The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons title card, used from Season 3 to Season 11
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Don Nicholl Michael Ross Bernie West
Developed by	Norman Lear
Directed by	Bob Lally Oz Scott Jack Shea Tony Singletary Arlando Smith
Starring	Isabel Sanford Sherman Hemsley Marla Gibbs Roxie Roker Franklin Cover Paul Benedict Mike Evans Berlinda Tolbert Zara Cully Damon Evans Ned Wertimer Jay Hammer
Theme music composer	Jeff Barry Ja'net Dubois
Opening theme	"Movin' On Up" performed by Ja'net Dubois
Composer(s)	Don Great
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	253 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	David Duclon Ron Leavitt Jay Moriarity Mike Mulligan Don Nicholl Michael Ross George Sunga Bernie West
Producer(s)	David Duclon Ron Leavitt Michael G. Moye Jerry Perzigian Donald L. Seigel Jack Shea
Location(s)	CBS Television City, Hollywood, California (1975) Metromedia Square, Hollywood, California (1975-1982) Universal City Studios, Universal City, California (1982-1985)
Camera setup	Videotape Multi-camera setup
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company(s)	T.A.T. Communications Company (1975–1982) NRW Productions (1975–1979) Ragamuffin Productions (1980–1981) Embassy Television (1982–1985)
Distributor	T.A.T. Communications Company (1980–1982) Embassy Telecommunications (1982–1986) Embassy Communications (1986–1988) Columbia Pictures Television (1988–1996) Columbia TriStar Television (1996–2002) Sony Pictures Television (2002–present)
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Audio format	Monaural
Original run	January 18, 1975 (1975-01-18) – July 2, 1985 (1985-07-02)
Chronology
Preceded by	All in the Family
Followed by	Checking In
Related shows	Maude Good Times Archie Bunker's Place Gloria 704 Hauser

The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975 to 1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982 to 1985. The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms in the history of American television.^[1][2]

The show focuses on George and Louise Jefferson, an affluent African-American couple living in New York City. The show was launched as the second spin-off of All in the Family, on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker.

The show was the creation of prolific television producer Norman Lear. However, it was less sharply political in tone than some of his shows. The Jeffersons evolved into more of a traditional sitcom, relying more on the characters' interactions with one another than on explicitly political dialogue or storylines. It did, however, tackle a few controversial topics, including racism, suicide, gun control and adult illiteracy. Also, the words "nigger" and "honky" were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons.

The Jeffersons had one spin-off, titled Checking In. The short-lived series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence. Checking In only lasted four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons. The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the show E/R, which featured Lynne Moody, who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons as George's niece. Sherman Hemsley guest-starred as George in two episodes of the series, which lasted for one season.

The show ended in controversy after CBS abruptly canceled the series without allowing for a proper series finale. The cast was not informed until after the July 2, 1985, episode "Red Robins", and actor Sherman Hemsley said he found out that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper.^[3] Sanford, who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read about it in the tabloids, has publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part.^[4] The cast reunited in a stage play based on the sitcom. In the 1996 series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Jeffersons made a guest appearance and bought the house from the Banks family. In an episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne in 2011, Sherman Hemsley and Marla Gibbs reprised their roles of George Jefferson and Florence Johnston.

In 1985, Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford made a special guest appearance as the Jeffersons in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel, starring the Italian actors Paolo Villaggio, Franco & Ciccio comic duo and Carmen Russo. They were guests in the fictional hotel, and appeared just twice during the show, for a total of five minutes. Their voices were dubbed by the Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series.^[5]

Series development

Louise Jefferson, played by Isabel Sanford, first appeared in the All in the Family episode "Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood," which was broadcast on March 2, 1971. The episode, the eighth of the series, centers on Louise, her son Lionel, and her husband George's moving into Archie and Edith Bunker's working class section of Queens. Lionel, played by Mike Evans, first appeared in "Meet the Bunkers," the premiere episode of All in the Family; George would not appear on the show until its fourth season.

Norman Lear created the character of George Jefferson specifically for Broadway veteran Sherman Hemsley. Lear originally intended for George to appear in the first season of series; however, Hemsley was starring in the Broadway musical Purlie at the time, and Lear decided to postpone introduction of the character until Hemsley was available. Lear created the character of Henry Jefferson, George's younger brother, and replaced George with Henry in the series's scripts until Purlie finished its run. Mel Stewart was cast as Henry. George was introduced in the episode "Henry's Farewell," and Hemsley and Stewart share their only scene together in its final minutes. The episode marked the final appearance of Henry.

George, Louise, and Lionel continued to appear on All in the Family until 1975, when the spin-off The Jeffersons, also created by Lear, premiered. The characters of Lionel's biracial fiancée, Jenny, and her family, all of whom first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode "Lionel's Engagement," were also written into the new series. However, the roles were all recast, with Berlinda Tolbert taking over the role of Jenny, veteran actor Franklin Cover playing her father Tom Willis, whose first name was changed from Louis, as it was in their first AITF appearance, and Roxie Roker as her mother Helen. Zara Cully, who portrayed George's mother in one episode of All in the Family, resumed her role on The Jeffersons.

