In Memory of 'The Jeffersons' Star Sherman Hemsley: 12 Years After His Tragic Death

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It’s been twelve years since actor Sherman Hemsley died at only 74 years old. Hemsley was best known as George Jefferson on TV’s The Jeffersons (CBS, 1975–1985), about an African-American family who moved from Queens, New York to Manhattan. This is his story.

A Closer Look

Sherman Hemsley was born on February 1, 1938, in Philadelphia, PA to blue-collar parents.

Hemsley discovered acting while in school where his teachers requested their students to portray different roles. Hemsley’s first play was about fire prevention and he portrayed the fireman. The future superstar eventually dropped out of school and joined the Air Force.

Hemsley relocated to New York City, where he worked the graveyard shift as a post office clerk and as an actor during the day. He studied his craft at several acting workshops and theater companies including The Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). Founded by acclaimed actor Robert Hooks, the NEC helped actors/actresses obtain roles in theater, on television, and on the big screen.

Hemsley’s future Jeffersons co-star Roxie Roker (mother to music artist Lenny Kravitz) was also part of the NEC alumni.

First Came Purlie, Then Came George

Sherman Hemsley made his professional acting debut on the Broadway play, Purlie, and toured with the show for a year. While with the show in 1971, he received a call from producer/creator/writer Norman Lear, who asked him to audition for All in the Family, then brand-new.

Due to his contract with Purlie, Hemsley declined the role. But Lear promised he would keep the role open for him and the actor joined the series two years later.

Hemsley and co-star, Isabel Sanford (who played his TV wife, Louise “Weezie” Jefferson), became so popular with home viewers, that CBS spun them off into The Jeffersons.

The premise was this: dry cleaner George Jefferson expands his franchise and moves with Louise and their son Lionel (Mike Evans, then Damon Evans, no relation) to “a deluxe apartment in the sky,” as the “Movin’ On Up” opening credit theme song goes.

After George

After The Jeffersons left the air, Sherman Hemsley starred in another series, Amen, this time, for NBC in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Hemsley also made guest appearances on other shows like Solid Gold, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the animated Family Guy, and the sci-fi series, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. [In the latter, he reunited with his Isabel Sandford.]

Character Development

Although he never won an Emmy for his role as George Jefferson, Sherman Hemsley was nominated for the accolade in 1984 for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.

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 fact that he never married and he had no children.

In 2003, however, Hemsley granted a rare video interview to the Archive of American Television. “[Playing George Jefferson] was hard for me, but he was the character. I had to do it.”

In the End

Sherman Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas on July 24, 2012, from superior vena cava syndrome, a complication connected with lung and bronchial carcinomas.

According to the El Paso County Texas Medical Examiner’s report, Hemsley had a malignant mass in one of his lungs.