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Thread: Shirley Hemphill

  1. #1
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    Shirley Hemphill

    There is hardly any information on her online. Does anyone know the circumstances regarding her death?





    -K.

  2. #2
    Cathy J. Guest
    Talk about how death comes in threes.

    Shirley Hemphill, Fred "Rerun" Barry, and Mabel "Mama" King all had died not too far apart from each other. Hemphill died from Kidney Failure according to IMDB while Barry died fafter a stroke.

    Remember the guy who played "Gene" on Whats Happening? Not too long ago I read where he was killed in a police shootout in LA back in 1983.

    I also heard that the actor who played Dee & Roger's dad Thalmus Rasulala has since passed on as well as the actor who played Rob, the guy who owned the soda shop. Take two on the latter, Earl Billings "Rob" is still with us. So says IMDB.

    Fritzi Burr who played the teacher Mrs. Collins died in 2003.

    A lot of people from Whats Happening have since died. Kinda ironic considering that Good Times was on TV at the same time and other than Ester Rolle, most of that cast is still with us.

  3. #3
    ST Moron Guest
    Sorry to hear about Shirley Hemphill. She wasn't that old, was she?

    Apart from "Dee," she was probably my favourite cast member.

    I liked Fred Berry, too, until I heard about his nothing-but-money-grubbing lawsuit.

    Later for that, Fred.

  4. #4
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    She was a stich..if I'm not mistaken, she was found dead in her home. Possible heart attack?

  5. #5
    I think with the exception of Ma Mabel they all died at a young age.

  6. #6
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    Shirley....

    Now that I think of it, she died a month after Mabel King. Eerie.






    -K.

  7. #7
    dovescry1999 Guest
    I heard she was in her home dead for a few days before anyone thought to check on her.
    That is the sad part. I know we all have to go, but I don't want to be alone...Does that make sense ? I don't want to be in the apartment swollen and smelly before anyone thinks to check on me. I need to make some friends...

  8. #8
    Tugboat25 Guest
    According to my cousin, Shirley had an unbelievably funny stand up routine in comedy clubs.

  9. #9
    candleinthewind Guest
    I've seen her standup on TV. She had a routine about going to the gyno when you have gas and farting in his face.

    I believe she and Mabel King were close. I remember her on a talk show asking people to pray for Mabel because she was very sick.

  10. #10
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    She gave Rosie O' Donell her break, didn't she?
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!

  11. #11
    hoxharding Guest

    Shirley

    She was on an episode of 'Trapper John M.D.' She played a very overweight patient whose health was at risk and loved to make jokes.

  12. #12
    hoxharding Guest

    Shirley hemphill

    Shirley Ann Hemphill (July 1, 1947 - December 10, 1999) was an American stand-up comedian and actress who was born in Asheville, North Carolina. She was best known for her role on the popular television situation comedy What's Happening!!, which ran from 1976 to 1979.
    Shirley started her career as a stand-up comic but without much fanfare. In an effort to receive some notice she decided to record some of her best routine on a borrowed cassette recorded and send the tape to comedian Flip Wilson who at the time was a major television star and was on his third season of his own TV variety show. Flip enjoyed the tape and afterwards invited Shirley to L.A. to attend a taping of his show. He also sent her a dozen roses for luck and her very own cassette recorder. After Shirley returned home from the taping she was determined to become a comedy star. She became a waitress at a fast food restaurant during the day and work comedy clubs at night.
    In 1976 Shirley stand-up routine started to get noticed and she received some guest spots on several TV comedy sitcoms including All's Fair and Good Times. She landed the role of sarcastic waitress Shirley Wilson on a four episode trial comedy TV series What's Happening!!, which was adopted from Eric Monte's film Cooley High. After a succesful run in the month August of 1976 ABC picked up the show, adding it to their November fall slot, and it ran for three seasons.
    Following What's Happening, Hemphill would go on to star in her own sitcom One in a Million in which she portrayed a taxi driver who inherited a huge corporation and fortune from one of her customers. This failed series lasted for 13 episodes.
    Five years later, she co-starred on the revival of What's Happening!! entitled What's Happening Now!!, which ran from 1985 to 1988. Her television guest appearances included, Good Times, The Love Boat, Trapper John, M.D., The Sinbad Show, Martin and The Wayans Bros among others. She's also appeared in the films CB4 with Chris Rock and Shoot The Moon.
    Throughout her career Shirley performed her stand-up routine on a number of popular TV shows including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, A&E's An Evening at the Improv, BET's Black Comedy Showcase and Black Comedy Tonight. She was also a regular at The Laugh Factory comedy club in Los Angeles.
    On December 10, 1999, Shirley died of kidney failure at her home in suburban Los Angeles, California. She was reportedly found dead by her gardener.
    Shirley passed away nearly a month after her What's Happening!! co-star Mabel King.

    [edit] External links

    This article about an American television actor

  13. #13
    hoxharding Guest
    She died of complications from diabetes.

  14. #14
    Irishlass Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by hoxharding View Post
    She was on an episode of 'Trapper John M.D.' She played a very overweight patient whose health was at risk and loved to make jokes.

    i remember that episode.
    trapper was going to staple her stomach and told her not to eat 12 hrs befor ethe surgery but she did and didnt tell anyone
    I think it was cookies she binged on and Trapper couldnt do the surgery...
    god somedays i cant remeber my own name but i remember that episode

  15. #15
    UGHHHHH Guest
    Her house is in a pretty quiet and affluent neighborhood in West Covina.

  16. #16
    mr.wanttohaveitall Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Tugboat25 View Post
    According to my cousin, Shirley had an unbelievably funny stand up routine in comedy clubs.


    I've heard that too. I never got to see her live but saw her a few times on talk shows as well as W.H. and she really cracked me up!! She was funny alright. Such a shame she died at a young age. I'm glad someone asked about her.

    RIP Shirley.

  17. #17
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    Shirley's house

    If anyone knows where she lived, please get pictures. I have a story on Shirley that's all ready to go, and all we need are pics.

    Can anyone help?




    -K.

  18. #18
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    Shirley's house, again.....

    Do you want to see her on FAD? All we need are pics of her house.

  19. #19
    Guest Guest


    Another one who's face I knew but not the name

  20. #20
    guardmom2008 Guest
    I remember her on What's Happening she was always very funny.
    RIP Shirley.

  21. #21
    lisalouver Guest
    Wish I had pics of her house to share, but I dont know where she lived and I dont live in Cali (which I assume is where she lived when she died)

    I do look forward to her FAD story!

  22. #22
    beatlebaby4 Guest
    I remember her from What's Happening. She looked like the larger version of Dee the little sister . She had some great one liners.

  23. #23
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    I remember just after Shirley Hemphill died David Letterman said
    when he and others were stand up comics trying to get their big
    brake in Los Angeles in the 1970s sometimes hungry with no place
    to go she would always welcomed them back to her house for a
    nice home cooked meal.

  24. #24
    beatlebaby4 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by theotherlondon View Post
    I remember just after Shirley Hemphill died David Letterman said
    when he and others were stand up comics trying to get their big
    brake in Los Angeles in the 1970s sometimes hungry with no place
    to go she would always welcomed them back to her house for a
    nice home cooked meal.
    That's a nice story. I like hearing those kinds of stories.

  25. #25
    guardmom2008 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by beatlebaby4 View Post
    I remember her from What's Happening. She looked like the larger version of Dee the little sister . She had some great one liners.
    Yes, she did.

  26. #26
    Forever-27 Guest
    Wow this is almost like The Jeffersons curse. Not quite but similar. I didnt know that so many from whats happening were gone. She did have a weight problem. I did wonder while watching the show on Tv land if her weight gave her high blood preasure or other health issues.

    Ive heard also that her stand up routine was hilarious. I regret not seeing her on stage just like I wish I had seen Redd Foxx live
    Last edited by Forever-27; 07-27-2009 at 10:17 AM.

  27. #27
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    I have Shirley's death certificate, and could not get to the address. I mean it took me to the street, but her address didn't show up. I can only guess they gave a false on It was a long drive to learn that informaton
    Hero Worship - They Deserve it. I preserve it.

