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63-514: The show focuses on George and Louise Jefferson , a prosperous black couple who have been able to move from Queens to Manhattan owing to the success of George's dry-cleaning chain, Jefferson Cleaners. The show was launched as the second (and longest running) spin-off of All in the Family (after Maude ), on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker . The show

126-499: A Comedy Series each year from 1981 to 1985. Sherman Hemsley was nominated for Best Actor in 1984. Larry M. Harris won the Emmy for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Series in 1983. Isabel Sanford was nominated for 7 consecutive Best Actress Emmys, from 1979-85. Her win in 1981 made her the first African-American actress to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and the second to win any Emmy Award; Gail Fisher , who played Peggy on

189-442: A bad back, and frequently needed George to walk on it. He also became known for addressing the Jeffersons as "Mr. J" and "Mrs. J". Zara Cully played George's mother, Olivia "Mother" Jefferson , who constantly disparaged her daughter-in-law. Cully, who had first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode "Lionel's Engagement", reprised her role. She appeared regularly in the first two seasons, but made sporadic appearances over

252-460: A buffoonish manner." On May 22, 2019, ABC broadcast Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons , produced by Lear and Jimmy Kimmel and starring Woody Harrelson , Marisa Tomei , Jamie Foxx , Wanda Sykes , Ike Barinholtz , Kerry Washington , Ellie Kemper . Marla Gibbs reprised her role as Florence Johnston. George Jefferson George Jefferson

315-478: A generous, sentimental side that he takes pains to keep hidden from his family and friends. In the Season 4 Christmas episode "984 W. 124th Street, Apt. 5C," Louise discovers that George regularly makes anonymous donations of money and gifts to the family that now lives in the decrepit Harlem apartment where he lived as a young boy, to fulfill a childhood promise he made to himself that if he ever became wealthy, nobody in

378-486: A limited memory of her father and was always of the belief that he had died when she was very young. In the Season 8 episode "Louise's Father," however, George meets a man at a newsstand whom he suspects of being Louise's father. At first, the man denies his identity, saying that George is mistaken. But later, he acknowledges that he is Louise's father and decides to show up to see her. In the meantime, though, George has discovered that for Louise, finding out that her father

441-506: A loving, hard-working father and husband. Unlike Archie, however, George was quicker thinking, and usually cleverer. Frequently, plots in The Jeffersons revolved around George's usually dishonest schemes, which always ended in comedic failure. In the Season 3 episode "A Case of Black and White", George schemes to obtain a new client (a mixed-race couple) by inviting them and the Willises (also

504-415: A mixed-race couple) to dinner. When the Willises realize that George is using them, they leave before the new client shows up. This makes George bribe Florence the maid and Ralph the doorman into pretending to be the Willises. Eventually the Willises return, and by pretending to be Florence and Ralph, they help George land the client, while trapping George into throwing them an extravagant anniversary party. In

567-451: A nearby bar to the Jeffersons apartment building. The cast commonly visited the bar for a drink or to attend a party. Charlie was also revealed to be an alcoholic in the season 11 episode "A Secret in the Back Room", in which Charlie is in denial, but the Jeffersons eventually get him to admit to his problem and advise him to get some help. His alcohol problem isn't referenced anymore throughout

630-476: A popular long running series. The most common time slot was on Sunday night. In its first season ( 1974–75 ), the show ranked at number four, surpassed by its parent series All in the Family (which landed at number one for the fifth year in a row). The show's ratings for the following two seasons placed it in the Top 30, but during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons (the show's fourth and fifth seasons), it fell out of

693-536: A prospective business partner who was fond of her wisecracks. Paul Benedict arrived as Harry Bentley , an amiable, kind, loyal yet eccentric British next-door neighbor, who worked as an interpreter at the United Nations . A frequent sight-gag of the show was George slamming the door in Bentley's face mid-conversation, usually during one of Bentley's stories which George invariably perceived as boring. Bentley also had

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756-405: A qualified white woman employee quits, so she can work at George's biggest competitor, Cunningham Cleaners 3] Louise and Mother Jefferson allied with one another against George's sexist attitude. In the last episode of the series "Red Robins", George's dishonest "business advice" to his granddaughter Jessica Jefferson and her "Red Robins" girl scout troop about selling their uneatable candy results in

819-515: A special joint guest appearance in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel , starring the Italian actors Paolo Villaggio , the comic duo Franco & Ciccio , and Carmen Russo . They were guests in the fictional hotel and their voices were dubbed by Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series. As of 2023, the members still alive from

