StatsBirth Name: Sherman Alexander Hemsley Born: 1 February 1938 Died: 24 July 2012 Country of origin:  United States Height: 5' 6" Ethnicity: Black / African descent
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Sherman Alexander Hemsley played characters known to be wise cracking,"Weezy" loving, "honky" calling, boisterous fools which America and the entire world laughed with and endured kindheartedly. Sherman Alexander Hemsley air force veteran and actor was born on Feb,1,1938 in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,USA.
Sherman Hemsley was born to father (William Hemsley) who worked at a printing press and his mother who was a factory worker, working at various factories duri
Sherman Alexander Hemsley played characters known to be wise cracking,"Weezy" loving, "honky" calling, boisterous fools which America and the entire world laughed with and endured kindheartedly. Sherman Alexander Hemsley air force veteran and actor was born on Feb,1,1938 in Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,USA.
Sherman Hemsley was born to father (William Hemsley) who worked at a printing press and his mother who was a factory worker, working at various factories during the war. As a child Sherman Hemsley was introduced to acting during school, where the teachers would ask students to play different characters. Sherman Hemsley's first play he did was when he was a kid in school and it was about fire prevention, and Hemsley played the fire. Hemsley eventually ended up dropping out of school and joined the air force. Sherman Hemsley even during his adolescence never considered acting as a profession until after he served the air force. Sherman Hemsley then moved from south Philadelphia where he had grew up most of his life and moved to New York City. Sherman Hemsley worked as a post office clerk during the day and actor during the night. Sherman Hemsley considered New-York the best place to be as it had several acting workshops and theater companies which can further help Hemsley become a success. Hemsley then joined The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC)which was founded by Robert Hooks. His former co-star, Roxie Roker was also part of the NEC alumni. NEC had workshops which would help actors/actresses get roles on theater,television, and movies.
Sherman Hemsley made his professional acting debut on the Broadway play, Purlie and toured with the show for a year. In 1971,while on tour for the Purlie production, he received a call from producer/creator/writer Norman Lear. Norman Lear wanted Hemsley to do an audition for a role which was going to be apart of his sit-com, All In The Family. Due to Hemsley's Purlie project commitment he declined the role. Norman Lear said to Hemsley he would have the role open for him. Hemsley joined the cast two years later and began to enrich American television. Sherman Hemsley and co-star, Isabel Sanford were chosen to do a spin off of the show All In The Family, called The Jeffersons. Several spin-offs resulted from All In The Family which was seen to the world as comedic genius and some shows spoke the hardcore truth about poverty,racism,discrimination and other issues which had been condemning man-kind. This catapulted Norman Lear and several of his spin-offs to be admired by millions. Despite the age difference between the two entertainers,
Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford (twenty years apart), many described their on-screen marriage unconditional and truly hilarious. Sherman Hemsley was nominated for a Golden Globe for his outstanding performance as George Jefferson. The Jeffersons turned out to be a success spanning out eleven seasons and ended in 1985.After The Jeffersons, Sherman Hemsley steadily started working on other projects and in 1986 joined the NBC sitcom,Amen. Sherman Hemsley played religious deacon, Ernest Frye. The show ran for five seasons ending in 1991.In 1991 Hemsley then made his debut as a voice actor being apart of the ABC live action-puppet series,Dinosaurs. Hemsley played Bradley P. Richfield,Earl's cruel boss. The show ran successfully for four seasons. Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley made television guest appearances on well known television programs such as The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air and were even in commercials such as The Gap,Old Navy, and Denny's dry cleaning.
Marla Gibbs would often guest star as well. Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs guest starred in 2011 on the TBS hit-show, House Of Payne. In 1997, the remaining cast of The Jeffersons made a reunion on the Rolonda talk show, still having the same charm they did decades ago. Sherman Hemsley will be remembered as an actor who was on shows that addressed serious issues like suicide,poverty,crime,drugs, and would still be remembered as an actor who brought laughter into families homes weekly.
Trivia:
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 211-212. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
Played the same character, George Jefferson, on four different TV series and in a film: the TV series "All in the Family" (1971), "The Jeffersons (1975), "E/R" (1984) and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990), and the film "Jane Austen's Mafia!" (1998).
George Jefferson, Hemsley's character on "The Jeffersons" (1975), was ranked #44 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" [20 June 2004 issue].
Was over twenty years younger than his "The Jeffersons" (1975) co-star Isabel Sanford who played his wife on the series.
Is only 11 years older than fictional TV son Mike Evans on "The Jeffersons".
He and "The Jeffersons "(1975) co-star Isabel Sanford appeared in Old Navy and Denny's Restaurant Commercials.
The name "Weezy" came about due to a girl Sherman Hemsley had a crush on in real-life, named Louise. Sherman Hemsley would call her Weezy, and one day asked Isabel Sanford if he could call her character Weezy and she said yes.
Sherman Hemsley is also a professional singer having released a single in 1989 called, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head", with Sutra Records.
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