Sherman Hemsley’s Hidden Life: The Private Secret He Kept From His Co-Stars

Sherman Hemsley was beloved as the loud, no-filter George Jefferson, but behind the scenes, the man who played TV’s most famous dry cleaner kept a secret that not even his closest co-stars discovered until after his death.

For years, cast and crew wondered why Hemsley would vanish between tapings. He rarely joined group events and was notoriously private. “He’d come in, kill it on set, then disappear,” one crew member recalled. “We thought he was just shy. We didn’t know the half of it.”

It wasn’t until 2012, after Hemsley passed away, that fans learned the truth: Hemsley had kept a longtime romantic relationship—and possibly even a private partnership—with his business manager and friend, Kenny Johnston. The two lived together for decades, and Johnston was named as the sole heir to Hemsley’s estate.

What followed was chaos.

Multiple people claiming to be Hemsley’s relatives suddenly appeared, contesting the will and alleging they had been shut out. The court case grew bitter, drawing national attention and forcing intimate details of Hemsley’s life into public view.

According to those close to him, Sherman lived in fear that public scrutiny over his personal life—particularly being a gay Black man in a time when Hollywood was far less accepting—would cost him roles or alienate fans. “He was terrified of being typecast or blacklisted,” said a former agent. “So he kept the real Sherman locked away.”

Even Isabel Sanford, his on-screen wife for over a decade, once admitted in an interview that “Sherman kept to himself. I never knew much about his life.”

Fans still debate whether Hemsley’s secret life should’ve remained private. But one thing is certain: while George Jefferson was loud and proud, the man who portrayed him lived in quiet fear of being seen too clearly.