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as Florence Johnston in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.
Music career In 1989, Hemsley, who had previ- ously been a jazz keyboardist, released a single titled “Ain’t Tat a Kick in the Head”.Tis was followed in 1992 with Dance, an album of rhythm and blues music. Hemsley appeared on Soul Train around the time of the record’s release, where he performed the song “Eyes in the Dark”.
Hemsley was a fan of 1970s progres- sive rock bands, including Yes,Gentle Giant, Gong, and Nektar. In 1999, Hemsley collaborated with Yes lead singer Jon Anderson on an album titled Festival of Dreams which was
not released.
Personal life and death Hemsley was a shy and intensely pri- vate man who was characterized by some as reclusive. He avoided the Hollywood limelight and little of his personal life was public knowledge beyond the facts that he never mar- ried and had no children. In 2003, however, Hemsley granted a rare vid- eo interview to the Archive of Ameri- can Television. “It [playing George Jefferson] was hard for me. But he was the character. I had to do it.” On July 24, 2012, Hemsley died at his home in El Paso, Texas. He died as a result of a cancerous mass on his lung, according to the El Paso Coun- ty Texas Medical Examiner. He was
74 years old.
On August 28, 2012, an El Paso, Texas news anchor interviewed the woman who describes herself as Hemsley’s partner; Flora Enchinton said Hemsley’s body is frozen in the San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso, Texas, waiting for the court to ap- prove his burial. A Philadelphia man named Richard Tornton said he is the brother of Hemsley, and is the true heir to his estate. After contest- ing a June 17, 2012 will, Tornton halted progress on funeral arrange- ments. As a result, Hemsley’s body remains refrigerated and unburied until a local court rules on the valid- ity of his will.
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