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. CLR
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| Organization | Category | Movie |
|---|
The Jeffersons
as George Jefferson
Episodes: 253
First Aired: Jan 18, 1975
Amen
as Deacon Ernest Frye
Episodes: 110
First Aired: Sep 27, 1986
Dinosaurs
as B.P. Richfield (voice)
Episodes: 29
First Aired: Apr 26, 1991
Goode Behavior
as Willie Goode
Episodes: 23
First Aired: Aug 26, 1996
All in the Family
as George Jefferson
Episodes: 11
First Aired: Jan 12, 1971
Family Matters
as Captain Savage
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Sep 22, 1989
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
as Judge Carl Robertson
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Sep 10, 1990
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
as George Jefferson
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 10, 1990
E/R
as George Jefferson
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Sep 16, 1984
Family Guy
as Sherman Hemsley (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 31, 1999
The Love Boat
as Maurice Marshall
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 24, 1977
The Wayans Bros.
as Mr. Stone
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 11, 1995
The Twilight Zone
as Sam
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 27, 1985
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
as Mr. Schott
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 12, 1993
Alice in Wonderland
as Mouse
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 09, 1985
The Secret World of Alex Mack
as Professor Lake
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 08, 1994
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as The Miller (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 12, 1995
Burke's Law
as Judge Powell
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 07, 1994
The Magic School Bus
as Mr. Junkett (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 10, 1994
The Incredible Hulk
as Robert
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 04, 1977
V.I.P.
as Sherman Hemsley
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 26, 1998
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
as Wallace Pitney
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 22, 1992
The Surreal Life
as Self
Episodes: 9
First Aired: Jan 09, 2003
The Hughleys
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Sep 22, 1998
The Sonny and Cher Show
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Feb 01, 1976
Donny & Marie
as Self
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 23, 1976
City Guys
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 06, 1997
The Ben Stiller Show
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 27, 1992
Martin
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 27, 1992
Designing Women
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 29, 1986
Clueless
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1996
Battle of the Network Stars
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 13, 1976
The Big Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 04, 1980
Pink Lady
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 01, 1980
Back to the Grind
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 18, 2007
Living in TV Land
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 18, 2004
Tony Orlando and Dawn
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 04, 1974
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 1973
Dinah!
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 21, 1974
Popularity History
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| 2024 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 5 |
| 2024 | 7 | 25 | 44 | 10 |
| 2024 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 5 |
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| 2024 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 3 |
| 2025 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |