Franklin Edward Cover (November 20, 1928 – February 5, 2006) was an American actor best known for his role in ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

'', Tom Willis, half of one of the first

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different "Race (classification of human beings), races" or Ethnic group#Ethnicity and race, racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United Sta ...

s to be seen on prime-time television.

Life and career

Cover was born on November 20, 1928, in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, to Britta (Schreck) and Franklin Held Cover. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1947. His career started on the stage acting in ''

Henry IV, Part 1 ''Henry IV, Part 1'' (often written as ''1 Henry IV'') is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. The play dramatises part of the reign of King Henry IV of England, beginning with the Battle of H ...

'' and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. He also appeared in '' Forty Carats'' with Julie Harris. He made his television debut on '' Naked City'' and later appeared on ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMont Televisio ...

''. In 1965, he married Mary Bradford Stone. His first starring role was on ''The Jeffersons'' as Tom Willis (a Caucasian man) who was married to an African-American woman, Helen, played by Roxie Roker. The couple lived in the same high-rise apartment building as the sitcom's title characters. Cover would often be the foil to Sherman Hemsley's black businessman character, George Jefferson. The sitcom ran from 1975 to 1985. He also appeared in '' The Stepford Wives'' in 1975, and played Hubert Humphrey in the 1982 TV movie ''

A Woman Called Golda ''A Woman Called Golda'' is a 1982 American made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister of Israel, Prime Minister Golda Meir directed by Alan Gibson (director), Alan Gibson and starring Ingrid Bergman in what would become the fina ...

''. Following the end of ''The Jeffersons'', Cover continued to make guest appearances on television shows as well as appearing in a supporting role in ''

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

'' (1987). In 1994, he appeared in the second episode of '' ER''. His final television appearance was in an episode of ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...

'' (entitled " Object of My Rejection") that aired on May 13, 1999. Cover died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, on February 5, 2006. He had been living there since December 2005 while recovering from a heart condition, and died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Obituary at Legacy.com"Jeffersons Star moves on up" at E! Online, February 10, 2006 "Franklin Cover, 77, comic foil to Sherman Hemsley" at ''Boston Globe,'' February 12, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cover, Franklin 1928 births 2006 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Case Western Reserve University alumni Male actors from Cleveland Male actors from Englewood, New Jersey 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors Denison University alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey