut on the sitcom. The Jeffersons proved to be one of Lear's most successful series, enjoying a run of 11 seasons through 1985. Hemsley was a shy and intensely private man, described by some as reclusive. He avoided the Hollywood limelight and little of his personal life was public knowledge beyond the facts that he never married and he had no children.[9] In 2003, however, Hemsley granted a rare video interview to the Archive of American Television. "It [playing George Jefferson] was hard for me. But he was the character. I had to do it." On July 24, 2012, Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas, at age 74. The cause of death was given as superior vena cava syndrome, a complication associated with lung and bronchial carcinomas. He had had a malignant mass on one of his lungs for which chemotherapy and radiation had been recommended, according to the El Paso County Texas Medical Examiner's report. CLRRead more

Movies & web series

The Big Show

City Guys

Golden Anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The Secret World of Alex Mack

Dinosaurs

The Magic School Bus

The Twilight Zone

All in the Family

Martin

Family Guy

The Surreal Life

The Wayans Bros.

The Jeffersons

Sister, Sister

The Incredible Hulk

Figure It Out

Goode Behavior

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

The Sonny and Cher Show

Donny & Marie

Pink Lady

The Hughleys

The Magic of David Copperfield

Designing Women

Dinah!

Alice in Wonderland

Saturday Night Live

Burke's Law

Family Matters

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Amen

Vicki!

Purlie

Clueless

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

Senseless

The Love Boat

Battle of the Network Stars

Love at First Bite

Up, Up, and Away

Jane Austen's Mafia!

Screwed

For the Love of a Dog

Combat Academy

Club Fed

Sprung

E/R