Isabel Sanford was the first black actress to win the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy Emmy award.
When Zara Cully died during the 1977-1978 season, it was decided to write Mother Jefferson off the series by having her die as well.
On the first episode "A Friend in Need" (1974), CBS executives tried to get the interracial kiss between Tom and Helen Willis edited out, but executive producer Fred Silverman successfully lobbied to keep it in.
CBS never gave this show a proper series finale. The cast, bitter that they never got a chance to say goodbye, reunited years later for a stage play based on the sitcom. Sherman Hemsley said he found out the show was cancelled by reading about it in the newspaper.
Like her character Helen, Roxie Roker was married to a white (Jewish) man (Sy Kravitz) in real life. During a casting interview, Roker was asked if she'd feel comfortable with her character having a white husband. She responded by showing the producers a photo of her husband. Sy Kravitz and Roxie Roker's son is musician and actor Lenny Kravitz.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
