The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons first aired in January of 1975 on CBS as a mid-season replacement. The series was a spinoff of All in the Family in which the Jeffersons were Archie and Edith Bunker's next door neighbors.
In 1975, The Jeffersons moved on up when George found success in a dry cleaning business. This allowed him and his wife, Louise and their son Lionel to "move on up" into a spacious high rise apartment. At the beginning of the series, Lionel was attending college and graduated in February 1976. He married Jenny Willis in December of the same year and they had a daughter in 1979, Jessica Jefferson.
Other members of the cast include, Tom and Helen Willis were upstairs neighbors and also Jenny's parents. Florence Johnston was the Jefferson's sassy maid who was hired as a part-time maid in the first episode but in October 1976 moved in and became a full-time maid. Mother Jefferson was George's fiesty mother who forever put Louise down but deep down loved her. Harry Bentley was the British, next door neighbor. Besides being quite eccentric and forever borrowing things from the Jeffersons, Bentley worked as a translator at the United Nations. In 1981, Bentley was written out as being transferred to Russia, but returned in 1983. Ralph was the building doorman who forever begged for tips from George and the other tennents in the building.
Tom and Helen Willis were controversial characters since they were most likely TV's first interracial couple. Helen was Louise's best friend and they ran a Help Center which opened in 1977. As for Tom and George, it took the entire run of the series to develop their love/hate friendship.
Season 1
1. 1-1 101 18-Jan-1975 A Friend in Need
2. 1-2 103 25-Jan-1975 George's Family Tree
3. 1-3 102 01-Feb-1975 Louise Feels Useless
4. 1-4 104 08-Feb-1975 Lionel the Playboy
5. 1-5 105 15-Feb-1975 Mr. Piano Man
6. 1-6 106 22-Feb-1975 George's Skeleton
7. 1-7 107 01-Mar-1975 Lionel Cries Uncle
8. 1-8 108 08-Mar-1975 Mother Jefferson's Boyfriend
9. 1-9 109 15-Mar-1975 Meet the Press
10. 1-10 110 22-Mar-1975 Rich Man's Disease
11. 1-11 111 29-Mar-1975 Former Neighbors
12. 1-12 112 05-Apr-1975 Like Father, Like Son?
13. 1-13 113 12-Apr-1975 Jenny's Low
George wants to hire a maid for his new luxury apartment, but Louise, having worked as a maid herself for many years, doesn't feel comfortable with the idea.
Talk of ancestry doesn't interest George, who believes the past should remain in the past - until he learns that he was descended from African royalty.
Ever since the Jefferson hired Florence, Louise's life has been the same old routine and she craves a change, so she's interviewed by a businessman who invites her to work for him. Initially Louise feels upbeat about working, but then she realizes that her new boss is George's business rival.
Lionel spends time with high-society people at a party, thinking that he is "making it to the top." Therefore, he threatens to quit school indefinitely, much to the dismay of Louise.
George likes the idea of boosting his classy, luxurious image, so he asks Louise to purchase a piano for their home, despite knowing that no one around can play one. George later becomes positive that the piano will impress Mr. Whittendale, a wealthy banker he always wanted to meet, but the piano purchased turns out to be far too big for the apartment.
George's old friend, Monk Davis, pays him a visit, demanding hush money George has been paying him for years to keep a crime the two committed a secret from Louise and Lionel.
Louise's Uncle Ward visits the Jeffersons, but George derisively refers to him as an "Uncle Tom" for having worked as a butler for many years.
Louise tells George that his mother and her boyfriend of two weeks are thinking about marrying and moving to Florida. George thinks that the man is a fortune-hunter trying to go through Mother Jefferson to get George's money.
Publicity-seeker George learns that a newspaper reporter is planning a series of articles on successful African-American businessmen, but his decision to invite the reporter to a party backfires when the reporter finds far more interesting subjects: Mr. Bentley and the Willises.
Goerge comes home with an ulcer, and in order for him to feel normal and healthy again, Louise is advised to take every one of his wishes as her command.
Two last-minute invitations collide: George invites business magnate Coleman Harris to dinner on the same night that Louise invites their earthy former neighbors Roy & Natalie Simms.
When Lionel comes on like his father, sparks start flying between him and Jenny. George makes matters worse by touching off fireworks between Jenny's parents, Tom and Helen.
Jenny gives her brother an ice-cold reception when he suddenly appears after a two-year absence. George is the only one who understands Jenny's strange behavior and, unfortunately, he makes no bones about saying so.
|
Paul Benedict | Harry Bentley |
|
Sherman Hemsley | George Jefferson |
|
Franklin Cover | Tom Willis |
|
Isabel Sanford | Louise Jefferson |
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Mike Evans | Lionel Jefferson |
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Roxie Roker | Helen Willis |
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Zara Cully | Mother Olivia Jefferson |
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Berlinda Tolbert | Jenny Willis |
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Marla Gibbs | Florence Johnston |
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Ned Wertimer | Ralph Hart |
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Steve Carruthers | Party Guest |
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George DeNormand | Party Guest |
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Murray Pollack | Bar Patron |
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Moses Gunn | Monk Davis |
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Norman Stevans | Party Guest |
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Carole Androsky | Tanya |
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Paulene Myers | Diane Stockwell |
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Milton Selzer | Mr. Wexler |
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Danny Wells | Charlie |
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Ernie Lee Banks | Roy Simms |
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Arthur Tovey | Party Guest |
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Andrew Rubin | Allan Willis |
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Alvin Childress | Herbert Russell |
|
Ivor Francis | Mr. Curtis |
|
Bo Kaprall | Mike Moreno |
| Director | Jack Shea |
|
| Writer | Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, Bernard West, Norman Lear, Lloyd Turner, Gordon Mitchell, Barry Harman, Harve Brosten, Erik Tarloff, Art Baer, Ben Joelson, John Ashby, Jim Carlson, Dixie Brown Grossman, Gordon Farr | |
| Producer | Norman Lear, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, George Sunga, Bernard West | |
| Packaging | Box |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 2 |
| Screen Ratios | Fullscreen (4:3) |
| Audio Tracks | Dolby Digital Mono [English] |
| Subtitles | English | Spanish |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures |
| Layers | Single side, Single layer |
| Edition Release Date | Aug 06, 2002 |
| Regions | Region 1 |
| Purchased | For $ 24.95 |
|---|---|
| Watched | |
| Index | 257 |
| Added Date | Dec 12, 2012 01:15:25 |
| Modified Date | Mar 26, 2019 21:51:31 |