Catch up with Marla Gibbs, Damon Evans, and more of your favorite stars from Colby East.

What happened to *The Jeffersons *cast? Here’s what became of the ‘70s sitcom stars

Catch up with Marla Gibbs, Damon Evans, and more of your favorite stars from Colby East.

By Kelly Martinez

March 13, 2026 5:00 p.m. ET

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The cast of 'The Jeffersons' moves on up. Credit:

It’s been over 50 years since the Jeffersons first moved into Colby East, but the iconic TV family continues to have a lasting influence on sitcoms today.

A spinoff of Norman Lear’s *All in the Family*, *The Jeffersons* is about an affluent family — George (Sherman Hemsley), Louise (Isabel Sanford), and their son Lionel — who uproot their lives from Archie Bunker’s neighborhood to a high-rise apartment in Manhattan.

*The Jeffersons *aired on CBS from 1975 to 1985, scooping up two Emmy Awards and 14 nominations over its 11 seasons. As one of the first shows to depict an upper middle-class Black family, the groundbreaking series paved the way for future Black sitcoms and shed light on hot-button topics like interracial relationships, class differences, and mental health.

Read on to see what the cast went on to do after *The Jeffersons* wrapped.

Isabel Sanford (Louise “Weezy” Jefferson)

Isabel Sanford in 'The Jeffersons'; Sanford in 2004 being honored with a Walk of Fame star.

CBS via Getty; Kevin Winter/Getty

Isabel Sanford played Weezy, George’s wife and Lionel’s mother.

Sanford first gained attention for playing the housekeeper Tillie in the Oscar-winning *Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner *(1967), leading Lear to cast her in *All in the Family*. Already a stage veteran, she also landed bit parts in acclaimed films like *Lady Sings the Blues *(1972) and *The New Centurions *(1972).

She nabbed an Emmy in 1981 for her performance on *The Jeffersons*, becoming the first Black woman in history to win the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category.

The New York native subsequently headlined her own sitcom, *Isabel Sanford’s Honeymoon Hotel*, but it was canceled after just five episodes. She later reprised Weezy (alongside Hemsley’s George) on two episodes of *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air* (1995–1996) and elsewhere guest starred on *Living Single *(1993), *Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper *(1994), *The Steve Harvey Show *(1996), and *The Parkers *(2001).

The actress married William Richmond in 1945, and the couple had three children before eventually separating. She died in 2004 at 86 years old.

Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson)

Sherman Hemsley in 'The Jeffersons'; Hemsley at the 2004 TV Land Awards.

CBS via Getty; Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Sherman Hemsley starred as hot-headed patriarch George, who was first introduced as Archie and Edith Bunker’s neighbor on *All in the Family*. In 1982, his performance won him an NAACP Image Award and he later scored Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

Unlike his brash on-screen counterpart, Hemsley was known for being shy and private.

“That [playing George Jefferson] was hard for me,” he said in a 2003 interview. “But he was the character. I had to do it.”

Once *The Jeffersons *wrapped, the late actor continued to work his magic on sitcoms. He headlined *Amen *(1986–1991) and became a ubiquitous ’90s guest star — namely *Designing Women *(1993), *Family Matters *(1994–1995)*, Martin *(1996)*, Sister, Sister* (1995–1998) — before scoring another lead role on *Goode Behavior *(1996–1997).

The Philadelphia native reprised the role of George not only on *Fresh Prince *but also an episode of *Tyler Perry's House of Payne* (2011), along with costar Marla Gibbs.

Hemsley died of complications from lung cancer in 2012. He was 74 years old. Shortly before his death, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

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Mike Evans (Lionel Jefferson; seasons 1, 6-8, 11)

Mike Evans as the original Lionel Jefferson.

Mike Evans was the OG Lionel, George and Louise’s son. *All in the Family *was his entry point into Hollywood, with Lionel being his first-ever role.

The actor initially left *The Jeffersons* after filming just one season of the series, and Damon Evans (no relation) subsequently took over the role of Lionel for the next three seasons. But, in classic sitcom fashion, he ended up returning for four later seasons.

