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Memorial for Sherman Hemsley set

A memorial service for Sherman Hemsley, a Philadelphia native who starred as George Jefferson in the 1970s sitcom The Jeffersons, will be held Thursday, Aug. 16, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church, 2001 W. Lehigh Ave.

FILE - In this Aug. 11, 1986 file photo, actor Sherman Hemsley poses for a photo in Los Angeles. The manager for Hemsley says the late star of the television sitcom “The Jeffersons” refused treatment for lung cancer in the weeks before he died of what a coroner says were complications from the disease. (AP photo/Nick Ut, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 11, 1986 file photo, actor Sherman Hemsley poses for a photo in Los Angeles. The manager for Hemsley says the late star of the television sitcom “The Jeffersons” refused treatment for lung cancer in the weeks before he died of what a coroner says were complications from the disease. (AP photo/Nick Ut, File)Read moreAP
    by Sandy Bauers, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

A memorial service for Sherman Hemsley, a Philadelphia native who starred as George Jefferson in the 1970s sitcom The Jeffersons, will be held Thursday, Aug. 16, at Deliverance Evangelistic Church, 2001 W. Lehigh Ave.

The service will begin at 11 a.m. Relatives are organizing an overview of Mr. Hemsley's life that will include photographs from his early days in South Philadelphia as well as his later years. They will be on view beginning at 10 a.m.

The Rev. Michael Wells, a cousin of Mr. Hemsley's who officiates at another church, will give the eulogy and assist Deliverance pastors.

Mr. Hemsley died July 24 at his home in El Paso, Texas. He was 74.

He served in the Air Force and later worked at the 30th Street Post Office. He studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Television producer Norman Lear saw Mr. Hemsley in the musical Purlie on Broadway in 1970 and offered him the role of George Jefferson, a proud and successful African American businessman, in All in the Family.

The role led to the spin-off series The Jeffersons, which ran from 1975 to 1985.

Mr. Hemsley was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe. He won an NAACP Image Award in 1982.