227 (TV series)

227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series stars Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins. It was produced by Embassy Television from 1985 to 1986 and by Embassy Communications from 1986 until 1988; then ELP Communications through Columbia Pictures Television produced the series in its final two seasons (1988–1990).

Origins

The series was adapted from a play written in 1978 by Christine Houston about the lives of women in a predominantly black apartment building in 1950s Chicago. The setting of the series, however, was changed to present-day Washington, D.C. The show was created as a starring vehicle for Marla Gibbs, who had become famous as Florence Johnston, the sassy maid on The Jeffersons, and had starred in Houston's play in Los Angeles. This role was similar in nature to that of tart-tongued Florence; Gibbs' character, housewife Mary Jenkins, loved a good gossip and often spoke what she thought, with sometimes not-so-favorable results.

Hal Williams

Halroy Candis "Hal" Williams (born December 14, 1934) is an American actor, best known for his recurring role as Police Officer Smith ("Smitty") on Sanford and Son (1972–76) and as the patriarch Lester Jenkins, the husband of Marla Gibbs's character, on the NBC sitcom 227 (1985–90).

Williams started out in the acting business in 1969. Since then, he has appeared in movies such as Paul Schrader's Hardcore, Howard Zieff's Private Benjamin (he also portrayed the role of Sgt L.C. "Ted" Ross in the television series of the same name), and Clint Eastwood's The Rookie. He was controversially fired from The Jimmy Stewart Show in 1971 at the insistence of its star, James Stewart. In the early to mid-1990s, he starred in many of comic Sinbad's productions, including The Sinbad Show and The Cherokee Kid. He played the grandfather in the Bernie Mac film Guess Who.

His other television credits include Moonlight, Moesha, Suddenly Susan, Minor Adjustments, L.A. Law, Night Court, Magnum, P.I., Hill Street Blues, Gimme a Break, The Jeffersons, The Dukes of Hazzard, T.J. Hooker, The Waltons, Knots Landing, The White Shadow, What's Happening!!, Good Times, Quincy, M.E., Kung Fu, S.W.A.T., Gunsmoke and That Girl.

Marla Gibbs

Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, comedienne, singer, writer and producer, whose career spans five decades.

Gibbs is best known for her role as Louise and George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in the long-running CBS sitcom, The Jeffersons (1975–85), for which she received nominations for five Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also starred in the show's spin-off Checking In (1981), and for her leading role as Mary Jenkins in the NBC sitcom, 227 (1985–90), which she also co-produced and sang on the theme song. Gibbs has won a total of seven NAACP Image Awards.

In later years, Gibbs played supporting roles in films The Meteor Man (1993), Lost & Found (1999), The Visit (2000), The Brothers (2001), and Madea's Witness Protection (2012).

Early life

The younger of a sister, Gibbs was born Margaret Theresa Bradley on June 14, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois to Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp) and Douglas Bradley. She attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's south side graduating in 1949. Shortly after high school, Gibbs moved to Detroit, Michigan where she attended Peters Business School. She worked as a reservations agent for United Airlines before relocating with her children from Detroit to Los Angeles.

Alaina Reed Hall

Alaina Reed Hall (November 10, 1946 – December 17, 2009) was an American singer and actress best known for her roles as Olivia Robinson, Gordon's younger sister, on the long-running children's television series Sesame Street, and as Rose Lee Holloway on the NBC sitcom 227.

Early life and career

Hall was born Bernice Ruth Reed in Springfield, Ohio on November 10, 1946.

In the mid-1960s she attended Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, where she was active in many productions at KSU's E. Turner Stump Theater. These included "The Streets of New York", "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman!", and "The Tragedy of Tragedies - The Life and Death of Tom Thumb The Great". Known to many by her nickname "Tiny", she and her vocal group, "Tiny and the Velours", performed regularly at Kent's popular student nightspot, The Fifth Quarter.

She began her professional career in Philadelphia and off-Broadway productions. She was among the original cast members in the 1974 off-Broadway production of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road. Hall appeared in productions of Hair (Chicago in 1970 and the 1977 revival),Chicago, and Eubie!.