Actress Isabel Sanford found out about her show’s cancellation in a terribly informal way. But she went on to also make a name for herself, starring in shows like “South Beach”, “Hanging with Mr. Cooper”, “Living Single”, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “The Young and the Restless” and even “The Simpsons”.
Altogether, she played the role of “Louise Jefferson” on four separate TV shows, including, of course, “The Jeffersons”.
No Finale?
For all of its popularity, “The Jeffersons” ended abruptly and without any series finale. The network simply decided to pull the long-running show from the air. Why was this? Sadly the show had dropped enough in the ratings that network executives were ready to pull the plug, and that’s just what they did.
The cancellation of the show may not have been that much of a surprise for executives but it certainly came as a shock to the cast.
Life After “The Jeffersons”
Fortunately for fans of “The Jeffersons”, they would still be able to catch a glimpse of George and Louise. The famous TV couple made cameo appearances on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and Marla Gibbs and Sherman Hemsley also appeared, even in more recent years, on “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne”.
Interestingly enough, “House of Payne” (like “The Jeffersons”) also became a long-standing TV show with a primarily black cast.
A Very Special Award
Isabel Sanford wasn’t just Louise Sanford on “The Jeffersons.” she had been a Broadway actress for thirty years before giving up her career to raise a family.
After the death of her husband, she and her three children moved out to Hollywood and she resumed her acting career. The accomplished actress eventually went on to become the very first African-American woman to take home the Emmy award for “Best Actress in a Comedy” for her role as Louise on the show.
An Original Entrepreneur Story
Yet another aspect that made “The Jeffersons” unique was that it was an entrepreneurial story. George Jefferson wasn’t always so successful but he was patient, smart, and knew to recognize and act on a good opportunity.
The story goes that, after receiving a sizable amount of money from an insurance settlement following a car accident, he invested the money in a dry-cleaning store. From there, he used his blue-collar work ethic to build his business.