882-507: A successful chain of seven dry cleaning stores in New York City . The only background on the Jefferson family is that they were Alabama sharecroppers . In a very early episode, George's wife Louise makes mention of a conversation she had with George's father after she and George were married about the Jeffersons family roots. However, the show's writers later applied a retroactive change in

945-401: A tip. Most of the cast usually didn't respond, but George almost always gave in. He also used it in a blackmail manner, usually requiring George to pay more in order to keep his mouth shut about something such as a stock tip. Ralph was also known for making up stories of him struggling to fulfill the Jeffersons' request to get more tips. Danny Wells played Charlie, the owner and a bartender of

1008-481: A working-class neighborhood in the borough of Queens , next door to the Bunker family, with his wife Louise ( Isabel Sanford ) and son Lionel ( Mike Evans ). During the period between 1971 and 1973, George's perpetual absence was explained as being a result of his refusal to set foot in his bigoted neighbor Archie Bunker 's home, although in later episodes, relationships between Jefferson and Bunker thawed somewhat. When

1071-557: Is a character, portrayed by Emmy Award -winning actress Isabel Sanford , who appeared first in a supporting role on the television series All in the Family and was one of the main characters in its spinoff series, The Jeffersons . The role lasted from 1971 to 1985, from her debut on All in the Family through the final episode of The Jeffersons . She was often referred to as "Weezy" by her on-screen husband, George Jefferson , and sometimes as "Mrs. J." by her neighbor Archie Bunker and later by her neighbor Harry Bentley. She

1134-503: Is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley on the American television sitcoms All in the Family (1973–1975, 1978) and its spin-off The Jeffersons (1975–1985), in which he serves as the program's protagonist . He appeared in all 253 episodes of The Jeffersons . George Jefferson was born in Harlem in 1929, an ambitious African-American entrepreneur who started and managed

1197-450: Is actually alive would not be good news. His being alive and well would mean that her father had willingly chosen to abandon her as a child, and that is a thought which she cannot bear. When her father does come to the Jeffersons' apartment, he is able to receive the satisfaction of seeing how his daughter turned out, but at George's insistence, he spares her feelings when he is introduced to her, by reverting to his original story: that George

1260-552: Is later contradicted in a Season Six episode of The Jeffersons, "The First Store". George's brother Henry Jefferson, played by veteran character actor Mel Stewart , appeared in All in the Family during the lead-up to the spin-off of The Jeffersons . That character was created only because Sherman Hemsley was starring in the Broadway musical Purlie and not yet available to take on the part of George. Once Hemsley became available and joined

1323-556: The Family , Louise had to contend with the arguments between Henry Jefferson , George's brother, and Archie Bunker . While Louise recognized that Archie displayed some ignorance and bullheadedness, she saw similar traits in the Jefferson men. When Edith apologized for a poor attitude of Archie's, Louise remarked "Henry is no diplomat either". Unlike George and Henry, Louise was more favorably disposed to Archie Bunker, having visiting him when he had been hospitalized, and fondly remembering Archie during an episode of The Jeffersons when there

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1386-680: The George Jefferson character is such that Michelle Obama , the wife of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama , referenced George Jefferson in a June 2008 interview with the New York Times . Referring to an unfounded rumor discussed by a blogger that she had once used the word "whitey" in a speech, Michelle Obama told the Times : "You are amazed sometimes at how deep the lies can be . . . I mean, ‘whitey’? That's something that George Jefferson would say." Louise Jefferson Louise Jefferson

1449-550: The January 11, 1975 episode of All in the Family , titled "The Jeffersons Move Up", Edith Bunker gave a tearful good-bye to her neighbor Louise Jefferson as her husband George, their son Lionel , and she moved from a working-class section of Queens, New York, into the luxurious Colby East, a fictitious high-rise apartment complex on East 63rd Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan . The Jeffersons premiered

1512-451: The Jeffersons made a guest appearance as a couple in therapy class. In the 1996 series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , the Jeffersons made a guest appearance as the buyers of the Banks family house. In an episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne in 2011, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs reprised their roles of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston. In 1985, Hemsley and Sanford made

1575-469: The Jeffersons' store opening, the family lived in a derelict section of Harlem . George had worked as a janitor at the Hempstead Apartments, and Louise as a housekeeper. In the third episode of All in the Family "My Aching Back", Lionel Jefferson explained that his father was able to open his cleaning store with a $ 3,200 ($ 21,467.34 in 2021) settlement after being rear-ended by a bus. Although this

1638-469: The July 2, 1985, episode, "Red Robins"; actor Sherman Hemsley , who portrayed George Jefferson, said he learned that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper. Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson), who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read it in the tabloids, publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part. Per an article in

1701-608: The May 8, 1985, Los Angeles Times , the series was cancelled by announcement at the CBS network "upfront" presentation the day before, nearly two months before the airing of the final episode. Actor Franklin Cover , who played Tom Willis, also heard about the cancellation while watching Entertainment Tonight . The cast reunited in a stage play based on the sitcom. In season 5 episode 17 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , titled "Will Is from Mars" (1995),

1764-452: The TV show Mannix , preceded her in 1970. Sanford was also the recipient of five of the eight Golden Globe Awards nominations the program received. Gregory Kane , journalist for The Baltimore Sun , called the series "demeaning" in 1999, criticizing Hemsley's "pimp roll walk", bigotry, loud mouth and low intelligence. "I hereby declare The Jeffersons stereotypical fare that depicts blacks in

1827-408: The apartment would experience an unhappy Christmas again. In the Season 9 episode "Change for a Dollar," it is revealed to the audience that George's weekly tradition of going to his first store after closing to count his money is actually an excuse to provide free dry-cleaning services to his first customer, a well-off woman who referred her friends to his store and has now fallen into poverty following

1890-415: The cast, the character of his brother became extraneous, and as a result, Henry Jefferson never appeared on The Jeffersons . Henry's absence was attributed to his family's move to Chicago , but was mentioned one time when he had a son named Raymond (played by Gary Coleman ), who came to visit his aunt Louise and uncle George in one episode of The Jeffersons . During All in the Family , Jefferson lived in

1953-578: The character until Hemsley was available. Lear created the character of Henry Jefferson , George's younger brother, who was portrayed by Mel Stewart which replaced George with Henry in the series's scripts until Purlie finished its run. Henry played as George when Louise felt embarrassed that George did not want to be in Archie Bunker's house due to prejudice. George was introduced in the episode "Henry's Farewell", and Hemsley and Stewart share their only scene together in its final minutes. The episode marked

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2016-439: The concept. George, Louise, and Lionel continued to appear on All in the Family until 1975, when the spin-off The Jeffersons , also created by Lear, premiered. The characters of Lionel's multiracial fiancée, Jenny , and her family, all of whom first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode "Lionel's Engagement", were also written into the new series. However, the roles were all recast, with Berlinda Tolbert taking over

2079-501: The continuity of George's father, such that he had died when George was 10 years old. This left George to take care of his mother; therefore, George was unable to complete high school . He was a cook in the US Navy during the Korean War . He began dating Louise when they were teenagers and married her upon his discharge from the navy in 1951; by 1979 they had been married 28 years. Before

2142-444: The death of her husband. Hemsley appeared as George twice on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , appearing along with Isabel Sanford as Louise, debating whether to buy the house Will Smith 's character had lived in for the last several years from his aunt and uncle in the later episode. The following is a list of All in the Family episodes featuring George Jefferson before and during The Jeffersons . The lingering cultural impact of

2205-536: The episode "George and Jimmy" George's big-mouthed attempts to invite US President Jimmy Carter to his home as a publicity stunt backfires with George almost being arrested by the US Secret Service. In another episode "George and the Manager" George's refusal to hire any woman to be the manager of his cleaning store results in 1] A qualified African American woman refusing to work for George under any circumstances 2]

2268-588: The final appearance of Henry throughout the series. The idea of the Jeffersons "moving on up" came after three members of the Black Panthers who were fans of Lear's productions visited Lear's CBS office, raising issues with the creator over the portrayal of Black people on television, including his Maude spin-off series Good Times . "Every time you see a Black man on the tube, he is dirt poor, wears shit clothes, can't afford nothing," Lear recalled in his autobiography. Lear consulted with his associate Al Burton on

2331-520: The first episode of The Jeffersons , George insisted on hiring a maid. Both George and Louise grew up in poverty, and Louise felt it was not necessary to hire a maid. George won out and Florence Johnston ( Marla Gibbs ) was hired a few days a week. Over time, the role of Florence expanded and she became a live-in maid. Louise and Florence became great friends over the years while Florence and George often argued. Louise grew up in Harlem, New York. She had only

2394-519: The first six seasons of The Jeffersons on DVD in Region 1 between 2002 and 2007. On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including The Jeffersons . They subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on May 20, 2014. On August 8, 2014, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired

2457-446: The following seasons. Louise made friends with Tom and Helen Willis , an interracial couple with two adult children of their own (whom George derided as " zebras "): son Allan (played by Andrew Rubin in the first-season finale, and by Jay Hammer throughout season 5), a white-passing college drop-out; and daughter Jenny, an aspiring fashion designer . Jenny and Lionel became a couple, married on December 24, 1976, and later became

