Sherman Hemsley dies at 74

Sherman Hemsley, who played the ground breaking 70’s character George Jefferson in All in the Family, died today at his home in El Paso, Texas. The character was so popular that the show was spun off to the long running (January 1975 until June 1986) ‘The Jeffersons’.

Officials say the cause of death is natural causes.

Hemsley was 74.

Before taking on the role of Jefferson in 1971, Hemsley was on Broadway with the production Purlie.

Hemsley also starred as the unscrupulous church deacon Ernest Frye in Amen in the 1980’s.