Outside of *All in the Family *and *The Jeffersons*, the North Carolina native is best known for co-creating another classic Black family sitcom, *Good Times* (1974–1979), a spinoff of *Maude*. His other notable credits include *Rich Man, Poor Man *(1976) and the short-lived legal sitcom *The Practice *(1976–1977).

Evans died of throat cancer in 2006 at 57 years old. He was survived by two daughters.

Damon Evans (Lionel Jefferson; seasons 2-4)

Damon Evans as the second Lionel Jefferson; Evans in later years in a Pride Month special.

CBS via Getty; CUNY TV/YouTube

As the second actor to play Lionel, Damon Evans had to quickly learn the ropes when he took over the role in season 2.

Outside of *The Jeffersons*, he’s known for starring as young Alex Haley on *Roots: The Next Generations *(1979). He’s also had a bustling musical theater career, appearing in Broadway productions like *Via Galactica*, *Lost in the Stars*, and *The Me Nobody Knows*.

Roxie Roker (Helen Willis)

Roxie Roker in 'The Jeffersons'; Roker on 'The Joan Rivers Show' in 1993.

CBS via Getty; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Roxie Roker made history with her role as Helen, Louise’s best friend and George’s nemesis. Roxie’s marriage to Tom (Franklin Cover), a white man, marked one of the first interracial couples in television history.

The actress also had a successful stage career, winning an Obie Award and nabbing a Tony nomination in 1974 for her acclaimed lead performance in *The River Niger.* Elsewhere on television, she had a role on the original *Roots *(1977) in addition to later guest spots on *Fantasy Island *(1982), *Cagney & Lacey *(1985), *Punky Brewster* (1988), and *Murder, She Wrote *(1991).

Like her on-screen* *counterpart, Roker was in an interracial marriage, having wed news producer Sy Kravitz in 1962. The couple had a son, rock star Lenny Kravitz, before divorcing in 1985. She’s also the grandmother to actress Zoë Kravitz.

Roker died of breast cancer in 1995 at 66 years old.

Franklin Cover (Thomas “Tom” Willis)

Franklin Cover in 'The Jeffersons'; Cover at the openign night party for a revival of 'A Thousand Clowns'.

CBS via Getty; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Franklin Cover shook up the neighborhood with his role as Tom, Helen’s husband. They were one of the first interracial marriages portrayed on television.

Largely a TV bit player at the time, Cover was one of the husbands in the cult classic *The Stepford Wives *(1975) shortly before *The Jeffersons *began. He continued to be a familiar face on television in the years afterward, appearing on *Who’s the Boss? *(1991), *In the Heat of the Night *(1991), *ER *(1994), and *Will & Grace *(1999), among others.

The Cleveland native also had a small part in Oliver Stone’s *Wall Street *(1987) and found regular work on the Broadway stage.

Cover married Mary Bradford Stone in 1965, and they had two children together. He died of pneumonia in 2006 at 77 years old.

Zara Cully (Olivia “Mother” Jefferson)

Zara Cully as Mother Jefferson in 1975.

Zara Cully starred as Mother Jefferson, the original monster-in-law with a slightly sweet side (at least, for anyone *except *her daughter-in-law).

The late actress made her first appearance as Mother when she guest starred on *All in the Family*, and eventually became a regular on *The Jeffersons*.

Prior to taking on the Jefferson family name, Cully had booked a few prominent films, including William Wyler’s *The Liberation of L.B. Jones *(1970) and the Blaxploitation fave *Sugar Hill *(1974). She was also known as a respected acting coach.

The Massachusetts native married James M. Brown, Jr. in 1914, and the couple had four children together.

Cully died of lung cancer in 1978 at age 86, while season 4 of *The Jeffersons *was already underway. The NAACP posthumously honored her with a special Image Award in recognition of her legacy.

Berlinda Tolbert (Jenny Willis-Jefferson)

Belinda Tolbert in 'The Jeffersons'; Tolbert at the Chiller Theater Expo in 2022.

