Isabel Sanford (born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford; August 29, 1917 – July 9, 2004) was an American stage, film, and television actress and

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Mills Jefferson on the CBS

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

s ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'' (1971–1975) and '' The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985). In 1981, she became the second African-American actress to win a

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

after Gail Fisher and the first African-American actress to win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Early life

Sanford was born Eloise Gwendolyn Sanford on August 29, 1917, in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to Josephine (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Perry) and James Edward Sanford. She was the youngest of seven children and was the only child to survive beyond infancy. Sanford's mother Josephine was devoutly religious and insisted that her daughter attend church every Sunday, and occasionally made her attend on weeknights. As a teenager, Sanford aspired to be an actress, but her mother discouraged her dream, as she felt that show business was "the road to degradation." Sanford disobeyed her mother and began performing at local clubs. She also performed at amateur night at The Apollo Theater. After graduating high school, Sanford joined Harlem's American Negro Theater and The Star Players. She made her professional stage debut in 1946 in ''On Strivers Row'', and appeared in several off-Broadway productions while also working as a keypunch operator at

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

. In 1945, Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond, with whom she had three children. Their marriage was tumultuous (a euphemism of the time for domestic violence), and they later separated.

Career

In 1960, Sanford withdrew money from her retirement fund, boarded a bus with her three children, left her husband in New York, and moved to Los Angeles. Soon after her arrival, she was asked to join the national production of ''Here Today'' by actress Tallulah Bankhead. In 1965, she made her Broadway debut in James Baldwin's '' The Amen Corner''. This role led to her being cast in the 1967 film '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner''. In the film, she was credited as Isabell Sanford, playing the role of the maid "Tillie Binks." Her performance was noted and earned good reviews, despite limited screen time. She caught the attention of major Hollywood players, including Norman Lear, who cast Sanford in the role of Louise Jefferson in ''

''. Sanford and her TV husband Sherman Hemsley were so popular that Norman Lear decided to spin off the characters into their own weekly series '' The Jeffersons''. Sanford was initially reluctant to commit to working on a weekly series, as she was already working steadily, but decided to accept the offer. ''The Jeffersons'' premiered in January 1975, and was an immediate hit with audiences, ultimately running for 11 seasons. For her role in the series, Sanford earned five

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

nominations and seven

nominations. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1981, making her the first African-American actress to win in that category and remained the only African-American actress to do so until 2023-24 when Quinta Brunson achieved this feat for her role as Janine Teagues on '' Abbott Elementary''. After ''The Jeffersons cancellation in 1985, Sanford continued her career with guest-starring roles in television and film. In January 1987, she starred in her own sitcom, ''Isabel's Honeymoon Hotel'', which aired five days a week in syndication. The series was created to showcase Sanford's comedic skills, but it failed to attract an audience and was quickly cancelled. In the 1990s, Sanford mainly appeared in television guest appearances and

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in movies. She appeared on '' Dream On'', ''

Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Denise Lee that aired for five seasons on the Fox network, from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centers on the lives of six New York City friends who share perso ...

'', '' Hangin' with Mr. Cooper'', '' In the House'', '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', '' The Steve Harvey Show'', and '' Hearts Are Wild''. In 1996, she played a supporting role in the action movie '' Original Gangstas'', starring

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

film stars Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Jim Brown, and Richard Roundtree. Isabel Sanford appeared in Kojak Season 1 Episode 14 "Die Before They Wake" in 1974. Sanford later reprised her role as Louise Jefferson in a touring company of ''The Real Live Jeffersons'' stage show in the mid-1990s alongside Sherman Hemsley. She and Hemsley also made a cameo appearance in the film '' Sprung'', and guest-starred in '' The Parkers'', '' Mafia!'', and two episodes of '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''. The two also appeared in a series of

advertisement Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

s for

Denny's Denny's (also known as Denny's Diner on some locations' signage) is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain. It operates over 1,400 Restaurant, restaurants in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and several other internationa ...

and Old Navy. In January 2004, Sanford received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

for her contribution to the television industry. She made her final television appearance the following month as an animated version of herself in ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' episode " Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore."

Personal life

Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond in 1945. The couple had three children—two sons (Sanford K. Richmond and Eric Richmond) and a daughter (Pamela Richmond Ruff) before separating in 1960. Following the separation, Sanford and the children moved to Los Angeles. Richmond remained in New York and died later that same year.

Death

In September 2003, Sanford underwent preventive surgery on her carotid artery. In the ensuing months, her health steadily declined. She was hospitalized at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

on July 4, 2004, where she died five days later at the age of 86. Her publicist attributed it to unspecified natural causes. She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. For her contribution to the television industry, Isabel Sanford has a star on the

located at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard.

Broadway credits

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, Isabel 1917 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Manhattan American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Harlem California Democrats New York (state) Democrats 20th-century African-American actresses African-American female comedians African-American comedians Comedians from Manhattan American women comedians