2520-517: The following week, on January 18, 1975. George's career as a dry-cleaner began in the first season of All in the Family in the third episode "Oh, My Aching Back" (though the character himself did not appear on-camera). After his car was rear-ended by a bus, he filed a civil action and won $ 5000, enough to open his first store in Queens. At the beginning of The Jeffersons , he was operating five stores throughout New York City, with another two opening during

2583-561: The frequent racism and interracial marriage plot-lines of early seasons were replaced with plots involving the Jeffersons' family life, as well as interactions with maid Florence (played by Marla Gibbs ) and neighbors. George would form a grudging friendship with Tom Willis and this was primarily what prompted Hemsley to ask for the aforementioned changes, feeling George would no longer make such jokes if he and Tom were truly becoming friends. In addition, while George nearly always appears to be stingy and insensitive, several episodes expose

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2646-440: The girls losing a chance at a scout Jamboree and Louise Jefferson scolding George soundly. Despite his constant self-victimization due to his background and heritage, George shows countless times in the series his immense hypocrisy and prejudices and that he possesses any form of bigotry imaginable: Like Archie Bunker, however, George Jefferson's personality softened as the years passed. By The Jeffersons series finale in 1985,

2709-446: The lyrics on her dream of giving her mother a comfortable retirement. With that inspiration, DuBois created the song and upon hearing it, Lear was stunned that it matched The Jeffersons' premise perfectly even though he did not describe it to DuBois in detail. With the song in hand, Lear created a full arrangement for it as the theme song. The Jeffersons changed time slots at least 15 different times during its 11-year run, unusual for

2772-512: The main cast include Marla Gibbs, Berlinda Tolbert, Damon Evans, and Jay Hammer. Louise Jefferson , played by Isabel Sanford , first appeared in the All in the Family episode "Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood", which was broadcast on March 2, 1971. The episode, the eighth of the series , centers on Louise, her son Lionel , and her husband George moving next door to Archie and Edith Bunker in

2835-446: The next two years, much thinner due to a severe case of pneumonia. Cully was written out in season 4 due to her death in 1978, from lung cancer. No episode was centered on Mother Jefferson's death, but it was occasionally mentioned in future episodes that she had died. Ned Wertimer played their tip-hungry doorman, Ralph Hart, throughout the series. He was known for constantly stalling at the Jeffersons' door with his hand out waiting for

2898-536: The parents of a daughter, Jessica (played by Ebonie Smith). Lionel and Jenny experienced marital issues as evidenced in a two-part season 8 episode "The Separation", and divorced in the final season two-parter "Sayonara". Marla Gibbs portrayed the role of Florence Johnston , the Jeffersons' back-talking, tough, wisecracking, and devoutly religious housekeeper . Florence often teased George, mostly about his short stature and receding hairline. One episode featured George requesting Florence to insult him, in order to get to

2961-460: The rights to the series from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; they subsequently released the complete series on DVD in a 33-disc collection on December 9, 2014. On April 28, 2015, Shout! released season 7 on DVD in Region 1. Season 8 was released on August 11, 2015. The Jeffersons received 14 Emmy Award nominations during its time on the air. Marla Gibbs was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in

3024-418: The role of Jenny, veteran actor Franklin Cover playing her father, Tom Willis, whose first name was changed from Louis, as it was in their first All in the Family appearance, and Roxie Roker as her mother, Helen. Roker was asked during a casting interview if she would be comfortable with her character having a white husband. In response she showed a picture of her husband, Sy Kravitz, who was white. During

3087-602: The series, but it is assumable Charlie overcame it. Mike Evans ("Lionel") left the show after the first season; his replacement was Damon Evans (no relation), who took over the role until halfway through the fourth season. Damon Evans's last episode was "Lionel Gets the Business". Mike Evans and Tolbert returned in the 1979–1980 season , with Tolbert's character, Jenny, pregnant with a daughter named Jessica. However, Mike Evans appeared for only one more season, along with Tolbert. The Jeffersons ' sixth season peaked at No. 8 in

3150-454: The series, which lasted for one season. The cancellation of The Jeffersons cleared the way for Marla Gibbs, who played Florence Johnston on the series, to move on to the NBC sitcom 227 in the fall of 1985, a year earlier than scheduled. The Jeffersons ended in controversy after CBS abruptly canceled the series without allowing for a proper series finale . The cast was not informed until after

3213-404: The spin-off series The Jeffersons began in January 1975, George and his family had moved "to a deluxe apartment in the sky" on the Upper East Side of Manhattan , owing to the success of his expanding chain of stores. Like his neighbor Archie Bunker , George Jefferson was frequently opinionated, rude, bigoted, prone to scheming and not particularly intelligent in a scholastic sense, but still

