Sherman Hemsley: 1938-2012

Actor Sherman Hemsley arrives at the LG's Mobile TV Party held at Paramount Studios on June 19, 2007, in Los Angeles.

Actor Sherman Hemsley poses backstage at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held on March 7, 2004, at The Hollywood Palladium, in Hollywood, Calif.

Actress Isabel Sanford and actor Sherman Hemsley speak on stage at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium, March 7, 2004, in Hollywood, Calif.

Actress Isabel Sanford and actor Sherman Hemsley attend the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium, March 7, 2004, in Hollywood, Calif.

Producer Michael Levitt, actress Isabel Sanford and actor Sherman Hemsley attend the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium, March 7, 2004, in Hollywood, Calif.

Sherman Hemsley attends the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium on March 7, 2004, in Hollywood, Calif.

Actor Sherman Hemsley attends the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards held at The Hollywood Palladium, March 7, 2004, in Hollywood, Calif.

"The Jeffersons'" Marla Gibbs and Sherman Hemsley appear at the First Official TV Land Convention at the Burbank Airport Hilton on Aug. 17, 2003, in Burbank, Calif.

"The Jefferson" stars Ned Wertimer, Marla Gibbs and Sherman Hemsley appear at the First Official TV Land Convention at the Burbank Airport Hilton on Aug. 17, 2003, in Burbank, Calif.

"The Jeffersons'" Marla Gibbs and Sherman Hemsley appear at the First Official TV Land Convention at the Burbank Airport Hilton on Aug. 17, 2003, in Burbank, Calif.

Actor Sherman Helmsley performs with a choir at the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actor Sherman Helmsley, of the 1970s television show "The Jeffersons," poses backstage at the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actor Sherman Helmsley, actress Pamela Anderson and Viacom President & COO Mel Karmazin attend the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actor Sherman Helmsley, of the 1970s television show "The Jeffersons," and Larry Jones, general manager and president of Nick At Night and TV Land, pose backstage at the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actors Sherman Helmsley, left, and Larry Hagman backstage attend the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actor Sherman Helmsley speaks at the MTV Networks Upfront presentation to advertisers at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on May 6, 2003, in New York.

From left, MTV VJ Damien Fahey, actor Sherman Helmsley, MTV VJs La La and Hilarie Burton attend the MTV Networks Upfront after-party on May 6, 2003, in New York.

Actor Sherman Helmsley poses in a picture in 1986.

In this 1977 file photo, from left, Sherman Hemsley, Paul Benedict, and Damon Evans star in an episode of "The Jeffersons." Hemsley, the actor who made the irascible, bigoted George Jefferson of "The Jeffersons" one of television's most memorable characters and a symbol for urban upward mobility, was found dead July 24, 2012 at his El Paso, Texas home. He was 74.

In this 1977 file photo Sherman Hemsley, left, and Paul Benedict star in an episode of "The Jeffersons."

In this May 6, 1998 photo, Isabel Sanford, left, and Sherman Hemsley, stars the television sitcom "The Jeffersons," pose for a photograph in New York.