Sherman Hemsley

{{Infobox person

| name = Sherman Hemsley

| image = Sherman Hemsley 1239819.jpg

| caption = Hemsley in 1999

| birth_name = Sherman Alexander Hemsley

| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|02|01}}

| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|07|24|1938|02|01}}

| death_place = El Paso, Texas, U.S.

| resting_place = Fort Bliss National Cemetery

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 1968–2012

| signature = ShermanHemsleySignature.svg

}}

Sherman Alexander Hemsley (February 1, 1938 – July 24, 2012) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family (1973–1975; 1978) and The Jeffersons (1975–1985), Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen (1986–1991), and B. P. Richfield on the ABC series Dinosaurs. Hemsley also played Judge Carl Robertson on the NBC series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. For his work on The Jeffersons, Hemsley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. Hemsley also won an NAACP Image Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series or Special ("The Jeffersons") in 1982.

Biography

=Early life, education and service=

Hemsley was born and raised in South Philadelphia by his mother, who worked in a lamp factory.{{cite news| last=Schaffer| first=Michael D.| title='Jeffersons' star Sherman Hemsley dies at 74| url=http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120724_Sherman_Hemsley__TVs_George_Jefferson__dies_at_74.html| access-date=August 14, 2012| newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer| date=July 24, 2012| archive-date=July 28, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728024402/http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20120724_Sherman_Hemsley__TVs_George_Jefferson__dies_at_74.html| url-status=live}} Hemsley did not meet his father until he was 14. Hemsley graduated from Barrat Middle School.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} For high school, Hemsley attended Central High School for ninth grade and Bok Technical High School for tenth. Hemsley dropped out of school after the tenth grade and joined the United States Air Force, where he served for four years.

On leaving the Air Force, Hemsley 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.{{cite news| title=Ask Monika| newspaper=St. Petersburg Times| page=16-TV Dial| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98402505/tampa-bay-times/| first=Monika| last=Guttman| date=September 3, 1989| access-date=March 25, 2022| archive-date=March 26, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326035206/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98402505/tampa-bay-times/| url-status=live}}{{cite news| title=Hemsley turns to stand-up comedy| first=Claudia| last=Rosenbaum| newspaper=The Washington Times| page=M2| date=September 3, 1989}}

=Career=

==Stage==

File:Sherman Hemsley Purlie 1972.JPG (June 8, 1972).]] Hemsley performed with local groups in Philadelphia before moving to New York to study with Lloyd Richards at the Negro Ensemble Company. Shortly after, he joined Vinnette Carroll's Urban Arts Company, appearing in But Never Jam Today, The Lottery, Old Judge Mose is Dead, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, Step Lively Boys, Croesus, and The Witch. Hemsley made his Broadway debut in Purlie and toured with the show for a year. In summer 1972, Hemsley joined the Vinnette Carroll musical Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope ensemble in Toronto, followed a month later in the American Conservatory Theater production at the Geary Theater. In this production, Hemsley performed the solos "Lookin' Over From Your Side" in Act I and "Sermon" in Act II.

=Work with Norman Lear=

File:The Jeffersons Sanford Hemsley Evans 1974.jpg co-stars Isabel Sanford and Mike Evans, 1974.]] 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; Lear told him he would hold the role open for him (another actor, Mel Stewart, played his brother during this time). Hemsley joined the cast two years later. The characters of Hemsley and co-star Isabel Sanford were occasional supporting roles in All in the Family, then were given their own spin-off, The Jeffersons, in 1975. The Jeffersons proved to be one of Lear's most successful series, enjoying a run of eleven seasons through 1985.

==1980s, 1990s, and 2000s==

Hemsley continued to work steadily after the show's cancellation, largely typecast in George Jefferson-like roles. He teamed with the sitcom's original cast members when The Jeffersons moved to Broadway for a brief run.{{cite magazine| title=The Jeffersons take the stage| url=https://ew.com/article/1993/04/16/jeffersons-take-stage/| first1=Bruce| last1=Fretts| first2=Alan| last2=Carter| date=April 16, 1993| access-date=March 25, 2022| magazine=Entertainment Weekly| language=en| archive-date=June 3, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603053720/https://ew.com/article/1993/04/16/jeffersons-take-stage/| url-status=live}} Hemsley later joined the cast of NBC's Amen in 1986 as Deacon Ernest Frye, a church deacon. The sitcom enjoyed a run of five seasons, ending in 1991. Hemsley then was a voice actor in the ABC live-action puppet series Dinosaurs, where he played Bradley P. Richfield, the boss of the main character, Earl. The series ran four seasons, ending in 1994.{{cite news| title=Dinosaurs If You Were a Tree| url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/dinosaurs-if-you-were-a-tree-1200431978/#!| first=Brian| last=Lowry| date=April 19, 1993| magazine=Variety| access-date=March 25, 2022| archive-date=March 26, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326035101/https://variety.com/1993/tv/reviews/dinosaurs-if-you-were-a-tree-1200431978/#!| url-status=live}} In 1995, Hemsley made four appearances in the sitcom Sister, Sister as Tia and Tamera Mowry's grandfather. In 1996, he had the lead role in the TV comedy series Goode Behavior, which lasted for one season.{{cite book| title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present| url=https://archive.org/details/completedirector0000broo_c2t3/page/478/mode/2up?q=%22goode+behavior%22| year=2003| first1=Tim| last1=Brooks| first2=Earle F.| last2=Marsh| publisher=Ballantine Books| location=New York| isbn=978-0-3454-5542-0| pages=478–479}}

