Sherman Hemsley (1938-2012)

Sherman Hemsley, best known as George Jefferson from All in the Family and The Jeffersons, has passed away at the age of 74.

Hemsley was born in South Philadelphia. After a four year stint in the United States Air Force Hemsley returned home where he worked for the post office by day and took acting classes at night. He then moved to New York where he continued to work at the post office while acting at night.

Hemsley's early acting work was confined to the stage, working with Vinnette Carroll's Urban Arts Company. He made his Broadway debut in the early 70s, playing the character Gitlow in the musical Purlie based on the Ossie Davis play Purlie Victorious.

It was during his work on Purlie that Hemsley got a call from the creator of All in the Family, Norman Lear, who had written a part specifically for him.

Initially Hemsley was reluctant to leave his stage work and put off joining All in the Family for two years. However once he joined the cast his rapport with Isabel Sanford quickly caught on and the pair were offered their own spin-off, The Jeffersons. The Jeffersons ran for 11 seasons through 1985, making it one of Lear's most successful shows.

An ever popular character, Hemsley reprised his role as George Jefferson on a number of shows including E/R, The Fresh Prince of Belair and Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Hemsley was also an accomplished jazz keyboardist and he released a single, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head," in 1989, followed by an R&B record in 1992. Hemsley was a self-professed lover of 1970s progressive-rock bands and in 1999 he recorded an unreleased album with Jon Anderson, the lead singer of Yes.