The Jeffersons cast made television history with the longrunning sitcom. However, it's been many years since the show aired. In this video, we're taking a look at The Jeffersons cast then and now to see how they've changed through the years.

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 Intro
0:18 Damon Evans as Lionel Jefferson
1:34 Marla Gibbs as Florence Johnston
3:08 Roxie Roker as Helen Willis
4:55 Franklin Cover as Tom Willis
6:06 Berlinda Tolbert as Jenny Willis Jefferson
7:27 Paul Benedict as Harry Bentley
9:10 Isabel Sanford as Luise Jefferson
10:35 Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson

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The show focuses on George and Louise Jefferson, a prosperous AfricanAmerican couple who have been able to move from Queens to Manhattan owing to the success of George's drycleaning chain. The show was launched as the second spinoff of All in the Family, on which the Jeffersons had been the neighbors of Archie and Edith Bunker. The show was the creation of Norman Lear. The Jeffersons eventually evolved into more of a traditional sitcom but did reference such issues as alcoholism, racism, suicide, gun control, being transgender, the KKK and adult illiteracy. The epithets "n***er" and "honky" were used occasionally, especially during the earlier seasons.

The Jeffersons had one spinoff, titled Checking In. The series was centered on the Jeffersons' housekeeper, Florence. Checking In lasted only four episodes, after which Florence returned to The Jeffersons. The Jeffersons also shared continuity with the sitcom E/R, which featured Lynne Moody, who made a guest appearance in one episode of The Jeffersons. Sherman Hemsley gueststarred as George in two episodes of the series, which lasted for one season. The cancellation of The Jeffersons cleared the way for Marla Gibbs, who played Florence Johnston on the series, to move on to the new NBC sitcom 227 in the fall of 1985, a year earlier than scheduled.

The Jeffersons 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"; actor Sherman Hemsley said he learned that the show was canceled by reading it in the newspaper. Sanford, who heard about the cancellation through her cousin who read it in the tabloids, has publicly stated that she found the cancellation with no proper finale to be disrespectful on the network's part. Per an article in May 8, 1985, Los Angeles Times, the series was canceled by announcement at the CBS network "upfront" presentation the day before, nearly two months before the airing of the final episode. Actor Franklin Cover, who played Tom Willis, also heard about the cancellation while watching Entertainment Tonight.

The cast reunited in a stage play based on the sitcom. In Season 5 episode 17 of The Fresh Prince of BelAir, titled "Will Is from Mars" (1995), the Jeffersons made a guest appearance as a couple in therapy class. In the 1996 series finale of The Fresh Prince of BelAir, the Jeffersons made a guest appearance as the buyers of the Banks family house. 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, Hemsley and Sanford made a special joint guest appearance in the Canale 5 comedy show Grand Hotel, starring the Italian actors Paolo Villaggio, the comic duo Franco & Ciccio, and Carmen Russo. They were guests in the fictional hotel and their voices were dubbed by Italian actors Enzo Garinei (George) and Isa di Marzio (Louise), who also dubbed their characters for the full series.

The Jeffersons Cast Then and Now (2022)