Hemsley then cut back on his acting career, although Isabel Sanford and he occasionally appeared together in the mid to late 1990s and in the early 2000s, reprising their popular roles in guest appearances on such television series as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air; in commercials for The Gap, Old Navy, and Denny's; and at dry cleaning conventions. He also starred with Sanford in a touring company of The Real Live Jeffersons stage show in the 1990s. Sanford and he made a cameo appearance in the film Sprung (1997). They continued to work together on occasion until Sanford's health declined prior to her death in 2004. In 2001, Hemsley appeared as a contestant on the "Celebrity Classic TV Edition" special of ABC's primetime quiz show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won $125,000 for his charity. Hemsley also made a voice appearance as himself in the Seth MacFarlane animated comedy Family Guy in 2005. He appeared in the film American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009). In 2011, he reprised his role as George Jefferson for the final time, alongside Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston, on Tyler Perry's House of Payne.{{cite news| title=Actor Sherman Hemsley found dead in his El Paso home of natural causes| url=https://kvia.com/news/2012/09/24/actor-sherman-hemsley-found-dead-in-his-el-paso-home-of-natural-causes/| date=September 24, 2012| website=KVIA News| access-date=March 25, 2022| archive-date=July 16, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716015524/https://kvia.com/news/2012/09/24/actor-sherman-hemsley-found-dead-in-his-el-paso-home-of-natural-causes/| url-status=live}} Hemsley was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2012.

=Music career=

In 1989, Hemsley, who had been a jazz keyboardist, released a single, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head."{{cite web| url=http://www.avclub.com/articles/rip-sherman-hemsley,82922/| title=R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley| website=The A.V. Club| last=O'Neal| first=Sean| date=July 24, 2012| access-date=July 25, 2012| archive-date=July 27, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727010732/http://www.avclub.com/articles/rip-sherman-hemsley,82922/| url-status=dead}} This was followed in 1992 by Dance, an album of rhythm and blues music.{{cite web| url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/dance-mw0000611645| title=Sherman Hemsley – Dance| website=Allmusic| access-date=July 25, 2012| archive-date=October 29, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029190325/http://www.allmusic.com/album/dance-mw0000611645| url-status=live}} He appeared on Soul Train around the time of the record's release and also performed the song "Eyes in the Dark".[http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/sherman-hemsley-performs-eyes-in-the-dark-on-soul-train-1992/284jbfdew Sherman Hemsley performs "Eyes in the Dark" on Soul Train (1992)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222032055/http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/sherman-hemsley-performs-eyes-in-the-dark-on-soul-train-1992/284jbfdew |date=February 22, 2014}}, Bing.com; accessed October 8, 2016. Hemsley also was an enthusiastic fan of many 1970s progressive rock bands,{{cite web| url=http://www.phillyburbs.com/entertainment/local_entertainment/sherman-hemsley-moves-on-up-to-cherry-hill/article_27588548-bc9a-5621-92ed-9c3a88a2dca4.html| title=Sherman Hemsley moves on up to Cherry Hill| publisher=Calkins Media| last=Condran| first=Ed| date=May 20, 2001| access-date=January 8, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727042153/http://www.phillyburbs.com/entertainment/local_entertainment/sherman-hemsley-moves-on-up-to-cherry-hill/article_27588548-bc9a-5621-92ed-9c3a88a2dca4.html| archive-date=July 27, 2012}} including Yes (which prompted a lengthy funk rock collaboration with Jon Anderson that remains unreleased as of 2024), Gentle Giant, Gong,{{cite magazine| url=http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/03/05/george-jefferson-worlds-biggest-gong-fan| title=George Jefferson: World's Biggest Gong Fan| magazine=Magnet| access-date=July 25, 2012| archive-date=July 30, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730090657/http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2009/03/05/george-jefferson-worlds-biggest-gong-fan/| url-status=live}} and Nektar.

