Sherman Hemsley (February 1, 1938 - July 24, 2012) was an American actor, who portrayed both Judge Carl Robertson, George Jefferson and Uncle Lou on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Hemsley is primarily best known for his roles as the aforementioned George on the sitcoms All in the Family as well as its' spin-off series, The Jefferson. Hemsley also portrayed Deacon Ernest Frye in the sitcom Amen and B.P. Richfield in Dinosaurs. Hemsley was mainly a television actor and frequently portrayed wise-cracking characters. Two of his co-stars also made appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Isabel Sanford who portrayed Louise Jefferson in All in the Family/The Jeffersons and Anna Maria Horsford who portrayed Thelma Frye in Amen.
On July 24, 2012, Hemsley passed away at the age of 74 from lung cancer.