Synopsis

During the January 11, 1975 episode of All in the Family, titled "The Jeffersons Move Up", Edith Bunker gave a tearful good-bye to her neighbor Louise Jefferson, as she and her husband George, and their son Lionel, moved from a working class section of Queens into a luxury apartment in Manhattan. The Jeffersons premiered the following week, January 18, 1975, and 253 episodes were produced and aired during its 11-year run.

George's career as a dry-cleaner began in the first season of All in the Family, in the episode "Oh, My Aching Back" (though the character himself did not appear on-camera). After his car was rear-ended by a bus, he filed a civil action and won enough to open his first store. At the beginning of The Jeffersons he was operating five stores throughout New York City, with another two opening during the following seasons. Louise made friends with Tom and Helen Willis, an interracial couple with two adult children of their own (whom George insultingly called "zebras"): son Allan (played by Andrew Rubin in the first season finale, and by Jay Hammer throughout season 5), a zealous college drop-out who abandoned the family, passed as Caucasian and lived in Paris for two years; and daughter Jenny, an aspiring fashion designer. Jenny and Lionel became a couple, were married on December 24, 1976, and later became the parents of a daughter, Jessica (played in later seasons by Ebonie Smith).^[6] Lionel and Jenny experienced marital issues, and divorced in the winter of 1985.

Marla Gibbs portrayed the role of Florence Johnston, the Jeffersons' back-talking, wisecracking, and devoutly religious housekeeper. Florence often teased George, mostly about his short stature and receding hairline.

Paul Benedict arrived as Harry Bentley, a loyal, kind, handsome, friendly British next-door neighbor, who worked as a Russian language interpreter at the United Nations. A common sight-gag of the show was George slamming the door in Bentley's face mid-conversation. Bentley also had a bad back, and frequently enlisted George to walk on his back, since he was the same weight as a Japanese woman who had treated his back in that manner. He also became known for addressing the Jeffersons as "Mr. J" and "Mrs. J".

The series also stars Zara Cully as Olivia "Mother" Jefferson, who constantly disparaged Louise as not being a good wife. Cully, who had first appeared in the 1974 All in the Family episode, "Lionel's Engagement", reprised her role. She appeared regularly in the first two seasons, but made sporadic appearances over the next two years and was written out in the fifth season (Cully died in 1978, from lung cancer; no episode was centered on Mother Jefferson's death, but it was mentioned that she had died in season 5).

Ned Wertimer played the doorman, Ralph Hart, throughout the series. Another character, often spoken about but rarely seen, was Mr. Whittendale, the building owner, played by Jack Fletcher.

Cast changes

Mike Evans ("Lionel") left the show after the first season; his replacement was Damon Evans (no relation), who took over the role until partway through the fourth season. Damon Evans's last episode was "Lionel Gets the Business".

Mike Evans and Tolbert returned in the 1979–1980 season, with Tolbert's character, Jenny, being pregnant with a daughter named Jessica. However, Mike Evans appeared for only one more season, along with Tolbert. The Jeffersons's sixth season peaked at #8 in the summer of 1980.

The characters of Lionel and Jenny were written out by stating that they had marital problems, the result of which became a two-part episode storyline as the series' eighth season premiere. The series' eighth season was the first African-American sitcom in years (since Sanford and Son) to peak in the top 5 (the series' eighth season debuted at #3). Evans and Tolbert appeared in the two-part episode together; Evans also appeared in one episode during the series' ninth season in 1982, and made his final appearance in two episodes in the series' eleventh and final season. Berlinda Tolbert became a regular guest star throughout the rest of the series.

In the spring of 1981, Paul Benedict left the show for two seasons, returning in the final two seasons of the series. However, the ratings sank below the top 30, and The Jeffersons aired its last episode, "Red Robins", on July 2, 1985.

Main cast

Actor	Character	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Isabel Sanford	Louise Jefferson	Main
Sherman Hemsley	George Jefferson	Main
Mike Evans	Lionel Jefferson	Main					Main		Recurring			Recurring
Roxie Roker	Helen Willis	Main
Franklin Cover	Thomas "Tom" Willis	Main
Zara Cully	Olivia "Mother" Jefferson	Main
Berlinda Tolbert	Jenny Willis Jefferson	Main							Recurring
Paul Benedict	Harry Bentley	Main									Main
Marla Gibbs	Florence Johnston	Recurring			Main
Damon Evans	Lionel Jefferson		Main
Jay Hammer	Allan Willis					Main
Ned Wertimer	Ralph Hart	Recurring

Supporting cast

Notable guest appearances

Episodes

The Jeffersons had many two-part episodes, either over two consecutive weeks, or aired as an hour-long episode.

Broadcast schedule

The Jeffersons changed time slots at least 15 different times during its 11-year run, unusual for a popular long running series. The most common time slot was on Sunday night.^[7]

Theme song

Ja'net Dubois (from Good Times) and Jeff Barry co-wrote The Jeffersons's theme song, "Movin' on Up", which was sung by Dubois with a gospel choir. The song was covered by Sammy Davis, Jr. in 1978.