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3276-411: The summer of 1980. The characters of Lionel and Jenny were written out by stating that they had marital problems, the result of which became a two-part episode storyline as the series' eighth-season premiere. The series' eighth season was the first African-American sitcom in years (since Sanford and Son ) to peak in the top 5 (the series' eighth season debuted at No. 3). Evans and Tolbert appeared in

3339-453: The top 30, ranking 52nd in Season 4 and 49th in Season 5. It returned to the Top 10 in 1979–80 , and at the end of the 1981–82 season , The Jeffersons finished third overall, only surpassed by fellow CBS series Dallas and 60 Minutes . As a result, the series remained among the Top 20 for the next two seasons. The series was rebroadcast on CBS from February 4, 1980 to September 25, 1981. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released

3402-665: The two-part episode together; Evans made his final appearance in two episodes during the series' eleventh and final season . Tolbert became a regular guest star throughout the rest of the series. In the spring of 1981, Paul Benedict left the show for a season and a half, returning in the final two seasons of the series. However, the ratings sank below the top 30, and The Jeffersons aired its last episode, "Red Robins", on July 2, 1985. Source The Jeffersons had many two-part episodes, either over two consecutive weeks, or aired as an hour-long episode. Ja'Net DuBois and Jeff Barry co-wrote The Jeffersons theme song , "Movin' On Up", which

3465-537: The working-class section of Queens . Lionel, played by Mike Evans , first appeared in "Meet the Bunkers", the premiere episode of All in the Family . Norman Lear created the character of George Jefferson specifically for Hemsley. Lear originally intended for George to appear in the first season of the series, but Hemsley was starring in the Broadway musical Purlie at the time, and Lear decided to postpone introduction of

3528-402: Was a flashback to All in the Family . Likewise, Archie bore no real animus towards Louise. In the first few seasons of The Jeffersons , Louise dealt with insulting remarks from Mother Jefferson , George's mother. She was a calming influence in the household compared to George's temper tantrums and over-inflated ego. She was friends with Tom and Helen Willis , an interracial couple. In

3591-471: Was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence, who takes a job as cleaning management at a hotel. Checking In lasted only four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons with the story that the hotel had burned down in a fire. The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the sitcom E/R , which featured Lynne Moody , who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons . Sherman Hemsley guest-starred as George in two episodes of

3654-445: Was first introduced on All in the Family as a neighbor of Archie and Edith Bunker . Sanford appeared in 252 out of the 253 episodes of The Jeffersons . Louise was similar in many respects to the character Edith Bunker in All in the Family . Both were kind-hearted and had hot-headed husbands, and they were both good friends; however, Louise was not nearly as naïve as Edith. Prior to George Jefferson's first appearance on All in

3717-504: Was mistaken in believing that he was Louise's father. However, in other episodes, Louise's father is portrayed as having been more involved with her. In "Louise's New Interest", she talks about her father giving her a Native American doll when he couldn't find a black one for her. Louise had a sister, Maxine, with whom she was a constant rival when they were growing up. Louise believed that her mother favored Maxine, but it wasn't until Louise's wedding day that her mother told Louise that she

3780-475: Was pregnant, and, as a result, she introduced her son to the family. When Louise learned of this, she forgave her sister and they mended their feud. One episode of All in the Family mention is made of George Jefferson's brother-in-law who, like Archie Bunker, had fallen for a scam . Louise also had a niece named Julie Williams ( Lynne Moody ), a nurse who lived in Chicago (on the short-lived series E/R ). In

3843-422: Was sung by DuBois with a gospel choir . The song's creation comes from DuBois asking Norman Lear if she could do something other than her short appearances as a supporting player on Good Times , such as something in music. Lear responded to that by suggesting that she create a theme song about an upcoming series about a dry cleaner. DuBois initially struggled in composing until her mother suggested that she base

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3906-406: Was the better of the two. In her teen years, Maxine had run away from home, leaving Louise to care for their mother, causing more resentment of Maxine from Louise. In one episode of the show, George arranges for Maxine to return to New York from Paris as a surprise birthday present for Louise, only to learn that Louise hated her. During this episode, it was revealed that Maxine left home because she

3969-493: Was the creation of Norman Lear . The Jeffersons eventually evolved into more of a traditional sitcom , but episodes occasionally focused on serious issues such as alcoholism , racism , suicide , gun control , being transgender , the KKK , and adult illiteracy . The epithets nigger and honky were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons. The Jeffersons had one spin-off , titled Checking In . The series

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