The Jeffersons: Once a Friend
8:00 pm - 8:30 pm, Friday, December 12 on WTIC Antenna TV (61.2)
Add to Favorites
About this Broadcast
Once a Friend
Season 4, Episode 3
George learns an old Navy bunkmate has had a sex change. Eddie/Edie: Veronica Redd. Louise: Isabel Sanford. Florence: Marla Gibbs. Leroy: Vernon Washington. Woman: Maxine Elliott.
repeat
1977
English
Comedy
Sitcom
Spin-off
Family
Cast & Crew
Sherman Hemsley
(Actor)
.. George Jefferson
Isabel Sanford
(Actor)
.. Louise Jefferson
Marla Gibbs
(Actor)
.. Florence Johnston
Veronica Redd
(Actor)
.. Eddie/Edie
Ned Wertimer
(Actor)
.. Ralph Hart
Vernon Washington
(Actor)
.. Leroy
Maxine Elliott
(Actor)
.. Woman
More Information
Did You Know..
Sherman Hemsley
(Actor)
.. George Jefferson
Born:
February 01, 1938
Died: July 24, 2012
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Died: July 24, 2012
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Trivia:
Hemsley is a short, aggressive black comic actor. He came to acting late; after working for the Post Office he moved to New York in the late '60s, hoping to find theater work. Soon he won the choice role of Gitlow in the Broadway musical Purlie (1970), and his performance made a strong, lasting impression on TV producer Norman Lear. When Lear's TV sitcom All in the Family became a hit, Lear created the character of George Jefferson, Archie Bunker's black neighbor; after deciding that his first choice for the role was all wrong, in 1973 Lear tracked Hemsley down in San Francisco, where the latter was appearing in the play Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope. Hemsley was signed for the role, and played it from 1973-85; from 1975-85 he was the costar of the spinoff sitcom The Jeffersons, a top-rated show for many years, for which Hemsley at one point earned $60,000 per episode. He later starred in Amen (1986-91). In 1981 he reprised his Broadway role in the cable-TV production of Purlie. He debuted onscreen in Love at First Bite (1979), appearing with Isabel Sanford, his TV wife. His screen appearances have been few.
Isabel Sanford
(Actor)
.. Louise Jefferson
Born:
August 29, 1917
Died: July 09, 2004
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Died: July 09, 2004
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
Trivia:
Defying her mother's wishes, African-American actress Isabel Sanford secretly worked as a nightclub performer in her teens. Upon winning 3rd prize in an Apollo Theatre amateur contest, Sanford could keep her new career a secret no longer. Married to a house painter who worked only on a seasonal basis, she held down a full-time job as a keypunch operator at the New York City department of Welfare, spending her evenings acting with such groups as Harlem Y and the American Negro Theatre. Seeking out better opportunities, Sanford packed her family into a bus and headed to Hollywood in the early 1960s. Her breakthrough film role was in Stanley Kramer's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; she played Tillie the cook, who heartily disapproved of the upcoming interracial marriage between Katharine Houghton and Sidney Poitier (the hardest part of this assignment was not mouthing the "controversial" dialogue but preparing dinner in a key scene; Sanford had never learned to cook!) On the strength of this film, Isabel Sanford was hired for several guest spots on The Carol Burnett Show, which led to her most famous characterization: Louise Jefferson, the acerbic but loving wife of "movin' on up" Sherman Hemsley, on the immensely popular sitcom The Jeffersons (1975-82).
Marla Gibbs
(Actor)
.. Florence Johnston
Born:
June 14, 1931
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Trivia:
Was employed by a major airline when she was cast on The Jeffersons; continued working for the airline during her first few seasons on the show. Is also a singer; released an album, It's Never Too Late, in 2006. Reunited with actress Regina King, who played her daughter on the 1980s sitcom 227, in a 2012 episode of Southland.
Veronica Redd
(Actor)
.. Eddie/Edie
Ned Wertimer
(Actor)
.. Ralph Hart
Born:
October 27, 1923
Died: January 02, 2013
Died: January 02, 2013
Vernon Washington
(Actor)
.. Leroy
Born:
January 01, 1923
Died: January 01, 1988
Died: January 01, 1988
Trivia:
American actor Vernon Washington appeared in feature films from the early '60s through 1984.
Maxine Elliott
(Actor)
.. Woman
