place_of_birth hal williams
Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan ___MASK70___ about a father - and - son rag - and - bone business . They live on Oil Drum Lane , a fictional ___MASK49___ in ___MASK83___ ' s Bush , London . Four series were broadcast by the BBC from 1962 to 1965 , followed by a second run from 1970 to 1974 . Its theme tune , " Old Ned ", was composed by Ron Grainer . The series was voted 15th in a 2004 BBC poll to find " Britain ' s Best Sitcom ". It was remade in the US as " Sanford and Son ", in Sweden as " Albert & Herbert " and in the Netherlands as " Stiefbeen en zoon ". In 1972 a film adaptation of the series , " Steptoe and Son ", was released in cinemas , with a second " Steptoe and Son Ride Again " in 1973 . Halroy Candis `` Hal '' Williams ( born December 14 , 1934 ) is an American actor , ___MASK97___ known for his recurring role as Police Officer Smith ( `` Smitty '' ) on ___MASK43___ and Son ( 1972 -- 76 ) and as the patriarch Lester Jenkins , the husband ___MASK11___ Marla Gibbs ' s character , on the NBC sitcom 227 ( 1985 -- 90 ) . Williams started out in the acting business in 1969 . Since then , he has appeared in movies such as Paul Schrader ' s Hardcore , Howard Zieff ' s Private Benjamin ( he also portrayed the role ___MASK11___ Sgt L . C . `` Ted '' Ross in the television series ___MASK11___ the same name ) , and Clint Eastwood ' s The Rookie . He was controversially fired from The Jimmy Stewart Show in 1971 at the insistence ___MASK11___ its star , James Stewart . In the early to mid - 1990s , he starred in many ___MASK11___ comic Sinbad ' s productions , including The Sinbad Show and The Cherokee Kid . He played the grandfather in the Bernie Mac film Guess Who . His other television credits include Moonlight , Moesha , Suddenly Susan , Minor Adjustments , L . A . Law , Night Court , Magnum , P . I . , Hill Street Blues , Gim me a Break , The Jeffersons , The Dukes ___MASK11___ Hazzard , T . J . Hooker , The Waltons , Knots Landing , The White Shadow , What ' s Happening ! ! , Good Times , Quincy , M . E . , Kung Fu , S . W . A . T . , Gunsmoke and That Girl . Williams is also the host ___MASK11___ the annual Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation nationally - televised telethon . The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) is a British public service broadcaster . It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in ___MASK77___ , is the world ' s oldest national broadcasting organisation , and is the largest broadcaster in the world by number ___MASK11___ employees , with over 20 , 950 staff in total , ___MASK11___ whom 16 , 672 are in public sector broadcasting ; including part - time , flexible as well as fixed contract staff , the total number is 35 , 402 . The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18 , 1975 , through July 2 , 1985 , lasting 11 seasons and a total ___MASK11___ 253 episodes . " The Jeffersons " is one ___MASK11___ the longest - running sitcoms , the second longest - running American series with a primarily African American cast ( surpassed in 2012 by " Tyler Perry ' s House ___MASK11___ Payne "), and the first to prominently feature a married interracial couple . ___MASK43___ and Son is an American sitcom that ran on the NBC television network from January 14 , 1972 to March 25 , 1977 . It was based on the BBC Television program " Steptoe and Son ". Checking In is an American sitcom and a spin - off ___MASK11___ " The Jeffersons " that aired for four episodes on CBS from April 9 to April 30 , 1981 . A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution ___MASK11___ television program content , whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers . Until the mid - 1980s , television programming in most countries ___MASK11___ the world was dominated by a small number ___MASK11___ broadcast networks . Many early television networks ( such as the BBC , NBC or CBC ) evolved from earlier radio networks . BBC Television is a service ___MASK11___ the British Broadcasting Corporation . The corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms ___MASK11___ a royal charter since 1927 . It produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932 , although the start ___MASK11___ its regular service ___MASK11___ television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936 . A situation comedy , or sitcom , is a genre ___MASK11___ comedy centered on a fixed set ___MASK11___ characters who carry over from episode to episode . Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch , and stand - up comedy where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience . Sitcoms originated in radio , but today are found mostly on television as one9 ___MASK11___ its dominant narrative forms . This form can also include mockumentaries . ___MASK88___ ( or ), officially the City ___MASK11___ ___MASK88___ , is the third - most populous city in the United States , and the fifth - most populous city in North America . With over 2 . 7 million residents , it is the most populous city in the state ___MASK11___ Illinois and the Midwestern United States , and the county seat ___MASK11___ Cook County . The ___MASK88___ metropolitan area , often referred to as Chicagoland , has nearly 10 million people and is the third - largest in the U . S . An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement ___MASK11___ Colored People to honor outstanding people ___MASK11___ color in film , television , music , and literature . Similar to other awards , like the Oscars and the Grammys , the over 30 categories ___MASK11___ the Image Awards are voted on by the award organization ' s members ( that is , NAACP members ). Honorary awards ( similar to the Academy Honorary Award ) have also been included , such as the President ' s Award , the Chairman ' s Award , Entertainer ___MASK11___ the Year and The Image Award Hall ___MASK11___ Fame . ___MASK36___ is the largest city in the Commonwealth ___MASK11___ Pennsylvania and the fifth - most populous city in the United States , with an estimated population ___MASK11___ 1 , 567 , 442 and more than 6 million in the seventh - largest metropolitan statistical area , . ___MASK36___ is the economic and cultural anchor ___MASK11___ the Delaware Valleya region located in the Northeastern United States at the confluence ___MASK11___ the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers with 7 . 2 million people residing in the eighth - largest combined statistical area in the United States . The National Broadcasting Company ( NBC ) is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property ___MASK11___ NBCUniversal , a subsidiary ___MASK11___ Comcast . The network is headquartered in the Comcast Building ( formerly known as the GE Building ) at Rockefeller ___MASK16___ in New York City , with additional major offices near Los Angeles ( at Universal City Plaza ), Chicago ( at the NBC Tower ) and soon in Philadelphia at Comcast Innovation and Technology ___MASK16___ . The network is part ___MASK11___ the Big Three television networks . NBC is sometimes referred to as the " Peacock Network ", in reference to its stylized peacock logo , which was originally created in 1956 for its then - new color broadcasts and became the network ' s official emblem in 1979 . NBCUniversal ( colloquially referred to as NBCU or NBCUni and formerly written as NBC Universal ) is an American multinational ___MASK33___ conglomerate . Headquartered in Rockefeller Plaza ' s Comcast Building ( formerly the GE Building ) in Midtown Manhattan , ___MASK41___ City , the company is one ___MASK11___ two successor companies to MCA Inc . ( Music Corporation ___MASK11___ America ), the other being Vivendi through its subsidiary Universal Music Group . Comcast Corporation ( formerly registered as Comcast Holdings ) is an American global telecommunications conglomerate that is the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue . It is the second - largest pay - TV company after the AT & T - DirecTV acquisition , largest cable TV company and largest ___MASK80___ Internet service provider in the United States , and the nation ' s third - largest ___MASK80___ telephone service provider . Comcast services U . S . residential and commercial customers in 40 states and in the District ___MASK11___ Columbia . The company ' s headquarters are located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . As the owner ___MASK11___ the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011 , Comcast is a producer ___MASK11___ feature films and television programs intended for theatrical exhibition and over - the - air and cable television broadcast . The NBC Tower is an office tower on the Near North ___MASK51___ ___MASK11___ Chicago , Illinois , United States located at 454 North ___MASK7___ Drive ( 455 North Cityfront Plaza is also used as a vanity address for the building ) in downtown Chicago ' s Magnificent Mile area . Completed in 1989 , the 37 - story building reaches a height ___MASK11___ 627 feet ( 191 m ). NBC ' s Chicago offices , studios , and owned - and - operated station WMAQ - TV are located here as ___MASK11___ 1989 and on October 1 , 1989 , WMAQ - TV broadcast their first newscast at 10 pm that evening at their new home , NBC Tower with the then - weeknight news team ___MASK11___ Ron Magers , Carol Marin , John Coleman and Mark Giangreco . Later , Telemundo O & O WSNS - TV since their 2002 purchase by NBC . Formerly its former radio sister WMAQ / WSCR was located here . NBC ' s former Chicago FM property , WKQX and its sister station WLUP will move their studios to the NBC Tower in the summer ___MASK11___ 2016 . Marla Gibbs ( born Margaret Theresa Bradley ; June 14 , 1931 ) is an American actress , comedian , singer , writer and producer , whose career spans five decades . Gibbs is known for her role as Louise and ___MASK90___ Jefferson ' s maid , Florence Johnston , in the CBS sitcom , " The Jeffersons " ( 1975  85 ), for which she received five nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series . She also starred in the show ' s spin - off " Checking In " ( 1981 ), and for her leading role as Mary Jenkins in the NBC sitcom , " 227 " ( 1985  90 ), which she also co - produced and sang on the theme song . Gibbs has won a total ___MASK11___ seven NAACP Image Awards . In later years , Gibbs played supporting roles in films " The Meteor Man " ( 1993 ), " Lost & Found " ( 1999 ), " The Visit " ( 2000 ), " The Brothers " ( 2001 ), and " Madea ' s Witness Protection " ( 2012 ). Rockefeller ___MASK16___ is a large complex consisting of 19 highrise commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st Streets in New York City . Commissioned by the Rockefeller family , it is located in the ___MASK16___ of Midtown Manhattan , spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue . It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987 . ___MASK90___ Jefferson is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley on the American television sitcoms " All in the Family " ( from 1973 until 1975 ) and its spin - off " The Jeffersons " ( 1975  1985 ), in which he serves as the program ' s protagonist . He is the only character to appear in all 253 episodes ___MASK11___ " The Jeffersons ". This is a list ___MASK11___ winners and nominees ___MASK11___ the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series . In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies , the supporting categories were not always genre , or even gender , specific . Beginning with the 22nd Primetime Emmy Awards , supporting actresses in comedy have competed alone . However , these comedic performances often included actors from miniseries , telefilms , and guest performers competing against main cast competitors . Such instances are marked below :