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Isabel
Sanford, Sherman Helmsley, and (Michael Evans, the cast of
the TV series, The Jeffersons. |
Actress Isabel Sanford,
best known as "Weezie," Louise Jefferson on the television
sitcom "The Jeffersons," died of natural causes, her publicist
said Monday. She was 86.
Sanford died Friday at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she had been hospitalized
since July 4, said Brad Lemack. Her daughter, Pamela Ruff, was
at her side, he said.
Her health had waned after undergoing
preventive surgery on a neck artery 10 months ago, Lemack said.
He did not give a cause of death.
Sanford co-starred with Sherman Hemsley
from 1975 to 1985 on CBS' "The Jeffersons," a spin-off of the
popular series "All in the Family," in which she also appeared.
In 1981, Sanford became the first black
woman to receive an Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for
her work on "The Jeffersons."
"Isabel was our
queen and that's what we called her on the show," said Marla
Gibbs, who played the Jeffersons' maid Florence Johnston.
Gibbs said that even before the hit sitcom, Sanford's comedic
talents were evident during acting auditions.
"Isabel would come in and just light up the room and start
telling stories and having everybody in stitches," Gibbs said.
Sanford, a
native New Yorker, was joined by "Jeffersons" creator Norman
Lear and others in January when she received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"Here with stars in my eyes — something that I dreamed
about when I was 9 years old," she said at the time. "There are
others that deserve it, but let everybody get their own."
She enjoyed getting fan mail from people who saw "The Jeffersons"
for the first time in reruns, Lemack said.
"She was just amazed and so pleased that the show had that kind
of lasting power and entertainment because she loved to make
people laugh," he said.
Sanford made her feature film debut in the 1967 classic, "Guess
Who's Coming to Dinner."
Recently, Sanford lent her voice to "The Simpsons" and appeared
in commercial campaigns for Denny's restaurants and retailer Old
Navy.
Besides her daughter, Sanford is survived by two sons, seven
grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. -AP
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