Marla Gibbs

Marla Gibbs (born Margaret Theresa Bradley; June 14, 1931) is an American actress, comedian, singer, writer and television producer, whose career spans five decades. Gibbs is known for her role as George Jefferson's maid, Florence Johnston, in the CBS sitcom, The Jeffersons (1975–1985), for which she received five nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Marla Gibbs
Gibbs, 2012
Born	Margaret Theresa Bradley (1931-06-14) June 14, 1931 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Wendell Phillips High School
Occupation	Actress singer comedian writer television producer
Years active	1973–present
Known for	Florence Johnston – The Jeffersons Mary Jenkins – 227
Spouse(s)	Jordan Gibbs ​ ( m. 1955; div. 1973)
Children	3
Relatives	Susie Garrett (sister)

She also starred in the show's spin-off Checking In (1981) and the NBC sitcom, 227 (1985–1990); Gibbs co-produced the latter series, played the lead role of Mary Jenkins, and sang the theme song.[1] Gibbs has won seven NAACP Image Awards.[2] In later years, Gibbs played supporting roles in films The Meteor Man (1993), Lost & Found (1999), The Visit (2000), The Brothers (2001), Madea's Witness Protection (2012), Grantham & Rose (2015), and Lemon (2017) and the TV show Station 19 (2018).

Early life

The middle of three sisters, Gibbs was born Margaret Theresa Bradley on June 14, 1931, at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois to Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp) and Douglas Bradley.[3] She attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. She graduated in 1949.[4] Several years later, 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.

Career

Gibbs, 2014

Gibbs got her first acting job in the early 1970s, in the blaxploitation films Sweet Jesus, Preacher Man and Black Belt Jones. In 1975 she was cast as Florence Johnston, the family's maid, in the CBS comedy series The Jeffersons. For her performance on the series, Gibbs was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series five times, and once for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. In 1981 she starred in the short-lived spin-off of The Jeffersons, titled Checking In.[2] Gibbs responded in a 2015 interview on Broadway Showbiz, when asked if she'd based any of her characters on real-life people: "Yes, Florence was like my aunt and grandmother so I lived it. She came easy to me so I'm like Florence in giving smart answers, but I was also shy so I wouldn't have dared to say some of the things Florence said. I prefer to do whatever I can do at the moment. Whoever's hiring me at the moment...that's what I'm supposed to do. My favorite is drama. I'm doing that now (on Scandal), but also still doing comedy on Hot in Cleveland."[5] In 1985, when The Jeffersons was cancelled after 11 seasons, Gibbs was the lead actress in the NBC sitcom, 227. 227 was adapted from a play directed by Cambridge Players' then-president Ed Cambridge and was presented to NBC by Cambridge, at Gibbs' Crossroads Theater in L.A. He served as artistic director. The series aired until 1990, producing 116 episodes. Two decades later, Gibbs teamed again with former 227 co-star Jackée Harry in The First Family, where Gibbs had a recurring role as Harry's on-screen mother Grandma Eddy. Then, she again worked with Harry in the independent film Forbidden Woman.

Gibbs had a number of supporting film roles, and guest starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Touched by an Angel (with Della Reese), Judging Amy, ER, and Southland.[6] From 1998 to 2002 she had a recurring role on The Hughleys. In 2012, Gibbs appeared in the Tyler Perry film Madea's Witness Protection,[7] and in 2014 she starred in the independent film, Grantham & Rose.[8][9]

In 2015, Gibbs made two appearances in the Shonda Rhimes' drama series, Scandal.[10] She later guest starred on Hot in Cleveland, American Horror Story: Hotel and This Is Us. In 2018, she was cast in a recurring role on the ABC drama series Station 19.[11] Gibbs also has had starring roles in two television pilots: Old Soul alongside Ellen Burstyn and Rita Moreno for NBC in 2014, and ABC's Jalen Vs. Everybody in 2017.[12] In film, she co-starred in Lemon and Please Stand By.

Gibbs owned a jazz club in South Central L.A. called Marla's Memory Lane Jazz and Supper Club from 1981 to 1999. As a singer, she released a number of albums.

