Marla Gibbs is best known for two of TV’s classic sitcoms, The Jeffersons (CBS, 1975-1985), and 227 (NBC, 1985-1990). An acting icon with a dynamic comedic delivery, Gibbs held several non-Hollywood gigs before she found fame as Florence Johnston on The Jeffersons. Namely, she worked as a reservation agent for United Airlines.
A Closer Look
Before she became a TV superstar, Marla Gibbs was a part-time reservations agent for United Airlines. It was during that time, that the legendary actress auditioned for what became the role of a lifetime: housekeeper Florence Johnston on The Jeffersons.
As Gibbs noted in one interview, “I’d been with [United] for 10 years and had an unlimited pass and my choice of shift. I knew a bird in the hand was better than 20 in the bush — what if this TV show didn’t last?”
The Jeffersons would go on to air for 11 seasons and became one of television’s longest-running situation comedies. Her follow-up series, 227, lasted a solid five years. In that series, she portrayed home engineer Mary Jenkins, TV wife to Hal Williams, and TV mom to future big-screen superstar Regina King.
Gibbs, now 93, has been performing ever since, with no signs of stopping, decades after her reservations agent position with the “friendly skies” of United.
