Franklin Cover

Infobox actor
name = Franklin Cover


imagesize = 180px
caption = As Tom Willis on "The Jeffersons" , C. 1983
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1928|11|20
birthplace = Cleveland, Ohio, USA
deathdate = death date and age|2006|2|5|1928|11|20
deathplace = Englewood, New Jersey, USA
occupation = Actor
yearsactive = 1950's - 2005
spouse = Mary Bradford Stone, 1965 - his death
children = Bradford (son), Susan (daughter)
religion =
emmyawards =

Franklin Cover (November 20, 1928 – February 5, 2006) was an American actor most noted for starring on the sitcom "The Jeffersons". His character, Tom Willis, was half of one of the first interracial marriages to be seen on prime-time television.

Cover was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His career started on the stage acting in "Henry IV, Part 1" and "Hamlet". He also appeared in "Forty Carats" with Julie Harris. He made his television debut on "Naked City" and later appeared on "The Jackie Gleason Show".

His first significant role was on "The Jeffersons" as Tom Willis who was married to a black wife, Helen, played by Roxie Roker. The couple lived in the same high-rise apartment building as the sitcom's title characters. Cover would often be the foil to Sherman Hemsley's black businessman, George Jefferson. The sitcom ran from 1975 to 1985. He also appeared in "The Stepford Wives" in 1975. [http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,18337,00.html]

Following the end of "The Jeffersons", Cover continued to make guest appearances on television shows as well as appearing in a supporting role in "Wall Street". In 1994, he appeared in the first episode of "ER" to follow the pilot. His final appearance was in an episode of "Will & Grace" (entitled "Object Of My Rejection") in 1999.

Cover died at the Lillian Booth Actor's Fund of America home in Englewood, New Jersey, on February 5, 2006. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recuperating from a heart condition and died of pneumonia. He is survived by his wife,the former Mary Bradford Stone, and two adult children. His son, Bradford Cover, is a 1985 graduate of Milton Academy.

External references

*tvtome person|id=6461|name=Franklin Cover
*imdb name|id=0184429|name=Franklin Cover
* [http://www.legacy.com/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=16663669 Obituary at Legacy.com]
* [http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=a9c924ff-7e6c-4fde-ac30-199ff80dceca "Jeffersons Star moves on up" at E! Online, February 10, 2006]
* [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/02/12/franklin_cover_77_comic_foil_to_sherman_hemsley/ "Franklin Cover, 77, comic foil to Sherman Hemsley" at "Boston Globe," February 12, 2006]