RIP Sherman Hemsley

[jaybrant]

http://www.tmz.com/2012/07/24/sherman-hemsley-dead-dies-the-jeffersons/

Sherman Hemsley, the actor who made the character George Jefferson famous in "The Jeffersons," has died, El Paso cops tell TMZ.

Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas.

Hemsley, who was 74, became famous during his appearances on "All in the Family." The spin-off, "The Jeffersons" was a monster hit. He also starred in the TV show, "Amen." He was also a professional singer and even released the single in 1989, "Ain't that A Kick in the Head."

Hemsley had no wife and no kids.

It's unclear how he died.

[Park City Skins]

:( Sigh. Rip Sherman. Thanks for all the fun memories of that great show.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb6ErLPt4t8

[terpskins10]

Damn, always loved the guy. RIP.

I'll spare you guys the cheesy joke of moving up to a deluxe apartment in the sky, though. Oh wait, I just said it. :)

[DCranon21]

Damn, he had to die on my birthday :( RIP Sherman Hemsley

[Predicto]

In my mind, he was an important figure in American entertainment history.

Basically, George Jefferson was the first major black comic television character that you could laugh at entirely because he was an irritating little dishonest schemer (not because he was a black stereotype).

[Yusuf06]

Wow, that's too bad. I always thought of George Jefferson as being almost the same character as Dr. Smith from Lost in Space. Helmsley was just as brilliant in his portrayal and I'll definitely remember him fondly. :(

[Stadium-Armory]

When I heard about this today, I went and looked at most of the old episodes on youtube. I didn't realize until now that I've watched just about all of them. Every day after school. Ahh.. growing up in the 70/80s was good:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItJqhk0f7rg&feature=player_embedded


Three's company, Good times, Sanford and Sons, Loveboat, I dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Andy Griffith Show, The Jeffersons.

To a lesser degree: Love American Style and Chico and The Man, but I was almost too young for those.

[SkinsGuy]

RIP Mr. Hemsley

[Bang]

WEEZY!


RIP.. he played one character type, but he played it very well. Very funny guy.

~Bang

[ArmchairRedskin]

I still do the George Jefferson strut every once in a while. I'm gonna do it today in his honor. RIP

[I_Bleed_B&G]

Damn, no wife no kids

[aREDSKIN]

http://www.tmz.com/2012/07/24/sherman-hemsley-dead-dies-the-jeffersons/

Sherman Hemsley, the actor who made the character George Jefferson famous in "The Jeffersons," has died, El Paso cops tell TMZ.

Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas.

Hemsley, who was 74, became famous during his appearances on "All in the Family." The spin-off, "The Jeffersons" was a monster hit. He also starred in the TV show, "Amen." He was also a professional singer and even released the single in 1989, "Ain't that A Kick in the Head."

Hemsley had no wife and no kids.

It's unclear how he died.


Too bad. One of the most memorable characters on TV IMO. Kudos to Sherman.

[Sticksboi05]

I loved his guest appearances on Fresh Prince. Get the lead out Weezy! That's a shame.

[skinsmarydu]

RIP, "George"...many happy times with the family watching you.

[Predicto]

I just realized that The Jeffersons was nothing more than a remake of I Love Lucy.

Crazy, insecure but ultimately good hearted spouse - Check
More sensible spouse who loves them - Check
Silly schemes that require lying and always go wrong - Check
Best friends are the neighbors next door who always help out - check

Am I the last person to realize this?

[Yusuf06]

I still do the George Jefferson strut every once in a while. I'm gonna do it today in his honor. RIP
LOL! :cool2: I used to love to do that when I was a kid. Sanford and Son, Good Times, The Jeffersons, etc. came about at a time when seeing Black people on TV was something of a rarity. In fact, whenever something with a Black actor/performer would come on people would call each other to make sure we didn't miss it. Even though his character was a caricature, at the time it was enough just to see someone on TV that actually looked like me.


Damn, no wife no kids
I've long suspected he was gay. Insert [not that there's anything wrong with that] here.

[Leonard Washington]

Oh no! I loved him "Amen" as well. RIP

[HogNose]

R.I.P Mr. Hemsley, thanks for the memories!

