Franklin Edward Cover (November 20, 1928 – February 5, 2006) was an American actor best known for starring in the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history, ...

''. His character, Tom Willis, was half of one of the first

interracial marriage Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 1 ...

s to be seen on prime-time television.

Life and career

Cover was born on November 20, 1928, in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, to Britta (Schreck) and Franklin Held Cover. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1947. Cover graduated from

Denison University Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and ...

in 1951, and he received his MA in Theater in 1954 and MFA in Theater in 1955 both from Case Western Reserve University. His career started on the stage acting in '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. He also appeared in ''

Forty Carats ''Forty Carats'' is a play by Jay Presson Allen. Adapted from the French original by Pierre Barillet and Jean-Pierre Gredy, the comedy revolves around a 40-year-old American divorcee who is assisted by a 22-year-old when her car breaks down du ...

'' with

Julie Harris Julia Ann Harris (December 2, 1925August 24, 2013) was an American actress. Renowned for her classical and contemporary stage work, she received five Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Harris debuted on Broadway in 1945, against the wish ...

. He made his television debut on '' Naked City'' and later appeared on ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMon ...

''. In 1965, he married Mary Bradford Stone. His first starring role was on ''The Jeffersons'' as Tom Willis (a Caucasian man) who was married to an African-American woman, Helen, played by

Roxie Roker Roxie Albertha Roker (August 28, 1929 – December 2, 1995) was an American actress who portrayed Helen Willis on the CBS sitcom ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), half of the first interracial couple to be shown on regular prime time television ...

. The couple lived in the same high-rise apartment building as the sitcom's title characters. Cover would often be the foil to Sherman Hemsley's black businessman character,

George Jefferson George Jefferson is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley on the American television sitcoms ''All in the Family'' (1973–1975, 1978) and its spin-off ''The Jeffersons'' (1975–1985), in which he serves as the program's protagonist. ...

. The sitcom ran from 1975 to 1985. He also appeared in ''

The Stepford Wives ''The Stepford Wives'' is a 1972 satirical "feminist horror" novel by Ira Levin. The story concerns Joanna Eberhart, a talented photographer, wife and young mother who suspects that something in Stepford's environment is changing the wives fr ...

'' in 1975, and played

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

in the 1982 TV movie ''

A Woman Called Golda ''A Woman Called Golda'' is a 1982 American made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir directed by Alan Gibson and starring Ingrid Bergman. It also features Ned Beatty, Franklin Cover, Judy Davis, Anne Jackson, Robert L ...

''. Following the end of ''The Jeffersons'', Cover continued to make guest appearances on television shows as well as appearing in a supporting role in '' Wall Street'' (1987). In 1994, he appeared in the second episode of '' ER''. His final television appearance was in an episode of ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra Messing), ...

'' (entitled "

Object Of My Rejection ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on NBC from 1998 to 2006, and resumed on September 28, 2017. The show earned sixteen Emmy Awards, and 83 nominations. ''Will & Grace'' is set in New York City and focu ...

") that aired on May 13, 1999. Cover died at the

Lillian Booth Actors Home The Lillian Booth Actors Home of The Actors Fund is an American assisted-living facility, in Englewood, New Jersey. It is operated by the Actors Fund, a nonprofit umbrella charitable organization that assists American entertainment and perform ...

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

, on February 5, 2006. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recovering from a heart condition, and died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Obituary at Legacy.com"Jeffersons Star moves on up" at E! Online, February 10, 2006 "Franklin Cover, 77, comic foil to Sherman Hemsley" at ''Boston Globe,'' February 12, 2006
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cover, Franklin 1928 births 2006 deaths American male film actors American male television actors Case Western Reserve University alumni Male actors from Cleveland People from Englewood, New Jersey Male actors from New Jersey 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors Denison University alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New Jersey