Sherman Hemsley

Infobox actor
name = Sherman Hemsley

---

caption = Sherman Hemsley
birthdate = birth date and age|1938|2|1
location = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.Height 5' 6" (1.68 m)
occupation = Actor
yearsactive = 1968—present
spouse =
website = http://www.officialshermanhemsley.com/

Sherman Hemsley (born February 1, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor most famous for his role as George Jefferson, on the television shows "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" and as Deacon Ernest Frye on "Amen". He also played Earl Sinclair's horrifying boss, a Triceratops named B.P. Richfield on the Jim Henson sitcom, "Dinosaurs".

Career

Early life

Hemsley was born and raised in South Philadelphia by his mother, who was a factory worker. He dropped out of school and joined the Air Force, where he stayed for four years. When he left the Air Force, he moved back to Philadelphia where he worked for the Post Office during the day while attending acting school 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 the character Gitlow in the early 1970s Broadway play, "Purlie". [cite news|title= Ask Monika|publisher= St. Petersburg Times|page= 64|date= 1989-09-03] [cite news|title= Hemsley turns to stand-up comedy|author= Claudia Rosenbaum|publisher= The Washington Times|page= M2|date= 1989-09-03]

Work with Norman Lear

While Hemsley was on Broadway with "Purlie", Lear called him in 1971 to play the role of George Jefferson on his burgeoning new sitcom, "All in the Family". Hemsley, already committed to "Purlie", was reluctant to accept the role, but Lear told him that he would hold the role open for him, and Hemsley took it two years later. The characters of Hemsley and co-star Isabel Sanford were secondary on "All in the Family", but were given their own spin-off series, "The Jeffersons", less than two years after Hemsley made his debut on the show. Such was Hemsley's and Sanford's compatibility and credibility as a married couple that no one seemed to notice or care that in real life Sanford was twenty years older than Hemsley. "The Jeffersons" proved to be one of Lear's most successful shows, enjoying a run of 11 seasons before its cancellation in 1985.

1980s and 1990s

Though Hemsley was largely typecast as George Jefferson, he remained working steadily after the show's cancellation. He teamed up with the show's original cast members as "The Jeffersons" moved to Broadway for a brief period.

Hemsley joined the cast of NBC's "Amen" in 1986 as Deacon Ernest Frye, an unscrupulous church elder much like his Jefferson character. The show 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, Earl's sadistic boss. The show ran for four seasons, ending in 1994.

Since "Dinosaurs"' cancellation, Hemsley has largely retired from television acting, although he and Isabel Sanford reunited in the late 90's and in the early 2000s, reprising their roles in commercials for "Old Navy" and "Denny's". They continued to work together in piecemeal fashion until Sanford began having health problems leading to her death in 2004.

Filmography

*"Love At First Bite" (1979)
*"Stewardess School" (1986)
*"Ghost Fever" (1987)
*"Club Fed" (1990)
*"Mr. Nanny" (1993)
*"Home of Angels" (1994)
*"The Misery Brothers" (1995)
*"Sprung" (1997)
*"Senseless" (1998)
*"Jane Austen's Mafia!" (1998)
*"Screwed" (2000)
*"For the Love of a Dog" (2007)

Television work

*"All in the Family" (1973-1975)
*"The Jeffersons" (1975-1985)
*"Purlie" (1981)
*"Alice in Wonderland" (1985)
*"Amen" (1986-1991)
*"Combat High" (1986)
*"Camp Cucamonga" (1990)
*"Martin" (guest starred)
*"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (guest starred)
*"Dinosaurs (TV series)" (1991-1994)
*"Townsend Television" (1993) (canceled after 4 months)
*"Goode Behavior" (1996-1997)
*"" (1997)
*"Sister, Sister" (guest spots as Tia and Tamera's grandfather)
*"Senseless (Smythe-Bates Doorman)
*"Clips' Place" (1998) (unsold pilot)
*"Up, Up, and Away (2000 film)" (2000)
*"Mister Ed" (2004) (unsold pilot)
*"The Surreal Life" (cast member in 2006)
*"Family Matters" (Captain Marion Savage - Carl's superior)
*"All That (Good Burger food critic)

References

External links

* [http://www.officialshermanhemsley.com/ Official Website]
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