"The Jeffersons" premieres on CBS - January 18th, 1975

On this day in 1975, the groundbreaking sitcom "The Jeffersons" aired for the first time on CBS.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show for those interested in the primetime moments of everyday history.
I'm Gay, Bluesier, and today we're giving a turn at
back to one of the most overlooked classic sitcoms of

(00:21):
the nineteen seventies. The day was January eighteenth, nineteen seventy five,
the groundbreaking sitcom The Jeffersons aired for the first time
on CBS. Unlike other shows of the era, the Jeffersons

(00:43):
depicted black characters who were upwardly mobile, a conscious choice
made in response to concerns raised by members of the
Black Panthers, and while the show was still guilty of
perpetuating its share of stereotypes in terms of representation, it
was still viewed is a step in the right direction.
With its sharp wit and provocative social commentary, The Jeffersons

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made a huge splash from the start. It went on
to run for eleven seasons and two hundred and fifty
three episodes, becoming one of the longest running sitcoms in
TV history for nearly forty years. It was also the
longest running to feature a predominantly black cast, but in
twenty twelve, the show's episode count was finally overtaken by

(01:29):
Tyler Perry's House of Pay, though The Jeffersons still has
it beat when it comes to total number of seasons.
The Jeffersons began life as a spin off of All
in the Family, an acclaimed and controversial comedy series from
legendary creator and producer Norman Lear. Debuting in nineteen seventy one,

(01:49):
All in the Family followed the lives of a working
class white couple from Queens, New York, the loud mouthed
bigot Archie Bunker played by Carol O'Connor and his dis
see but kind hearted wife, Edith, played by Gene Stapleton.
The show's unique brand of edgy confrontational humor struck a
chord with the public, and after several seasons of sky

(02:12):
high ratings, CBS asked Norman Lear to develop several new
series as spin offs. By that point, actors Sherman Hemsley
and Isabelle Sandford had spent several years portraying George and
Louise Jefferson, the African American neighbors of the Bunkers. Naturally,
one of the first pitches Lear came up with was

(02:33):
to build a new show around the characters, but Hemsley
and Sandford weren't sure that was such a good idea.
After all, they both had steady gigs on a hit
show when there was no guarantee that Jeffersons would catch on.
The show's unusual premise helped convince them to take the chance.
Instead of being set right next door to the Bunkers,

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the show would instead relocate the Jeffersons to a luxurious
high rise apartment on Manhattan's trendy east Side. The groundwork
for this change in fortune was laid way back in
the third episode of All in the Family. Although the
character of George doesn't appear on screen, we learned that
his car was rear ended by a bus, eventually resulting

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in a five thousand dollars settlement, which he then uses
to open his first dry cleaning store in Queen's. At
the beginning of The Jeffersons, it's revealed that George now
owns five locations, and he's decided that the family needs
a new lifestyle to better match their new found wealth.
The couple's arrival to high society was joyfully announced in

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the show's now famous theme song, Moving on Up, take
a listen. The Jeffersons was well received in its first

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weeks on the air, and became the fourth most watched
sitcom in the country during its inaugural season. A good
chunk of that early success was due to the popularity
of breakout character Florence Johnston, the Jefferson snarky black housekeeper
whom they hire at the end of the first episode.
Florence wasn't intended to make regular appearances on the show,

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but actress Marla Gibbs was so good in the role
that she was quickly made a series regular. Part of
Florence's appeal was as a much needed foil to George Jefferson.
Cut from the same cloth as his former neighbor Archie Bunker,
George was intolerant, stubborn, and hot headed. He bragged about
his successes, balked at social conventions, and referred to white

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people almost exclusively as honkies. Florence was the only character
on the show to routinely call George out for his
clownish behavior, and no matter how many angry tirades he
threw her way, the implacable maid always knew just how
to cut him down to size. What did you say needed, Dustin?
Never minded, Dusty, we could use a couple of drinks Scotch. Fine,

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that's very good, mister Jefferson. You keep changing your mind
like that, and someday maybe you'll end up with one
that works. And someday maybe I'll end up with a
maiden work. I doubt it because it ain't easy working
at all. Is he? What do he? All? That hot
airir coming out your mouth? The Jeffersons was a vehicle
for comedy first and foremost, but in typical Norman Lear fashion,

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the show also tackled its share of provocative political and
social issues. For example, it's often credited with introducing Primetime's
first interracial couple. The jeffersons new neighbors Tom and Helen
willis played by Franklin Cover and Roxy Roker, respectively. Roker,
a black woman, was married to a white man in

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real life, as well TV producer Cy Kravitz, and while
you may not recognize their names, you're likely familiar with
their famous musician's son, Lenny Kravitz. The Jeffersons also confronted
other controversial subjects of the era, including racism, gun control, divorce, alcoholism,

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and even gender identity. In the third episode of the
show's fourth season, George reconnects with his former bunk mate
from the Korean War, only to find out that the
person he once knew as Eddie had since transitioned into
living life as a woman named Edie, as portrayed by
Veronica Red. It was the first time a transgender character

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was ever featured on an American sitcom, though it's worth
noting that Edie is never seen or mentioned again in
the rest of the series. The Jefferson's blend of topicality
and humor made it yet another win for CBS and
Norman Lear. The series ran for a solid decade, picking
up fourteen Emmy nominations and two wins along the way. Sadly, though,

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the show's ratings began to slip in later seasons, and
in the spring of nineteen eighty five, CBS abruptly canceled
The Jeffersons without a proper series finale in a stunning
show of disrespect. The network didn't even have the decency
to tell the cast they were being laid off. Instead,
the news was leaked to the press, and most of

(07:35):
the actors found out about its second hand, including Sherman Hemsley,
who learned of the show's end from a newspaper. From there,
the once beloved show could have just sank into obscurity
like so many sitcoms before it and after, but instead,
the Jeffersons found new life and syndication, ranking among the
highest rated programs on cable network throwbacks like Nicket Night

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and Tea. The stars of the show also went on
to reprise their roles several times in the nineteen nineties,
including in an off Broadway stage production and a series
of retro chik commercials for Old Navy. However, the most
notable Jefferson's revival was an appearance made by George Hemsley,

(08:20):
Isabelle Sandford, and Marla Gibbs on the series finale of
The Fresh Prince of bel Air. And this is the
living Room, Oh judge, this place is beautiful. I'm telling
you we can't afford it. How can you say that easy?
He's cheap. If I were you, I tee my mouth

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shut out. Here to a lot of people crossing the
border to get a job like yours, Well one look
at a ball headed misa like you They'll be crossing
right back over. As a sitcom about an affluent black
family and the tenshion between race, wealth, and privilege. The
Fresh Prince had followed in the footsteps of the Jeffersons

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before it. It was fitting then that the show shared
its finale and provided a long overdue sendoff for a
trio of pioneering characters who had never gotten one of
their own. As Sandford said at the time, quote, they
just can't keep us down. We keep moving on up again.

(09:27):
I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know a little
more about TV history today than you did yesterday. If
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(09:49):
or you can get in touch directly by writing to
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see you about here again tomorrow for another day in
History class.