George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley)
George was originally a character on All in the Family until he cleaned up in the dry-cleaning business and moved on up to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where instead of being discriminated against by his neighbour Archie, he takes to discriminating against his neighbours (and in-laws) Tom and Helen Willis, and other people in the neighborhood.
- Abusive Parents: George recalls being hit by his father frequently but doesn't seem to bear any resentment towards him
- Best Friends-in-Law: George is loath to admit it, but he becomes this with Tom in later seasons.
- Conspicuous Consumption: A big fan of this.
- The Dandy: Has a massive and varied wardrobe, and in Queens he wore a fresh carnation on his lapel every day.
- Deadpan Snarker: With more emphasis on "snark" than "deadpan".
- Happily Married: He and Louise fight a lot but it's obvious they love each other deeply.
- Hypocrite: Gives Louise's uncle a really hard time for being an Uncle Tom (he's a butler to a white household) but when he sucks up to his white business associates it's just fine.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: George is loud-mouthed, snarky, obnoxious and flat-out bigoted, but he's also capable of being generous and dependable as well as a loving husband and father. He even has a handful of Pet the Dog moments.
- This is shown extremely well in a flashback episode. At the grand opening of their store in Queens in 1968, a wealthy woman, Mrs. Cody, was their first customer. She was slightly dismissive (and mentioned she'd be "moving on up" to a better neighborhood soon), but was willing to give them a shot, wished them luck, and said if they did a good job, she would recommend them to her friends. Flash forward fifteen years later, and the roles are now reversed as she is down on her luck since her husband died and can't even afford dry cleaning anymore. She runs "an account" with the store, although George is still careful to do her orders in the exact manner she originally specified. She says that she will pay off what she owes, but profit-obsessed George replies that it's fine and to take all the time she needs. When she leaves, he rips up her invoice and it's implied he comes into Queens every week so he can take care of her, not just "to count his money" as he lets everyone else think.
- Virtually his entire dynamic with Florence consists of running insults back-and-forth for years, but in the final season, he hands her $500* so she can go to her godson's graduation, and he manages to do it in such a gracious fashion she doesn't feel she owes him anything.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- George has a habit of framing his prejudices in a way others can't argue with, such as justifying not hiring a white manager by pointing out that if he doesn't hire black executives, who will?
- This also ends up being applied to him; he originally wants to open a dry cleaners in Harlem, but a racist loan official frankly points out that no bank will lend money to a business in post-1968 MLK riots Harlem and that George needs to open his store somewhere more stable (in George's words, "a white neighborhood"). He's indignant at hearing people in the neighborhood described as 'animals', throws the guy out, and is temporarily left with nothing, but later the same year they do open their first store — in Queens.
- Last-Name Basis: Always called Archie Bunker, Tom Willis and Harry Bentley by their surnames.
- Noble Bigot: Harbours a lot of resentment towards Caucasians, although it's hard to blame him considering the cultural context of his early life. He softens considerably towards Tom and Bentley eventually and considers them friends in spite of himself.
- Non-Idle Rich: Very wealthy but he works his fingers to the bone for every cent.
- Rags to Riches: Originally poor, he made his money in the dry-cleaning business.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: George likes to believe that his money will give him access to basically anything. Also that being rich excuses him from the manners he never bothered with while he was poor; while he's perfectly capable of being obsequious to someone he thinks will get him ahead, he's abrasive and rude to just about everyone else, constantly.
- Self-Made Man: Worked his way from a janitor in Harlem to a middle-class business owner in Queens to a bonafide dry-cleaning tycoon on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Almost always wears an impeccably fitted three piece suit at work and owns an impressive array of smoking jackets and neck-kerchiefs.
- Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Even though he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, he tends to be intensely self-centered, snarky, stubborn, loud, rude, and obnoxious. There's even a Dream Sequence where Louise and George swap personalities just to highlight how difficult and unpleasant his behavior usually is.
Louise Jefferson, née Mills (Isabel Sanford)
George's long-suffering wife who came with him on his journey to the top. Although she's sweet and kind, she has a sharp tongue in her head and doesn't hesitate to lash George when he needs it.