"Movin' on Up" found new life in the 1990s and 2000s in a number of television commercials and other references: for example, in Nelly's 2001 song "Batter Up" (which featured Hemsley as a baseball stadium public address announcer; Hemsley also performs his signature George Jefferson dance in the video) and in Will Smith's song "Gettin' Jiggy wit It" (Now they give it to me nice and easy/Since I moved up like George and Weezie).

The song was also used in the 2006 film Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. This time, the song was sung by Bill Murray who voices Garfield who joyfully sings about his new life in the palace. This version has different lyrics relating to Garfield's new life. The song is also referenced in the 2008 comedy Tropic Thunder and partially quoted in the animated children's comedy Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension.

In 2013, Beyoncé performed the song during her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

The rap group People Under the Stairs sampled the theme in their song "The Next Step II".

Popularity

In its first season (1974–75), the show ranked at number four, surpassed by its parent series All in the Family (which landed at number one for the fifth year in a row). The show's ratings for the following two seasons placed it in the Top 30, but during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons (the show's fourth and fifth seasons), it fell out of the top 30.

It returned to the Top 10 in 1979–80, and at the end of the 1981–82 season, The Jeffersons finished third overall, only surpassed by fellow CBS series Dallas and 60 Minutes. As a result, the series remained among the Top 20 for the next two seasons.

Nielsen ratings

NOTE: The highest average rating for the series is in bold text.

Season	Rank	Rating
1974–1975	#4	27.6
1975–1976	#21	21.5
1976–1977	#24	24.0
1977–1978	Not in the Top 30
1978–1979
1979–1980	#8	24.3
1980–1981	#6	23.5
1981–1982	#3	23.4
1982–1983	#12	12.0 (Tied with Newhart)
1983–1984	#19	18.6
1984–1985	Not in the Top 30

Awards and nominations

Actors on The Jeffersons received 13 Emmy Award nominations during its time on the air. Marla Gibbs was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series each year from 1981 through 1985. Sherman Hemsley was nominated for Best Actor in 1984. Isabel Sanford was nominated for seven consecutive Best Actress Emmys, from 1979 until 1985. Her victory in 1981 made her the second African-American actress to win an Emmy Award; Gail Fisher, who played Peggy on the TV show Mannix, preceded her in 1970. Sanford was also the recipient of the five Golden Globe Awards nominations the program also received.

DVD releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first six Seasons of The Jeffersons on DVD in Region 1 between 2002 and 2007. These releases have been discontinued and are now out of print.

On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including The Jeffersons.^[8] They subsequently re-released the first two seasons on DVD on May 20, 2014.^[9]

On August 8, 2014, it was announced that Shout! Factory has acquired the rights to the series and will release the complete series in a 33-disc collection on December 9, 2014.^[10][11]

On April 28, 2015, Shout! will release season 7 on DVD in Region 1.^[12]

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The Complete First Season	13	August 6, 2002 May 20, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Second Season	24	May 13, 2003 May 20, 2014 (re-release)
The Complete Third Season	24	April 12, 2005
The Complete Fourth Season	26	October 11, 2005
The Complete Fifth Season	24	August 15, 2006
The Complete Sixth Season	24	March 27, 2007
The Complete Seventh Season	20	April 28, 2015
The Complete Series	253	December 9, 2014

Footnotes

References

• Newcomb, Horace (Ed.). (1997). Encyclopedia of Television. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers: Chicago. ISBN 1-884964-26-5.
• Mitchell, Gordon Whitey. (2008). Hackensack to Hollywood-My Two Show Business Careers. BearManor Media: Albany. ISBN 1-59393-121-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Jeffersons.

• The Jeffersons at the Internet Movie Database
• The Jeffersons at TV.com
• The Jeffersons on TVLand.com
• The Jeffersons-related interview videos at the Archive of American Television

The Jeffersons Characters George Jefferson Louise Jefferson Lionel Jefferson List of The Jeffersons supporting characters Episodes Episode list "The First Store"

All in the Family Till Death Us Do Part Main characters Archie Bunker Edith Bunker Gloria Stivic Michael Stivic Recurring characters Joey Stivic George Jefferson Louise Jefferson Lionel Jefferson Henry Jefferson Stephanie Mills Episodes "Cousin Liz" "Edith's 50th Birthday" Related series Spin-offs Maude (1972–78) Good Times (1974–79) The Jeffersons (1975–85) Checking In (1981) Gloria (1982–83) Sequels Archie Bunker's Place (1979–83) 704 Hauser (1994)

Shows produced or created by Norman Lear 704 Hauser a.k.a. Pablo A Year at the Top All in the Family (1968 pilot, 1969 pilot) All That Glitters All's Fair America 2-Night Apple Pie Archie Bunker's Place The Baxters Channel Umptee-3 Fernwood 2 Night Good Times Hot l Baltimore The Jeffersons Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Maude One Day at a Time The Powers That Be Sanford and Son Sunday Dinner