RIP Sherman Hemsley, 74...

man oh man, I loved that show

RIP Sherman

he brought a lot of smiles into a lot of homes

this is part of the episode he refers to in the interview

I just learned of this while watching TV. I really liked Sherman.

Awe, very sad, he’s moved on up. RIP Sherman!

I loved The Jeffersons, and I loved Hemsley on All in the Family before that.

He was such a good comic actor and particularly good at physical comedy.

It's nice to be able to leave a legacy of smiles behind, and he certainly did that.

That show was very good! They had an excellent cast of actors who really knew how to play their parts well. I watched that show regularly, because it was so enjoyable.

He was HILARIOUS. Was he gay? He never came out.

yeah I heard that discussion this morning as well - the other thing they mentioned is the fact that people tend to assume this of many individuals who never married....

I really liked Sherman and I liked his acting. May he R.I.P. Everytime I think of his role, the predicaments and his lines in The Jeffersons, I laugh. He really made that show funny and helped make it work. Actually, in retrospect, the ensemble cast was all-star quality.

I could give a fig whether or not he was gay. He never inquired about my sexual preferences either. We had an agreement about not asking questions.

This is one of the better episodes with George and Flo posing as husband and wife:

Apparently, he lived up the street from us, about four major intersections away. He'd walk to the nearby Albertson's in his neighborhood because he didn't drive.

According to the El Paso Times, "Hemsley had lived in El Paso off and on for more than 10 years before moving to the city full time. Hemsley, who was involved in local charitable causes, said in a previous interview that he liked El Paso's 'peacefulness' compared with Los Angeles.'

It's ironic that El Paso's a stone's throw away from the most violent city on Earth: Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.

He was good as George Jefferson, but also as Deacon Frye in "Amen."

He dabbled in music, and perhaps not one of his better moment in his career, he performed his song "Ain't That A Kick In the Head" on Soul Train:

Ah yeah, they played him singing on the radio this morning - not one of his strong talents.

But I loved him as a comedian - although I loved the Jeffersons and the complete cast on that show, I think his character was best playing against Archie Bunker.

It was a bit more than he never married. He (if I remember correctly) took part in a documentary about gay life in acting....although he didn't divulge his personal orientation - it was implied. (But that is from a woman of faulty memory...maybe someone can confirm - or not.)

I think you are referring to this -

"While there was no official confirmation during his lifetime, there was frequent speculation that Hemsley was a gay man. A 2007 VH1 story that listed three favorite allegedly gay black actors from the past put Hemsley in the top spot. The story also references a frequent but unsubstantiated rumor that Hemsley's sexual orientation led to problems on the set with Jeffersons costar Isabelle Sanford."

seems familiar, Linkat, thanks

He was a fine actor, absolutely perfect as George Jefferson.

Rest in peace, Sherm.

there were a whole lot of tv shows I missed during the 70'sJeffersons was one. I remember a couple of episodes of All In the Family where he was in. I thought the "pushy" nature of the political and racial subtext of the show made it kind of lame

Yeah, I agree with you. When the Jeffersons moved out of Archie Bunker's neighborhood, though, and were "movin' on uptown," some of the edginess wore off. Point is, Hemsley was just right in the role, no matter what you thought of the script he had to follow.

I recall reading several articles that Sherman was gay, don’t know that for a fact. I do remember reading Isabel Sanford donated money to a GLBT community service center in Los Angeles when she passed.

I only recently found out the late Roxie Roker who played Helen Willis is the mother of Lenny Kravitz.

I knew about Lenny's mom. Thanks for more info on Sherm, MMarciano.