| Sherman Hemsley | |
|---|---|
 Sherman Hemsley |
|
| Birth name | Sherman Hemsley |
| Born | February 1 1938   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1968 - Present |
| Official site | www.officialshermanhemsley.com |
Sherman Hemsley (born February 1, 1938 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an Emmy Award nominated and NAACP Image Award winning, and Golden Globe nominated African American character 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 and his TV wife, Isabel Sanford, were very popular as the Jeffersons, but were typecast by the roles and were mostly limited to guest TV appearances and cameo appearances in movies, appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Designing Women, In Living Color, Family Matters, The Wayans Bros., Sister, Sister, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and The Hughleys. In 1984, Hemsley and Sanford had a special guest appearance on the Italian TV show Grand Hotel (playing their Jeffersons role); they were also invited to the Gran Premio Internazionale della TV, an Italian TV award show (similar to Emmy Awards) promoted by TV Sorrisi e Canzoni magazine, where they got the 'Telegatto' award for the best sitcom aired on Italian TVs. Hemsley was known to be a frequent guest caller on Tom Snyder's ABC Radio show. In 1987, Hemsley met with President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev during a celebrity appearance at the Cleveland International Peace Proceedings. Hemsley spoke with the two leaders, and was quoted as saying, "This Cold War guys - it's freezing out the little guy". It is unclear exactly to what Hemsley was referring. Hemsley also appeared with Isabel Sanford in a series of advertisements for Denny's and Old Navy. In 2006, Hemsley appeared on the sixth season of VH1's The Surreal Life. He also made a cameo appearance in Family Guy as himself making a George Jefferson religion..
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)
- The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990-1996)
- Dinosaurs (TV series) (1991-1994)
- Townsend Television (1993) (canceled after 4 months)
- Goode Behavior (1996-1997)
- Casper: A Spirited Beginning (1997)
- Sister, Sister (guest spots as tia and tamara's grandfather)
- Clips' Place (1998) (unsold pilot)
- Up, Up, and Away! (2000)
- Mister Ed (2004) (unsold pilot)
- The Surreal Life (cast member in 2006)
- Family Matters (guest spots as Carl Winslow's superior)