  28. #28
    TIMB1967 Guest
    I saw a interview with the guy who played Dewayne (I think that was his name) and he said that he kept up with her sporadically but that every time he saw her he would give him a new phone number and then when he tried to call her it was changed or disconnected. I thought se was pretty funny myself and I vaguely recall seeing some of the series she starred in herself. It wasn't too bad although like many shows it only lasted a short while.

  29. #29
    Sampiro Guest
    It's always interesting to me which stars do and which stars don't take care of their money. I remember seeing her on a talk show long after both WH? and WH Now? and she mentioned that she didn't tour that much anymore and wasn't particularly worried about not getting another job. The interviewer asked her where her money came from since residuals couldn't be that much.

    She said that when she was making money from What's Happening? (which was a good bit at the time I'm sure but probably nothing compared to what an actor on even a moderately successful sitcom today would make) she had the advantage of not being a kid and having some starving-time experiences and thought to herself "I'm an overweight black woman in a business that's not particularly kind to people who are overweight, black, or women so it's not going to last forever." She wanted to make the most of the golden goose so she lived frugally, bought the duplex she was living in, then later bought another. She worked steadily from then (guest appearances, a couple of forgotten sitcoms, nightclub act) and then got a decent check from What's Happening Now? and with those she ended up owning enough rental properties to support herself in relative comfort. The money she made from appearances and acting was a nice plus but not necessary.

    It's always nice to hear of someone from a sitcom you liked not living under a bridge or in Ed Woodville. Especially when you compare her to, say, Ed McMahon, who probably earned more in a year in the 1980s than she earned in her entire life and yet wound up broke and deep in debt.


    Quote Originally Posted by joplinfrk View Post
    She gave Rosie O' Donell her break, didn't she?
    We all do things that seem good ideas at the time that we regret later on.

  30. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by joplinfrk View Post
    She gave Rosie O' Donell her break, didn't she?
    I think you might be thinking of Nell Carter. I think she had something to do with getting Rosie cast on Gimme a Break! during one of its last horrid seasons (loooong after it ran out of funny). They ended up falling out or something. Shocking because Rosie gets along with everyone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Sampiro View Post
    It's always interesting to me which stars do and which stars don't take care of their money. I remember seeing her on a talk show long after both WH? and WH Now? and she mentioned that she didn't tour that much anymore and wasn't particularly worried about not getting another job. The interviewer asked her where her money came from since residuals couldn't be that much.

    She said that when she was making money from What's Happening? (which was a good bit at the time I'm sure but probably nothing compared to what an actor on even a moderately successful sitcom today would make) she had the advantage of not being a kid and having some starving-time experiences and thought to herself "I'm an overweight black woman in a business that's not particularly kind to people who are overweight, black, or women so it's not going to last forever." She wanted to make the most of the golden goose so she lived frugally, bought the duplex she was living in, then later bought another. She worked steadily from then (guest appearances, a couple of forgotten sitcoms, nightclub act) and then got a decent check from What's Happening Now? and with those she ended up owning enough rental properties to support herself in relative comfort. The money she made from appearances and acting was a nice plus but not necessary.

    It's always nice to hear of someone from a sitcom you liked not living under a bridge or in Ed Woodville. Especially when you compare her to, say, Ed McMahon, who probably earned more in a year in the 1980s than she earned in her entire life and yet wound up broke and deep in debt.
    It is nice to hear about an actor saving for a rainy day. It still amazes me how many celebrities end up broke simply because they didn't think they'd ever stop being the flavor of the moment.
    "You live alone, creating your life as you go." - Edie Sedgwick

  31. #31
    Sodapop Guest
    I caught her stand-up act several years ago. She was hilarious! I remember a bit she did about her man wanting her to "talk" during sex. She said all she could think to say was "ummm Kmart's having a big sale right now!"

  32. #32
    StellaBoo Guest
    OMG I totally remember that Trapper John MD episode too! LOL

    I'd love to see her standup act. Maybe YouTube has something...

  33. #33
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    Link on What's Happening.....


  34. #34
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    Shirley Hemphill, a year before she died....

    She is with Haywood Nelson, on Jenny Jones:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP8qpm5Ta78

  35. #35
    Nelliebean Guest
    Haywood got much better looking with age.

  36. #36
    donnarama Guest
    She was one of my favorite comedians.I thought she was really funny.Rest in peace,Shirley.

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