| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Friends, loved ones, and television fans across the |
|
|
nation will forever treasure their memories of actor Sherman |
|
|
Hemsley, who died in El Paso on July 24, 2012, at the age of 74; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born in Philadelphia on February 1, 1938, Sherman |
|
|
Alexander Hemsley studied as a teenager at the Philadelphia Academy |
|
|
of Dramatic Arts; he dropped out of high school to serve in the |
|
|
U.S. Air Force for four years, then returned to Philadelphia to |
|
|
work for the U.S. Post Office while continuing to study acting at |
|
|
night; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Hemsley moved to New York to pursue an acting |
|
|
career, and as a member of the Negro Ensemble Company and the Urban |
|
|
Arts Company, he appeared in a number of productions, including The |
|
|
Lottery, Old Judge Mose Is Dead, and Step Lively Boys; in 1970, he |
|
|
made his Broadway debut as Gitlow in the musical Purlie; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, During a national tour of the show, Mr. Hemsley was |
|
|
approached by television producer Norman Lear to play a character |
|
|
on the groundbreaking situation comedy All in the Family; he joined |
|
|
the cast in 1973 as the blustering and pompous George Jefferson; |
|
|
this character and his wife, Louise, played by Isabel Sanford, were |
|
|
such a success that they became the stars of their own show, The |
|
|
Jeffersons, which ran for 11 seasons, earning Mr. Hemsley |
|
|
nominations for the Emmy and the Golden Globe; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The Jeffersons went off the air in 1985, and |
|
|
Mr. Hemsley went on to play a scheming church deacon on the sitcom |
|
|
Amen, voice a triceratops on the live-action puppet series, |
|
|
Dinosaurs, and make guest appearances on The Fresh Prince of |
|
|
Bel-Air, Sister, Sister, Family Guy, and Tyler Perry's House of |
|
|
Payne; as one of the most beloved fictional couples in TV history, |
|
|
he and Ms. Sanford reprised their signature roles in commercials |
|
|
for The Gap, Old Navy, and Denny's, and they toured together in the |
|
|
stage show The Real Live Jeffersons; he was inducted into the |
|
|
Television Hall of Fame in 2012; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In later years, Mr. Hemsley, who was more reserved |
|
|
than the character who made him famous, enjoyed a quiet life in El |
|
|
Paso, where he made many friends and became active in local |
|
|
charities; after his death, befitting his service to his country, |
|
|
he was buried with military honors at Fort Bliss National Cemetery; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A gifted and energetic performer on the stage and |
|
|
the screen, Sherman Hemsley was in private life a modest and deeply |
|
|
spiritual man who took great pleasure in music and the company of |
|
|
his friends, and he leaves behind a legacy of laughter that |
|
|
continues to delight countless fans; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and career of Sherman |
|
|
Hemsley and extend sincere condolences to his friends and loved |
|
|
ones; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That when the Texas House of Representatives |
|
|
adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Sherman Hemsley. |