In 2019, Gibbs reprised her role as Florence on Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons, less than a month shy of her 88th birthday.[13]

Personal life

Gibbs was married to her high school sweetheart Jordan Gibbs from 1955 to 1973; the couple had three children:[2] Angela Gibbs, Dorian Gibbs and Joseph Gibbs. Her older sister is the late actress Susie Garrett. Her daughter Angela Gibbs is also an actress who appeared on the TV show Sanford and Son and movies such as Together Brothers, Drumline and Think Like A Man Too. On July 31, 2014, Gibbs attended the Leimert Park Village Book Fair in Los Angeles, California to pay tribute to Maya Angelou, who died on May 28, and Ruby Dee, who died on June 11.[14] On January 11, 2016, Gibbs and former 227 co-star, Jackée Harry, attended the funeral of Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, California.[15] Gibbs co-starred opposite Cole in the TV movie Lily in Winter.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Sweet Jesus, Preacherman	Beverly Solomon
1974	Black Belt Jones	Betty	Uncredited
1977	Passing Through	Secretary
1991	Up Against the Wall	Louise Bradley
1991	Last Breeze of Summer		Short film
1993	The Meteor Man	Maxine Reed
1994	Lily in Winter	Maize Covington
1998	Border to Border	Dela
1999	Foolish	Odetta
1999	Lost & Found	Enid
2000	The Visit	Lois Waters	Method Fest Independent Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress
2000	Stanley's Gig	Eleanor Whitney
2001	The Brothers	Mary West
2005	Love on Layaway	Narrator
2006	The Ties That Bind	Delores	Short film
2006	The Heart Specialist	Ms. Overwood
2009	The What Goes Around	Ms. Lacey	Short film
2009	Afro Ninja	Aunt Mary
2009	Just Like Family	Mabel Jenkins
2009	Devil's Land	Judge Martha M. Levine
2010	Sunnyview	Mrs. Harris	Short film
2012	Who Killed Soul Glow?
2012	C'mon Man	Mrs. Crabtree
2012	Madea's Witness Protection	Hattie
2013	Forbidden Woman	Mrs. Simmons
2014	Grantham & Rose	Rose Price
2015	The Man in 3B	Ms. Mamie
2016	Second Sight	Nana
2017	Lemon	Lilly
2017	The Last Revolutionary	Millie
2017	You Can't Fight Christmas	Beverly Lawrence
2018	Please Stand By	Rose
2018	Love Jacked	Rose
2018	HeadShop	Mrs. Keys
2019	El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie	Jean

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1975–1985	The Jeffersons	Florence Johnston	Series regular, 207 episodes NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1981-1985) Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1985) Nominated — TV Land Award for Favorite Made-for-TV Maid
1975	Barney Miller	Mrs. McBee	Episode: "Vigilante"
1975	The Missing Are Deadly	Nurse	Television film
1976	Arthur Hailey's The Moneychangers	Beth Euphrates	Miniseries
1979	You Can't Take It with You	Rheba	Television film
1981	Checking In	Florence Johnston	Series regular, 4 episodes
1981	The Love Boat	Janet Dalton	Episode: "The Incredible Hunk/Isaac, the Marriage Counselor/Jewels & Jim"
1984	Pryor's Place	Miss Stern	3 episodes
1985–1990	227	Mary Jenkins	Series regular, 115 episodes
1990	Menu for Murder	Marty Hallard	Television film
1993	A Different World	Principal Shaw	Episode: "To Whit, with Love"
1993	In the Heat of the Night	Lilly Baker	Episode: "A Baby Called Rocket"
1993	Empty Nest	Josephine Douglas	Episode: "Mother Dearest"
1994	Lily in Winter	Maize Covington	Television film
1995	Dream On	Mrs. Perry	Episode: "Little Orphan Eddie"
1995	Burke's Law	Jessica Wallace	Episode: "Who Killed the Hollywood Headshrinker?"
1995	Martin	Miss Minnie	Episode: "Housekeeper from Hell" Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
1996	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Florence Johnston	Episode: "I, Done: Part 2"
1997–1998	101 Dalmatians: The Series	Duchess (voice)	8 episodes
1997–1999	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	Old Mother Hubbard / Grandmother (voice)	2 episodes
1998–2002	The Hughleys	Hattie Mae Hughley	16 episodes
1999	Martial Law	Dolores Parker	2 episodes
1999	Dawson's Creek	Mrs. Fran Boyd	Episode: "First Encounters of the Close Kind"
2000	Touched by an Angel	Millie	Episode: "The Invitation" Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
2001	Judging Amy	Zella Van Exel	Episode: "Between the Wanting and the Getting"
2002	The King of Queens	Nana Louise	Episode: "Patrons Ain't"
2002	The Rerun Show	Dr. Beamish	Episode: "The Facts of Life: Shoplifting/The Jeffersons: A Bedtime Story"
2002	Arliss	Mrs. Jones	Episode: "Profiles in Agenting"
2004	Listen Up	Jackie Widmer	Episode: "Thanksgiving"
2004–2005	Passions	Aunt Irma	Recurring role Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
2005	ER	Cherise Barnes	Episode: "Only Connect"
2005	Cold Case	Georgie	Episode: "Best Friends"
2008	Lincoln Heights	Hazel Roberson	Episode: "The Day Before Tomorrow"
2011	House of Payne	Florence Johnston	Episode: "Curtis Jefferson"
2012	Southland	Ms. Miller	Episode: "Underwater"
2012–2013	The First Family	Grandma Eddy	11 episodes
2013	Mr. Box Office	Florence Johnston	Episode: "The Golden Apple"
2014	Old Soul	Agnes	Pilot
2015	Scandal	Rose	2 episodes
2015	Hot in Cleveland	Marcia	Episode: "Cleveland Calendar Girls"
2015	American Horror Story: Hotel	Cassie Royale	Episode: "She Wants Revenge"
2016	Childrens Hospital	Flossie	Episode: "Doctor Beth"
2016–2017	The Carmichael Show	Francis	2 episodes
2017	Jalen Vs. Everybody	Grammie	Pilot
2017	This Is Us	Lady in Diner	Episode: "I Call Marriage"
2017	Teachers	Mrs. Potts	Episode: "Snap Judgement"
2017–2018	Black-ish	Mabel	2 episodes
2017	Trial & Error	Mrs. Kratt	2 episodes
2018	Beyond	Cutlass Owner	Episode: "Six Feet Deep"
2018	The Thundermans	Sweet Gam Gam	Episode: "Cookie Mistake"
2018	Station 19	Edith	3 episodes
2018	Rel	Miss Jenkins	Episode: "Laundry Room"
2018	NCIS	Rosie Brown	Episode: "Beneath the Surface"
2019	The Neighborhood	Miss Simpson	Episode: "Welcome To The Yard Sale"
2019	Live in Front of a Studio Audience	Florence Johnston	Episode: “Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons”
2019	A Black Lady Sketch Show	Mary Jenkins	Episode: "3rd & Bonaparte Is Always in the Shade"
2019	One Fine Christmas	Alice	Television film
2019	Bless This Mess	Belle	Episode: "Goose Glazing Time"
2020	One Day at a Time	Mrs. Jones	Episode: "One Halloween at a Time"[16]
2020	The Last O.G.	Mama Jarvis	Episode: "Ballin"