- Affectionate Nickname: Famously and almost constantly called "Weez" or "Weezy" by George.
- Best Friends-in-Law: Became this with Helen after Jenny and Lionel got married.
- Happily Married: Although she's Closer to Earth, she and George were very happy in their marriage.
- In-Series Nickname: George calls her "Weezy".
- Morality Chain: A somewhat mild example, but she often has to act as George's conscience, and there are many cases where her intervention is the only thing that stops him from being a complete and total Jerkass.
- My Beloved Smother: She can be a bit overbearing to Lionel at times.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: One episode had her become this towards Jenny. She had a change of heart afterwards.
- Nice Girl She was very kind and tolerant and even acted as George's conscience at times.
- Rags to Riches: She took a bit longer to adjust than George.
Lionel Jefferson (Mike Evans, Damon Evans)
George and Weezy's son from All in The Family. Early on he was in college to become an engineer. After he graduated he married Jenny Willis and got a job.
- Amicable Exes: Eventually lands on this with Jenny.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Dates and marries a biracial girl against his father's express wishes.
- Deadpan Snarker: Must run in the family.
- Expy: The position he takes in marital arguments sometimes mirrors Mike Stivic.
- Generation Xerox: Depending on the actor playing him. When portrayed by Mike Evans, he behaved more like George (albeit, without his bigoted ideals). However, when played by Damon Evans, he was more like Louise.
- Mr. Fixit: He is an engineer after all.
-
The Other Darrin: Played by two different actors - Put on a Bus: Moved to Japan with Jenny.
Olivia "Mother" Jefferson (Zara Cully)
George's mother who constantly mollycoddles George while belittling Louise.
- December–December Romance: A few, including one with Tom's uncle Bertram. Needless to say, George wasn't pleased.
- Friendly Enemy: She and Louise don't really hate each other-they just dislike each other intensely, and will occasionally team up to put George in his place or otherwise stick up for each other.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: Didn't speak to her sister for 25 years over an argument about bingo.
- Lady Drunk: Has a fondness for Bloody Marys for her "nerves"
- My Beloved Smother: Not that George minds.
- Never Mess with Granny: Once memorably fights off one of George's old Navy buddies when he was getting fresh with Louise.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Big time. She never misses a chance to put Louise down.
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: All the time.
- Senior Sleep-Cycle: Frequently takes "beauty naps" during the day.
Harry Bentley (Paul Benedict)
The Jeffersons' English neighbour who frequently drops by to borrow something or have George walk on his back. He's an interpreter at the U.N.
- British Stuffiness: Averted. He's quite open about his personal life and amorous exploits
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander
- Cunning Linguist: He speaks a variety of languages, fitting for a U.N. interpreter.
- Gentle Giant: Very tall but exceedingly nice.
- Kavorka Man: Has a plethora of lady friends but is not especially good-looking. In real life, actor Paul Benedict actually had acromegaly.
- Little Known Facts: Fond of these.
- Omniglot: Has fluency in several different languages but his main one is Russian.
- Put on a Bus: Left at the end of season 7 but returned at the start of season 10.
- The Un-Favourite: Implied in a conversation about what his parents wanted to name him:
- Bentley: My mother insisted on Henry.Louise: And your father liked Harry?Bentley: No, he liked my brother Malcolm.
Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs)
The Jeffersons' live-in maid. She was a good Christian woman despite being snarky, slightly lazy and generally making George's life Hell.
- Breakout Character: To the point she got her own spin-off, though it only lasted four episodes.
- Driven to Suicide: In "Florence's Problem". She gets better.
- Love Hurts: Frequently cheated on/dumped by her suitors, at which point she usually declares them a "turkey".
- Promotion to Opening Titles : In season 3 she became a main character instead of just recurring.
- Really Gets Around: She dates a lot of men, but she insists she never sleeps with them.
- Sassy Black Woman: She never hesitates to give George a piece of her mind, whether he wants it or not.
- Servile Snarker: She's the Jeffersons' maid, not that you'd know it most of the time since she's always bickering with George.
