How Sherman Hemsley Became George Jefferson & Redefined the TV Dad
Before he played Archie Bunker’s equally outspoken neighbor, George Jefferson, on All in the Family, and before George moved on up to a dee-luxe apartment in the sky in The Jeffersons, Sherman Hemsley was a stage actor with a passion for music. But it was Jefferson (and Norman Lear‘s groundbreaking sitcoms) who would turn the intensely private, Philadelphia-born Hemsley into an entertainment trailblazer.
Lear was so convinced that Hemsley was the right man to play Jefferson that he waited a full two years for the actor to wrap his theater commitments and report to the All in the Family set. Lear’s instincts were correct: Hemsley parlayed the show’s writers’ words, plus snippets of real people from Hemsley’s own early years, into a character that showed a Black patriarch character in a brand-new way.
Hemsley’s George Jefferson was the kind of husband and dad who barked much louder than he bit, and his wife Louise (Isabel Sanford) and son Lionel (Mike Evans, Damon Evans) knew it. Outwardly, George may have been abrasive, self-pitying and greedy, but deep down, his love for his family was as deep as his pockets. Despite his insistence on being the king of his household — and everything else — George was plainly besotted with “Weezy” even after decades of marriage.
And as a dad, while he may not have been a bear-hugging, heart-to-heart kind of guy, he was plainly proud to give the equally headstrong Lionel an upscale life and the tools to be successful himself.
Want to know more about the elegant actor who played this loving, if loudmouthed, husband and dad? Read on.
1 He worked as a postman to pay for acting school
Hemsley dropped out of high school in 10th grade to join the U.S. Air Force. He served for four years, then returned to Philadelphia, working for the postal service during the day and studying acting at night. He continued to work for the post office after he moved to New York to further his education with the Negro Ensemble Company. His Jeffersons costar Roxie Roker is also an NEC alum.
2 Louise Jefferson’s nickname was Hemsley’s idea
As a kid, Hemsley had a crush on a girl named Louise, whom he affectionately called “Weezy.” When he learned his TV wife would also be called Louise, he reportedly asked Isabel Sanford if he could call her character Weezy, too, and Sanford agreed.
3 There were interesting age gaps among the cast
Isabel Sanford as “Weezy,” Mike Evans as Lionel and Sherman Hemsley as George in The Jeffersons
Sanford was actually 21 years older than Hemsley. When The Jeffersons began filming, Sanford was 58 years old, while Hemsley was just 37. Hemsley was also only 11 years older than Mike Evans, who played his TV son Lionel for the longest amount of time.
4 Hemsley was a huge fan of progressive rock
A talented musician himself, Hemsley performed professionally as a jazz singer and keyboardist. But his real passion was progressive rock, particularly the music of the London-based prog rock band YES.
Hemsley was so devout in his devotion to the genre that he slipped a clip of Nektar’s 1974 hit “Show Me the Way” — and showed off his dancing skills in the process — into an episode of The Jeffersons.
5 Hemsley remained a bachelor all his life
NBC/Courtesy: Everett Collection
Though he played a dad on both The Jeffersons and his follow-up sitcom, Amen, Hemsley never married nor had children of his own. Rumors about his sexual orientation persisted, but Hemsley gracefully kept his private life private right up to his 2021 death from lung cancer at age 74. Only then was his personal life sadly dragged into the public eye, as his business manager and longtime housemate, Flora Enchinton Bernal, and a gentleman claiming to be Hemsley’s half brother battled for his estate.
Now tell us, who is your favorite TV dad? Vote in our poll!
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