References

1. McCann, Bob (2009-10-30). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television. ISBN 9780786458042. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
2. "Marla Gibbs". Yahoo Movies. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
3. "Marla Gibbs Biography". Retrieved November 28, 2014.
4. Maudlyne Ihejirika. "HistoryMakers-bringing-actress-Marla-Gibbs-to-Phillips-High". Retrieved November 28, 2014.
5. "Interview With Marla Gibbs". BroadwayWeekly.com. February 14, 2015. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
6. "Marla Gibbs to Guest-Star on Southland". TV Guide. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
7. "Latest Church & Entertainment News". The Church Lady Blogs. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
8. "Marla Gibbs set for 'Grantham and Rose'". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
9. Tambay A. Obenson (November 20, 2013). "Watch Marla Gibbs, Tessa Thompson, Jake T. Austin In Trai - Shadow and Act". Shadow and Act. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
10. Webb, Matt (2015-02-05). "'Scandal' Season 4 Recap — Fitz Declares War to Save Olivia". TVLine.com. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
11. Hipes, Patrick (6 March 2018). "'Station 19': Marla Gibbs Set For Multi-Episode Arc On ABC's 'Grey's Spinoff". Retrieved 12 March 2018.
12. Schwindt, Oriana (6 February 2017). "Jalen Rose ABC Comedy Pilot Casts Anna Maria Horsford, Marla Gibbs". Retrieved 12 March 2018.
13. Roots, Kimberly (23 May 2019). "The Jeffersons Vet Marla Gibbs Reprises Role of Florence in Surprise Appearance". TVLine. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 1, 2015. Retrieved 2014-12-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. "La Me Ln Chaka Khan Natalie Cole Funeral". Los Angeles Times. January 11, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
16. Schwartz, Ryan (February 27, 2020). "One Day at a Time: Marla Gibbs Cast in Season 4 Halloween Episode, Reuniting With Jeffersons Creator Norman Lear". TVLine.

External links

• Marla Gibbs on IMDb
• Marla Gibbs at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Marla Gibbs at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Image of Tom Bradley and Marla Gibbs passing his Crenshaw campaign headquarters during a parade in Los Angeles, California, 1989. Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.