Marla Gibbs on ‘The Jeffersons’ Cultural Impact and Late Norman Lear (Exclusive)

Marla Gibbs is feeling nostalgic.

The 93-year-old actress recently sat down with ET to reflect on her long and successful career. With a resume that boasts 39 movies and 72 television shows, Gibbs is perhaps best known for her role in the beloved sitcom “The Jeffersons.” During the interview, she shared candid memories about working with the late Norman Lear, the legendary Emmy-winning writer, producer, and creator of “The Jeffersons.”

“The Jeffersons” aired on CBS from 1975 to 1985. Gibbs, who played the sassy maid Florence Johnston, initially thought her role was a one-time opportunity. “I was doing a play when I got ‘The Jeffersons,’ so I always thought I would be doing that. ‘The Jeffersons’ was a one-shot deal. I was only supposed to do one show,” she recalled. “I was happy I had one shot. I got a chance to do it. So I was very happy and then they invited me back to do a show on the fifth episode, and then invited me back for the eighth episode, and then they invited me for a contract. So I was surprised.”

Gibbs vividly remembers the day she met Norman Lear, who died at 101 in Los Angeles of natural causes. Their first meeting was in 1975 when Gibbs auditioned with the line, “How come we overcame and nobody told me?” She discovered that it was one of Lear’s favorite lines. “Turned out that was one of Norman’s favorite lines so he always said I was his favorite,” Gibbs shared.

Although they didn’t have an immediate connection, Gibbs looks back on Lear with great admiration. “Norman, such a profound person. I’m telling you. You don’t forget Norman,” she said.

She recounted a time when she wanted Lear to visit “The Jeffersons” set. “In the meantime, in ‘The Jeffersons,’ they said, ‘Norman is coming. Norman is coming? Who invited him?’ ‘Marla.'” While some were upset that Gibbs brought the boss to work, Lear’s presence was necessary to solve an issue with the Willis’ performance. “They were having a problem and I knew he could solve it because I’d seen the way he handled things, and he came in and he solved the problem,” Gibbs said.

Reflecting on the cultural impact of “The Jeffersons,” which follows a Black family moving into a luxury apartment building in New York City, Gibbs admitted she “had no idea” what a significant impact the show and her character would have. “Well, ‘The Jeffersons,’ they reflected all of society,” she explained. “Isabel was the people who volunteered to do things. They had the health center. Roxie was in an interracial relationship. George represented the people who were successful without the benefit of formal education. Florence represented all the people who worked.”

She continued, “I had no idea Florence would be accepted the way she would. It was just wonderful and people would always remember my whole name. They’d say ‘Marla Gibbs.’ It was always amazing to me.”

Initially, Gibbs was worried that children wouldn’t connect with her character. “When I first got Florence, I worried what other children would think, would not connect with a maid, but they would always come up and say, ‘My aunt was a maid.’ They’d always try to find somebody in the family who was a maid,” she said. “So that was really nice.”

Even today, “The Jeffersons” remains a beloved show. Gibbs shared a touching fan encounter. “I was doing an autograph show in Tennessee and this older white guy came by to get a picture and he was almost crying,” she recalled. “Then he came back later without his friends and he said, ‘I used to watch the show with my grandmother,’ and then he started to break down crying… I mean he was really crying and I said, wow, it means so much that they watched it with people in their family who are no longer with them. And they still have those feelings.”

She added, “‘The Jeffersons’ was the show that everybody could watch with their children, with their grandparents. Everybody could watch it.”

While Gibbs cherishes her past, she’s excited for the future. This fall, she is set to release her memoir, “It’s Never Too Late.” In it, she details her journey from Chicago’s South Side to long-term success in Hollywood. She also operates an online boutique called Marla’s Boutique, run by her grandson.

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