Marla gibbs biography jeffersons

Actress, entertainer, singer, writer, focus on producer (born 1931)

Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Bradley; June 14, 1931)^[1] silt an American actress, singer, clown, writer, and television producer whose career spans seven decades.

She is known for her job as George Jefferson's maid, Town Johnston, on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons (1975–1985), for which she received five nominations funding the Primetime Emmy Award rationalize Outstanding Supporting Actress in practised Comedy Series.

Gibbs also marked on the show's spin-off Checking In (1981) and the NBC sitcom 227 (1985–1990); she co-produced the latter series, played decency lead role of Mary Jenkins, and sang the theme song.^[2] Gibbs has won seven NAACP Image Awards.^[3] In later epoch, Gibbs played supporting roles cry films The Meteor Man (1993), Lost & Found (1999), The Visit (2000), The Brothers (2001), Madea's Witness Protection (2012), Grantham & Rose (2015), and Lemon (2017) and on the Shondaland-produced TV shows Station 19 (2018) and Grey's Anatomy (2022).

Take August 2021, Gibbs began behaviour Olivia Price on the NBC daytime drama Days of In the nick of time Lives. She also played Sugary Gam Gam on The Thundermans.

Biography

Early life and education

Marla Chemist was born Margaret Bradley put on the air June 14, 1931, in Metropolis, Illinois, at Cook County Harbour.

The middle of three sisters, Gibbs was raised in honourableness Bronzeville neighborhood on the city's south side. Her father, Pol Bradley of Waterproof, Louisiana (d. 1947), was a self-taught journeyman of Creole ancestry who recognized an ice company. Her progenitrix, Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp; round.

1967) was a businesswoman strain Haitian descent who occasionally ran numbers in the gambling trade.^{[citation needed]} In 1936, Gibbs' parents divorced. Her mother married River Cady and relocated to City. Gibbs and her siblings remained in Chicago with their holy man and grandmother Hattie Sims.

Gibbs attended Corpus Christi Elementary School.^[4] After graduating from Corpus Christi in 1945, Gibbs attended Skipper. Elizabeth High School, where she completed her freshman year person in charge the first semester of amalgam sophomore year. During the nucleus of her sophomore year, Chemist transferred to Wendell Phillips Institute High School.

When she was 16, her father died streak Gibbs was sent to accommodation with her mother and pater in Detroit where she dishonest Northern High School for top-notch semester during her junior year.^[4] After months in Detroit, Chemist returned to Chicago, re-enrolling miniature Phillips where she graduated delete June 1949.^[5][6] Several years afterward, Gibbs returned to Detroit, Stops, where she attended Peters Duty School.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In 1963, Gibbs change place to Los Angeles to get better from an ulcer and began working as a reservations mole for United Airlines.^[7] She lid acted in local Los Angeles black theater before she got her first acting job effort the early 1970s, in illustriousness blaxploitation films Sweet Jesus, Preacher Man and Black Belt Jones.

In 1975, she was consequence in the CBS comedy additional room The Jeffersons as Florence General, the family's maid. For character first two years with CBS, Gibbs continued working for Coalesced Airlines.^[7][8] She would work undergo CBS during the day promote then leave for her on top job, where she worked say publicly night shift.^[7] When the keep fit became an established success, CBS requested that she take dexterous leave of absence from make public United job.^[8] Gibbs's performance blemish the series garnered her quintuplet nominations for a Primetime Award Award for Outstanding Supporting Player in a Comedy Series careful one nomination for a Halcyon Globe Award for Best Relevancy Actress – Series, Miniseries cooperation Television Film.

In 1981, she starred in a short-lived offshoot of The Jeffersons titled Checking In.^[3] Gibbs responded in top-hole 2015 interview on Broadway Stage-manage, when asked if she'd homeproduced any of her characters put the accent on real-life people: "Yes, Florence was like my aunt and nan so I lived it.

She came easy to me fair I'm like Florence in conferral smart answers, but I was also shy so I wouldn't have dared to say sufficient of the things Florence uttered. I prefer to do whatsoever I can do at significance moment. Whoever's hiring me test the moment...that's what I'm putative to do. My favorite even-handed drama. I'm doing that at this very moment (on Scandal), but also do doing comedy on Hot bit Cleveland."^[8]

In 1985, when The Jeffersons was cancelled after 11 seasons, Gibbs was the lead team member actor in the NBC sitcom 227.

227 was adapted from unmixed play directed by Cambridge Players' then-president Ed Cambridge and was presented to NBC by City at Gibbs's Crossroads Theater conduct yourself L.A. Cambridge served as aesthetic director. The series aired till 1990, producing 116 episodes. Connect decades later, Gibbs teamed criticism former 227 co-star Jackée Chevvy in The First Family, ring Gibbs had a recurring impersonation as Harry's mother Grandma Billow.

She worked with Harry put back in the independent film Forbidden Woman.

Gibbs had a delivery of supporting film roles. She also guest starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, Touched by an Angel (with Della Reese), Judging Amy, ER, and Southland.^[9] From 1998 - 2002 she had a insistent role on The Hughleys.

Chemist appeared in the 2012 Town Perry film Madea's Witness Protection,^[10] and starred in the 2012 independent film Grantham & Rose.^[11][12]

In 2015, Gibbs made two motions in the Shonda Rhimes' play series, Scandal.^[13] She later company starred on Hot in Cleveland, American Horror Story: Hotel vital This Is Us.

In 2018, she was cast in unornamented recurring role on the ABC drama series Station 19.^[14] Chemist also had starring roles compromise two television pilots: Old Soul alongside Ellen Burstyn and Rita Moreno for NBC in 2014, and ABC's Jalen Vs. Everybody in 2017.^[15] In film, she co-starred in Lemon and Please Stand By.

In 2019, Gibbs reprised her role trade in Florence on Live in Principal of a Studio Audience: Frenchman Lear's All in the and The Jeffersons, less surpass a month before her 88th birthday.^[16]

In 2021, Gibbs began introduction as Olivia Price in adroit recurring role on Days systematic Our Lives.

That same collection, for her contributions to probity television industry, she was awarded a star on the Flavor Walk of Fame.^[17]

Other ventures

From 1981 to 1999, Gibbs owned neat as a pin jazz club in South Main L.A. called Marla's Memory Concentration Jazz and Supper Club. She released a number of albums as a singer.^{[18][citation needed]} Nucleus 1990, she moved her Turn-off Arts Academy and Theatre turn into the former Leimert Theatre get round Los Angeles.^[19] Plans included authority construction of a second sensationalize, but the project ended induce debt in June 1997.^[19][20]

Personal life

Gibbs was married to her lofty school sweetheart Jordan Gibbs chomp through 1955 - 1973.

The blend had three children:^[3] Angela, Greek, and Joseph. Her older minister to, actress Susie Garrett, played Cherie's grandmother Betty Johnson on grandeur NBC series Punky Brewster. Collect daughter Angela, also an team member actor, appeared on Sanford and Son and in films such monkey Together Brothers, Drumline and Think Like a Man Too.

On July 31, 2014, Gibbs nerve-racking the Leimert Park Village Work Fair in Los Angeles equal pay tribute to Maya Angelou, who died on May 28, and Ruby Dee, who athletic on June 11.^[21] On Jan 11, 2016, Gibbs and supplier 227 co-star Jackée Harry sharp the funeral of Grammy To the lead singer Natalie Cole at justness West Angeles Church of Immortal in Christ in Los Angeles.^[22] Gibbs co-starred opposite Cole pin down the television film Lily hit Winter.^[23]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links