Always loved his scenes with Carroll O'Connor.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjhzhK2zryg

[GSF]

movin' on up...

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

I just realized that The Jeffersons was nothing more than a remake of I Love Lucy.

Crazy, insecure but ultimately good hearted spouse - Check
More sensible spouse who loves them - Check
Silly schemes that require lying and always go wrong - Check
Best friends are the neighbors next door who always help out - check

Am I the last person to realize this?
This was the formula for a lot of those older sitcoms

You could also say this is like the Honeymooners.




RIP Sherman Hemsley. He was actually a well versed theater actor before he took on the role of George Jefferson on All In The Family.

[RonArtest15]

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/1081189_o.gif

RIP

[Dan T.]

Hemsley never looked very healthy to me, even back in the 70s. Though he had some kick-ass dance moves. :ols:

[sacase]

Man that show brings back memories, it was so funny. Sadly, I don't think that humor would be appriciated anymore. I think jounalists and special interest groups would cruicify a TV show like that these days. But damn if it didn't confront a lot of issues head on and made light of them! I am gonna have to go backa nd watch them again!

[Kosher Ham]

That sucks. I had no idea. I watched about 6 episodes of the Jeffersons today...before I found this out. That kind of makes it worse.

He was so popular that it made it okay to have black comedy shows.

RIP Sherman.

EDIT: I actually met "Weezy" ( Isabel Sanford (RIP) ) way back when at PG Plaza of all places. She rolled up in a silver Volvo limo...never seen anything like that back then. Sweet lady.

[nonniey]

Ran into him at the El Paso airport. He recognized that I recognized him and quickly turned away - he must have thought I was going to talk to him - I didn't, nor would have. Always wondered what he was doing in El Paso, now I know.

[rumpshakers]

RIP Sherman Hemsley.
Wow, just watched him the other day and had a good laugh.

[SWFLSkins]

Damn, no wife no kids

Doesn't mean he wasn't happy. RIP Sherman, you made me laugh my ass off a bunch. You were so damn funny.

[MLSKINS]

Man, that sucks. RIP sir.

[SkinFaninOKC]

George: Florence your cooking tastes like dog food.
Florence: That's because I'm cooking for a chihuahua.

That show had me laughing every Sunday night.

[War Paint]

For some reason I thought he was already dead. I guess I was thinking of somebody else.

[pjfootballer]

Do you guys know that the actress Isabel Sanford who played Wheezy was actually quite older than Sheman Hemsley?

She was born in 1917, he was born in 1938. 21 years difference. So when the show began in 1975, she was 58 years old, while he was only 37.

[War Paint]

Do you guys know that the actress Isabel Sanford who played Wheezy was actually quite older than Sheman Hemsley?

She was born in 1917, he was born in 1938. 21 years difference. So when the show began in 1975, she was 58 years old, while he was only 37.

Wow. Didn't know that.

[pjfootballer]

Wow. Didn't know that.

And in the show Good Times, Esther Rolle who played Florida Evans was born in 1920, while John Amos, who played James Evans was born in 1939. The show started in 1974, so she was 54, while he was 35.

[HogNose]

What a shame.....not sure why his will wouldn't be honored.


(CNN) -- Sherman Hemsley's body lies in an El Paso, Texas, funeral home refrigerator more than a month after his death while a court decides who gets the actor's remains.

A Philadelphia man claiming to be the "Jeffersons" actor's brother is challenging a will Hemsley signed a month before his death, according to the funeral home handling his arrangements.

"It is disgraceful," Hemsley's longtime partner Flora Enchinton told CNN affiliate KVIA-TV. "It is sad. This was a man with dignity."

The will signed by Hemsley on June 13, 2012, a month after he was diagnosed with cancer, named Enchinton as executor and left his entire estate to her, according to court papers.

continued.....

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/30/showbiz/sherman-hemsley-dispute/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

[jaybrant]

What a shame.....not sure why his will wouldn't be honored.

Yeah. I figure a legal will signed by Hemsley himself about what to do with his remains should be it.

And if his "brother" cared about him he would respect Hemseley's wishes and not allow his body to remain in a refrigerator. Ridiculous.