CBS via Getty; Bobby Bank/Getty

Berlinda Tolbert played Jenny, the daughter of Helen and Tom who later marries Lionel.

“For someone who was just beginning a career at that time, what a learning environment for me to be in,” the actress told *Jet* magazine in 2013. “It was that experience that really taught me what I know about television. From the producers to the writers to the crew to the actors — I worked with exciting, creative people. It colored my impressions of the industry in an extremely positive way.”

She had a long succession of guest-starring roles on television both before and after her time on *The Jeffersons*, from *Sanford and Son *(1974) to Hemsley’s later sitcom, *Amen *(1987). She also popped up on the big screen as Richard Pryor’s wife in *Harlem Nights *(1989) and as Samuel L. Jackson’s girlfriend in *Goodfellas *(1990).

In later years she appeared on *ER *(2004), *Six Feet Under *(2005), and *CSI *(2007).

Tolbert married journalist Bob Reid in 1979.

Paul Benedict (Harry Bentley)

Paul Benedict in 'The Jeffersons'; Benedict in 'A Mighty Wind'.

CBS/Courtesy Everett Collection; Netflix

Paul Benedict played Harry, the Jeffersons’ British neighbor who works at the United Nations as a translator.

Outside of *The Jeffersons*, the New Mexico-born actor is fondly remembered for portraying The Number Painter on *Sesame Street*. He had a steady career on the big screen as well, including supporting roles in *Jeremiah Johnson *(1972) and *The Goodbye Girl *(1977).

He took over as the title character’s butler in *Arthur 2: On the Rocks *(1988) in addition to other comedies like *The Addams Family *(1991) and Christopher Guest’s *Waiting for Guffman *(1996) and *A Mighty Wind *(2003).

But it was his performance as Harry Bentley that would largely define his career.

“I can’t help it if people always think of me as Mr. Bentley on *The Jeffersons*,” he said in an interview with *The Hamilton Spectator*. “It certainly proves the power of television and the force of appearing in a series that continues on the air for weeks and weeks. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I ever thought of it as my finest hour.”

Benedict died of a brain hemorrhage in 2008 at 70 years old.

Marla Gibbs (Florence Johnston)

Marla Gibbs in 'The Jeffersons'; Gibbs at a SAG event in 2025.

CBS via Getty; Amanda Edwards/Getty

Last, but certainly not least, Hollywood icon Marla Gibbs stole audiences’ hearts as fan-favorite Florence, the Jefferson family’s maid. She scored five Emmy nominations for her performance.

“I didn’t know what it was. It was called *The Jeffersons*, that’s all I knew,” she told *The Hollywood Reporter* about her original audition. “The part they wanted me to read for, Florence the maid, reminded me of my grandmother and my aunt in Chicago. So that’s how I played her. And the casting director liked it. She took me right over to the producers, and they liked it. By the time I got home, I had the job.”

While *The Jeffersons *was still on the air, Gibbs starred on her own short-lived spinoff, *Checking In* (1981), but it didn’t make it a full season. She later scored the lead role on NBC’s *227* (1985–1990) and has remained a small-screen fixture, in roles big and small, ever since. That includes a recurring role as D.J. Hughley’s mother on *The Hughleys *(1998–2002), a handful of *Grey’s Anatomy *(2022–2024) episodes, and, most recently, a spot on *Chicago Med *(2026).

The actress has won a whopping eight NAACP Image Awards during her career. Her film career includes roles in *The Meteor Man *(1993), *The Brothers *(2001), and *Madea’s Witness Protection *(2012),

Gibbs has reprised her *Jeffersons *character multiple times, including joining costars Hemsley, Sanford, Roker, and Cover for a theatrical reunion tour in 1993. In 2019, she made a surprise appearance on Lear and Jimmy Kimmel’s *Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons*.

The Chicago native married her high school sweetheart, Jordan Gibbs, in 1955. The couple had three children together before divorcing in 1973.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”