Neither Dead nor Canadian

A couple of friends were over recently, and Sherman Hemsley's* name inevitably came up. I'm sure it happens all the time chez vous too.

Some people remember him as the irascible Deacon Ernest Frye on "Amen," but to most he will forever be the irascible** George Jefferson, the success of whose seven dry-cleaning establishments enabled him to move his family to a "dee-luxe apartment in the sky" on Manhattan's fabled Upper East Side. It might have been "All in the Family" for neighbors Archie and Edith Bunker, but when "The Jeffersons" debuted in 1975, George and his long-suffering wife, "Weezie," left behind their gauche neighbors in gritty Queens with scarcely a backward glance. They'd finally got their piece of the pie, you see. No more fried fish or grilled beans for the Jeffersons.***

The mention of Hemsley's name prompted one friend to ask, "Is he still alive?" which in turn jarred the memory of a skit from long ago, back when "Saturday Night Live" was funny. Structured as a game show, "Dead or Canadian?" featured an emcee who would toss out the name of a long-forgotten celebrity. Contestants would guess in which of the two categories the has-been belonged. It was often difficult and always amusing.

Thanks to Wikipedia, I can report that Brother Hemsley is neither dead nor Canadian. He's not even very old, turning 69 on February 1st, inshallah. Still working, he has one movie in production and another in the can. And in a 2005 episode of "Family Guy" he appeared as himself, establishing a religion based on ... George Jefferson. That's got to be good; maybe I can find it at Netflix.


* Many people say "Helmsley." This is how you know they're not true fans.
** No one did irascible like Sherman Hemsley. No one.
*** Do people really grill beans? Seems tricky.