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.
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.
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.
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.
The handprints of Sherman Hemsley in front of Hollywood Hills Amphitheater at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
Hemsley, with Isabel Sanford, on The Jeffersons.
