[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 118 (Friday, August 3, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1443-E1444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF SHERMAN HEMSLEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CORRINE BROWN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2012

  Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and memory 
of my friend, actor Sherman Hemsley. This man was best known as the 
iconic and central figure, George Jefferson, in the sitcom, ``The 
Jeffersons'' who became one of the most enduring, beloved characters in 
television history.
  Much of that credit belongs to Mr. Hemsley, the gifted character 
actor who gave life to the blustering black Harlem businessman on ``The 
Jeffersons'', one of the longest-running sitcoms with a primarily black 
cast in television history.
  With the gospel-style theme song of ``Movin' On Up,'' the hit show 
depicted the wealthy former neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker in 
Queens as they made their way on New York's Upper East Side. The show 
often dealt with contemporary issues of racism, but more frequently 
reveled in the sitcom archetype of a short-tempered, opinionated 
patriarch trying, often unsuccessfully, to control his family.
  Despite the character's many faults Hemsley managed to make the 
character endearing, part of the reason it stayed on the air for so 
long. Hemsley's Jefferson loved his family, his friends (even the ones 
he relentlessly teased) and had a good heart. His performance was Emmy 
and Golden Globe nominated. The show's producer Norman Lear said that 
when Hemsley read for the part ``the minute he opened his mouth he was 
George Jefferson.''
  This man, the son of a printing press-working father and a factory-
working mother, served in the Air Force and worked for eight years as a 
clerk for the Postal Service.
  Having studied acting as a teen at the Philadelphia Academy of 
Dramatic Arts, he began acting in New York workshops and theater 
companies, including the Negro Ensemble Company. For years, he kept his 
job at the post office while acting at night, before transitioning to 
acting full-time. Sherman embodied the American dream, to ``move on 
up''.
  He had many other production credits other than playing George 
Jefferson. He made his Broadway debut in 1970's ``Purlie,'' a musical 
adaptation of Ossie Davis' Jim Crow-era play ``Purlie Victorious.'' (He 
would later star in a 1981 made-for-TV version of ``Purlie,'' as well.) 
It was while touring the show that he was approached by Lear about 
playing a character on the sitcom that would become ``All in the 
Family.''
  In an interview Hemsley said his show business career actually began 
in childhood. ``Making people laugh was automatic,'' he said. ``I was 
in a play in elementary school and had to jump up and run away. I was 
nervous and tripped and fell down and everyone laughed. Their laughter 
made me relax, so I pretended it was part of the show.''
  When we visited with each other, I was truly impressed with his good-
spirited personality and optimism that could brighten the mood of any 
room he entered. He was a fun man with a good heart. He once said, ``I 
always told my mother I wanted a job where I could have a lot of fun 
and have a lot of time off. She asked me where I was going to find 
that, and I said, 'I don't know, but it's out there.' ''
  Sherman Hemsley will forever be remembered as the loud and boisterous 
yet goodhearted family man whom he played for almost 10 years. The 
world is a little less funny today, and we should all celebrate the 
memory of Sherman Hemsley.

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