Bye bye 'Weezy' | Golden Skate

Bye bye 'Weezy'

Kasey

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
From Yahoo!:

Isabel Sanford of 'The Jeffersons' Dies

By RYAN PEARSON, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Actress Isabel Sanford, best known as "Weezie," Louise Jefferson on the television sitcom "The Jeffersons," died of natural causes, her publicist said Monday. She was 86.

Sanford died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized since July 4, said Brad Lemack. Her daughter, Pamela Ruff, was at her side, he said.

Her health had waned after undergoing preventive surgery on a neck artery 10 months ago, Lemack said. He did not give a cause of death.

Sanford co-starred with Sherman Hemsley from 1975 to 1985 on CBS' "The Jeffersons," a spin-off of the popular series "All in the Family," in which she also appeared.

In 1981, Sanford became the first black woman to receive an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on "The Jeffersons."

"Isabel was our queen and that's what we called her on the show," said Marla Gibbs, who played the Jeffersons' maid Florence Johnston.

Gibbs said that even before the hit sitcom, Sanford's comedic talents were evident during acting auditions.

"Isabel would come in and just light up the room and start telling stories and having everybody in stitches," Gibbs said.

Sanford, a native New Yorker, was joined by "Jeffersons" creator Norman Lear and others in January when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Here with stars in my eyes — something that I dreamed about when I was 9 years old," she said at the time. "There are others that deserve it, but let everybody get their own."

She enjoyed getting fan mail from people who saw "The Jeffersons" for the first time in reruns, Lemack said.

"She was just amazed and so pleased that the show had that kind of lasting power and entertainment because she loved to make people laugh," he said.

Sanford made her feature film debut in the 1967 classic, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."

Recently, Sanford lent her voice to "The Simpsons" and appeared in commercial campaigns for Denny's restaurants and retailer Old Navy.

Besides her daughter, Sanford is survived by two sons, seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
 

berthes ghost

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Aw, I thought that she was the best part of that show.

She sure didn't look her age, more like 76. I can't believe that she was in her late 50s when that show was on the air. :eek:

I also can't believe that it was as late as 81 when a black woman first won an emmy. :eek: Perhaps someone won one for drama previously?
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
I would assume a black woman won an emmy in some other field otherwise they would have said she was the first black woman to win an Emmy... not just "the first black woman to receive an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series". just my thought... but what do I know...
 

Kasey

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
From the website 'TV Acres---Broadcast firsts: African-Americans':

In 1970 Gail Fisher, in her role as Peggy Fair, a girl-Friday on the detective drama MANNIX/CBS/1967-75 was the first black woman to receive an Emmy award (Outstanding Performance by an actress in a supporting role in a drama).

Kasey
 

Spinner

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 12, 2003
She will be missed. :(

And just a side note....it's not a good idea to quote an entire article from the 'net. Ususally a link with a small snippet quoted does fine (copyright issues and all). But I'm not entirely sure what this board's rules are about that though.
 

JonnyCoop

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
I will always remember her on Merv Griffin in the early 80s -- she was telling a story about how she converted to Catholicism and she had to give her first confession (at about the age of 40 or so). So she's sitting there in the confessional telling the priest all this stuff and she's mortified that the whole church is going to be able to hear her, so she's trying to keep her voice down and of course she had that deep voice to begin with. So finally the priest says, "I see. And what does your wife think about all this??" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
 
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