Don Bexley
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Donald Thomas Bexley (March 10, 1910April 15, 1997) was an American actor and comedian, best known for playing Bubba Bexley on the 1970s television sitcom ''
Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...
.''


Early life

Bexley was born in either
Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...
, or Detroit, Michigan, to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bexley. His father was a Bible scholar and teacher, and his mother a classical vocalist. "I was born with a flair for the stage, as I had always been a clown – even during early adolescence," Bexley wrote in 1983.


Career

In his career, Don Bexley was an orchestra director, singer, dancer, stand-up comedian, and actor. In the early 1940s, Bexley started doing comedy in upstate New York. He worked with
Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...
,
Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...
, and
Henny Youngman Henry "Henny" Youngman (March 16, 1906 – February 24, 1998) was an English-born American comedian and musician famous for his mastery of the "one-line joke, one-liner", his best known being "Take my wife... please". In a time when many ...
, and danced with
Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...
Bexley was the first black stand-up comedian to do the hotel circuit in the
Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Yiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered to Jewish vacationers, especially residents of New York City. The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of the Catski ...
. During his travels, he met many black entertainers, including
Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...
. They worked in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey. Early in his career, he performed with a dance group called Three Shades of Rhythm. Before his television debut, he did theater in Los Angeles and New York City.


Redd Foxx and ''Sanford and Son''

When Bexley returned from Europe in 1969, he and Foxx were cast together in ''
Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxploita ...
'' (1970). Upon Bexley's arrival from Asia in 1971, Foxx sent for him to join the sitcom ''
Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...
''. Foxx convinced
Bud Yorkin Alan David "Bud" Yorkin (February 22, 1926 – August 18, 2015) was an American film and television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. Biography Yorkin was born Alan David Yorkin on February 22, 1926, in Washington, Pennsylvania. At ...
and
Aaron Ruben Aaron Ruben (March 1, 1914 – January 30, 2010) was an American television director and producer known for ''The Andy Griffith Show'' (1960), '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1964), and '' Sanford and Son'' (1972). Early life Ruben was born in Chic ...
to hire Bexley to play one of Fred G. Sanford's friends. At the time, Bexley was 62 years old and never had appeared on television before. Bexley gained popularity for his portrayal as Bubba on the series, a very successful "rerun sitcom" today. ''Sanford and Son'' was an instant hit and remained in the top 10 programs for 5 of 6 years from 1972 to 1977. Bexley reprised Bubba in the short-lived sequel ''
Sanford Arms ''Sanford Arms'' is an American sitcom television series produced as a Spin-off (media), spin-off and continuation of ''Sanford and Son'', that aired on NBC from September 16 to October 14, 1977. After six seasons, Redd Foxx left ''Sanford and S ...
'', which had many of the same characters but not Foxx and
Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He played Sanford and Son#Lamont Sanford, Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred G. Sanford, Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) on the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–1 ...
.


Later career

He appeared in many television shows such as ''
Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'', ''
Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...
'' and ''
Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' is an American television sitcom that ran for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Wi ...
'' as well as the 1976 film '' Sparkle''. One of his later appearances on television was in an episode of Foxx's ''
The Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while the ...
''. In the episode, " New Beginnings", Bexley made a special guest appearance as an old friend of Al Royal's (Foxx) who attends his funeral. In 1989, Bexley had a sitcom in the works that he had written and would have starred, titled ''Cee Cashman and 'Yul Stay Broke''. It was a story about a
Black Jew African Jewish communities include: *Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who primarily live in the Maghreb of North Africa, including Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, as well as Sudan and Egypt. Some were established early in the diaspora; othe ...
who owns a
pawnshop A pawnbroker is an individual that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. A pawnbrokering business is called a pawnshop, and while many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewelry, ...
. Just before his death, Bexley was still writing for stage and television. Clarence Williams, Sr., a friend of Bexley, said the actor had completed several scripts, but he knew of no current plans to produce them.


Later life

In 1989, Bexley was awarded the Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year award by the Support the Artists of America (STAA) in Orlando, Florida. Since moving to Hampton, Virginia (before that, he resided in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
) during the 1990s, Bexley was still quite active, always working on new ideas for shows and live performances. Bexley made personal appearances and signed autographs on many occasions, including the Newmarket Fair Day-Talent Show in September 1996, and the
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
Athletic Association in June 1996. One of Bexley's later signings was during his attendance at the NASA Langley Research Center's Black History Program in February 1997. These types of activities added to his longevity.


Personal life and death

Bexley had a close friendship with
Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...
until Foxx's death in October 1991. He was an honorary pallbearer at Foxx's funeral in Las Vegas. Their friendship lasted for nearly 50 years. Bexley lived much of his life in Los Angeles, but after injuring his hip, moved to
Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...
, in 1996 to live with a friend, who served as his caregiver. Bexley died of heart and kidney failure on April 15, 1997, at Hampton Sentara Hospital. He was 87 years old. His wife was Sally Bexley, with whom he had two daughters.


Filmography

* ''
Cotton Comes to Harlem ''Cotton Comes to Harlem'' is a 1970 American neo-noir action comedy film co-written and directed by Ossie Davis and starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, and Redd Foxx. The film, later cited as an early example of the blaxploita ...
'' (1970) * '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972) as Skycap * '' Sparkle'' (1976) as Bubbles * ''
Little Miss Marker ''Little Miss Marker'' may refer to: *"Little Miss Marker", 1932 short story by Damon Runyon; provided plotline for four film versions * ''Little Miss Marker'' (1934 film), American comedy-drama with Shirley Temple as title character * ''Little Mis ...
'' (1980) as Sam * '' Vibes'' (1988) as Lou


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bexley, Donald Thomas 1910 births 1997 deaths American male television actors Male actors from Michigan People from Jamestown, Virginia Comedians from Detroit 20th-century American male actors 20th-century African-American male actors African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians Comedians from Virginia