Actress and comedienne Marla Gibbs was bestowed with a star on the celebrated Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 20. Best known as the venomous-tongued maid Florence on “The Jeffersons (1975-85),” she served as a more than worthy adversary to her employer George Jefferson (played by Sherman Hemsley).
Joining her were iconic producer Norman Lear and fellow cast member Tisha Campbell (from 1995’s “Martin”). The event was held at the El Capitan Entertainment Center on Hollywood Boulevard. The ceremony was impacted by the torrid mid-summer heat, which caused the festivities to be interrupted as the 90-year-old actress was taken inside for a half-hour respite.
Born June 14, 1931, the Chicago native is a product of that city’s historic Bronzeville district. As a divorced mother of three, Gibbs began her theatrical career at the tender age of 41, after studying at the Mafundi Institute and Watts Writers Workshop, under the tutelage of Roger E. Mosley (Magnum, P.I.) and others. During her five-decade-long body of work, she has amassed a whopping 111 credits (certified on IMDB) while dabbling in the Blaxploitation genre of the 1970s, animation, TV dramas, and the sitcoms for which she is best known.
In addition to her acting career, Gibbs was well known as the longtime proprietor of the South Central club, Marla’s Memory Lane.
She is the 2,698th person to be honored on the Walk of Fame, and the star itself is at 6840 Hollywood Boulevard (in front of Jimmy Kimmel Live).
