January 18: "The Jeffersons"

On this date in History .... 1975:

The first episode of “The Jeffersons” airs on CBS and would run for 11 years, becoming the longest running All-in-the-Family spin-off.

 

The series was the first show to depict a successful black family. It showed the viewing public not only the white side of bigotry but also the black side of bigoty.  “George Jefferson was .....the opposite side of Archie Bunker, a bigot on the opposite side of racial intolerance.”

 

 

In the Norman Lear method of addressing taboo topics, George even uses two “politically incorrect” terms (spoiler alert: they are used in this clip  - Click Here - ).

 

Several CBS executives tried to get the interracial kiss between (neighbors) Tom and Helen Willis (the first black/white “married” couple on TV) edited out, but executive producer Fred Silverman successfully lobbied to keep it in.

 

(The title of “1^st interracial couple” is given to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; the 1^st scripted interracial kiss was in 1966 between Capt. Kirk and Lt. Uhura.)

 

In 1981, Isabel Sanford (Louise) became the only African-American to ever win the Emmy award for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

 

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January 12: All in the Family

On this date in History .... 1971:

The first episode of “All in the Family” airs on CBS.  The show is considered ground breaking as it brought to the airwaves topics that were normally considered “unsuitable” for television, such as menopause, the Vietnam War, rape, homosexuality and others. It also lays claim to the first audible toilet flush ever heard on prime time TV!

Creator Norman Lear wanted to film it in black and white but CBS demanded it be in color.  Lear made the set as bland and colorless as possible, going for sepia tones because he wanted viewers to feel like they were looking at an old family album.

It was the first show to be videotaped in front of a live audience, giving it that ‘stage’ look, similar to “The Honeymooners”, a show it is frequently compared to.

The show is only one of three shows to be #1 in the Nielsen ratings for five consectutive years.  (The record was overtaken in the 80s by "The Cosby Show" and later by "American Idol".)

It holds the record for the most number of spin-offs.  Five shows were born from All in the Family, and two of those were spin-offs of spin-offs.  "Good Times", a show about maid Florida Evans, was a spin off of "Maude". Checking In", a show about housekeeper Florence Johnston, was a spin off of "The Jeffersons".

Archie and Edith’s chairs, purchased at a Goodwill store, are on display at the Smithsonian Nat’l Museum of American History.





The show added to America's pop culture by adding to our vocabulary words such as "dingbat" and "stifle".  This video clip is a segment that had all of us touching our head to a wall and trying to pick up a chair!