Personal life

Unlike the characters he played, 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.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/arts/television/sherman-hemsley-star-of-the-jeffersons-dies-at-74.html?_r=1| title=Sherman Hemsley, 'Jeffersons' Star, Is Dead at 74| newspaper=The New York Times| date=July 24, 2012| access-date=July 28, 2012| author=Watkins, Mel| url-access=subscription| archive-date=November 7, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107035747/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/arts/television/sherman-hemsley-star-of-the-jeffersons-dies-at-74.html?_r=1| url-status=live}} In 2003, however, Hemsley granted a rare video interview to the Archive of American Television where he said that his most famous role was difficult because the character was deliberately and comically rude. "[Playing George Jefferson] was hard for me, but he was the character. I had to do it."{{cite news| url=http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_21150981/sherman-hemsley-jeffersons-fame-found-dead-el-paso| title=Sherman Hemsley of 'The Jefferson's' fame, found dead in El Paso| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221234425/http://www.alamogordonews.com/ci_21150981/sherman-hemsley-jeffersons-fame-found-dead-el-paso| archive-date=February 21, 2014| newspaper=Alamogordo Daily News| agency=Associated Press| access-date=March 25, 2022}}

Death

Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas on July 24, 2012, at age 74 due to superior vena cava syndrome, a complication associated with lung and bronchial carcinomas. He had a malignant mass in one of his lungs for which chemotherapy and radiation had been recommended, according to the El Paso County Texas Medical Examiner's report.{{cite web| url=http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/Celebs/hemsley,%20sherman_report.pdf| title=County of El Paso: Post Mortem Report: Sherman Alexander Hemsley| website=Autopsyfiles.org| access-date=September 29, 2016| archive-date=December 23, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223175125/http://www.autopsyfiles.org/reports/Celebs/hemsley,%20sherman_report.pdf| url-status=live}}{{cite news| url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sherman-hemsley-george-jefferson-dies-age-74-article-1.1121023| title=Sherman Hemsley dead: 'Jeffersons' star dies at age 74| last=Walsh| first=Michael| date=July 24, 2012| newspaper=New York Daily News| access-date=March 25, 2022| url-access=subscription| archive-date=March 26, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326035100/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/sherman-hemsley-george-jefferson-dies-age-74-article-1.1121023| url-status=live}}{{cite news| url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-jeffersons-star-sherman-hemsley-found-dead-at-home/979281/| title='The Jeffersons' star Sherman Hemsley found dead at home| newspaper=The Indian Express| location=Mumbai| date=July 25, 2012| access-date=March 25, 2022| archive-date=July 16, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220716015529/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/entertainment-others/the-jeffersons-star-sherman-hemsley-found-dead/| url-status=live}}

File:Sherman Hemsley marker.JPG

=Aftermath=

File:Sherman Hemsley (handprints in cement).jpg at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, 2007.]]

On August 28, 2012, an El Paso news anchor interviewed Flora Isela Enchinton, the sole beneficiary of Hemsley's will, who said that the two were friends and had been business partners for more than two decades.{{cite web| title=Body of actor Sherman Hemsley stored in funeral home cooler, not buried, weeks after his death| date=August 29, 2012| url=http://www.kvia.com/news/Body-of-actor-Sherman-Hemsley-remains-frozen-not-buried-weeks-after-his-death/-/391068/16404884/-/bn1q2q/-/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901014114/http://www.kvia.com/news/Body-of-actor-Sherman-Hemsley-remains-frozen-not-buried-weeks-after-his-death/-/391068/16404884/-/bn1q2q/-/index.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=September 1, 2012| website=KVIA News| first1=Matt| last1=Dougherty| first2=Leonard| last2=Martinez| access-date=August 31, 2012}} During this time she lived with Hemsley and his friend Kenny Johnston. Enchinton told the Associated Press that Hemsley never mentioned any relatives. "Some people come out of the woodwork{{snd}}they think Sherman, they think money", Enchinton told AP. "But the fact is that I did not know Sherman when he was in the limelight. I met them when they [Hemsley and Johnston] came running from Los Angeles with not one penny, when there was nothing but struggle."{{cite news| url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2012/08/30/sherman-hemsley-remains-unburied-due-will-dispute| title=Sherman Hemsley Remains Unburied Due to Will Dispute| last=Kinser| first=Jeremy| date=August 30, 2012| newspaper=The Advocate| access-date=June 5, 2019| archive-date=April 12, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412141920/https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/people/2012/08/30/sherman-hemsley-remains-unburied-due-will-dispute| url-status=live}}

A Philadelphia man named Richard Thornton claimed to be Hemsley's brother and the true heir to his estate. After contesting the will, Thornton halted progress on funeral arrangements, and as a result, Hemsley's body remained at the San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso and unburied for months.{{cite news| url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/showbiz/sherman-hemsley-dispute| title=Actor Sherman Hemsley unburied amid fight over his remains| last=Duke| first=Alan| date=August 30, 2012| access-date=August 30, 2012| website=CNN| archive-date=September 2, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902001538/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/showbiz/sherman-hemsley-dispute| url-status=live}} On November 9, 2012, the legal battle over Hemsley's body ended when Judge Patricia Chew ruled in favor of Enchinton.{{cite news| title=Will of Jeffersons star Sherman Hemsley is valid actor can be buried| date=November 9, 2012| website=Fox News| url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/judge-will-of-jeffersons-star-sherman-hemsley-is-valid-actor-can-be-buried| agency=Associated Press| access-date=November 9, 2012| archive-date=November 10, 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110082657/http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/11/10/el-paso-judge-to-consider-dna-results-in-dispute-over-estate-jeffersons-actor/| url-status=live}} A military funeral was planned for Hemsley. He was interred at Fort Bliss National Cemetery in his adopted hometown of El Paso.{{cite news| url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/military-funeral-planned-for-sherman-hemsley-months-after-death| title=Military funeral planned for Sherman Hemsley months after death| last=McKay| first=Hollie| date=November 14, 2012| website=Fox News| access-date=November 14, 2012| archive-date=June 6, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606010106/https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/military-funeral-planned-for-sherman-hemsley-months-after-death| url-status=live}}

Filmography

=Film=

Love at First Bite (1979) - Reverend Mike (film debut)
Stewardess School (1986) - Mr. Buttersworth
Ghost Fever (1986) - Buford/Jethro
Club Fed (1990) - Reverend James Dooley
Mr. Nanny (1993) - Burt Wilson
Home of Angels (1994) - Buzzard Bracken
The Misery Brothers (1995) - Rev. Scheister
A Christmas Journey Home (1996) - Steve
Sprung (1997) - Earl
Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997) - Harvey
Senseless (1998) - James
Mafia! (1998) - George Jefferson (uncredited)
Screwed (2000) - Chip Oswald
Hanging in Hedo (2008) - Henry Hunter
For The Love Of A Dog (2008) - George O'Donnell
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love (2009) - Pastor Reggie Johnston (final film role)

=Television=

All in the Family (1973–1975; 1978) - George Jefferson
The Jeffersons (1975–1985) - George Jefferson
The Love Boat (1977–1983) - Henry Bullard / Maurice Marshall
The Donny & Marie Show (1978?) - Guest star
The Incredible Hulk (1979, season 2 episode 18 "No Escape") - Robert
Pink Lady (1980; guest-starred) - Himself
Purlie (1981, TV Movie) - Gitlow Judson
Fantasy Island (November 7, 1981) (Season 5, Episode 5, "Mr. Nobody/La Liberatora") - Charlie Atkins
E/R (1984) (guest spots as Nurse Julie Williams') - Uncle George Jefferson
The Twilight Zone (1985, Episode: "I of Newton") - Sam
Alice in Wonderland (1985, TV Movie) - Mouse
Candid Camera (1986) - Dick Sherman
Amen (1986–1991) - Deacon Ernest Frye
227 (1988, guest starred in the episode "The Big Deal") - Thurmond Fox
Camp Cucamonga (1990, TV Movie) - Herbert Himmel
Dinosaurs (1991–1994) - B.P. Richfield (voice)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1992–1996, guest starred, TV Series) - Judge Carl Robertson / George Jefferson
Designing Women (1993, in the episode "Wedding Redux") - Mr. Ray Toussant
In Living Color (February 14, 1993) - guest appearance as George Jefferson in sketch, Lashawn: Dry Cleaners
Burke's Law (1994, in "Who Killed the Legal Eagle?") - Judge J.R. Powell
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1994, in the Episode "Seasons Greedings") - Winslow Schott
The Magic School Bus (1995, guest starred, in "Revved Up") - Mr. Junkit
The Wayans Bros. (1995, episode "It's Shawn! It's Marlon! It's The Superboys!") - Mr. Stone
Sister, Sister (1995, guest spots) - Grandpa Campbell
Family Matters (1995, Captain Marion Savage — Carl's superior)
Goode Behavior (1996–1997) - Willie Goode
Martin (1996) - Mr. Washington
All That (1997; guest starred in two episodes) - Doctor
The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (1998, guest starred in "Up, Up and Away") - Union Spy
The Hughleys (1999–2000) - James Williams
All That (1997, Good Burger food critic / Mr. Gurman)
Figure It Out (1999) (Guest Panelist)
City Guys (1999) (Episode Face the Music) - Slick Willy
Up, Up, and Away (2000, TV Movie) - Edward Marshall / Steel Condor
Mister Ed (2004, TV Movie) - Mr. Ed (voice)
Family Guy (2005, in a voice cameo ("The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz") - Himself
The Surreal Life (2006, cast member in 2006)
Clunkers (2011, 8 episodes) - Boss
Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2011, guest starred) - George Jefferson
One Love (2014) - Grandpa Roy (final television role, filmed 2012)