Sherman Hemsley Dead At 74

Actor Sherman Hemsley, famous for playing Archie Bunker’s former neighbor George Jefferson in the “All in the Family” spin-off “The Jeffersons,” has died at 74.

Police say the actor was found at a residence “without signs of life,” and that the cause of death is pending autopsy results. Police do not suspect foul play.

On “The Jeffersons,” Hemsley played a dry-cleaning tycoon who’d worked his way up from a small store to a chain. Isabel Sanford played his wife Louise, whom George often called Weezie, and Marla Gibbs played the couple’s maid, Florence.

“The Jeffersons” ran from 1975 to 1985. After that show ended, Hemsley moved on to star as Deacon Earnest Frye on the sitcom “Amen.”

Hemsley was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe, both for his “Jeffersons” role.

Hemsley never married and has no children. He was living in El Paso, Texas at the time of his death.