‘227’ star Marla Gibbs says she struggled to portray a married character on the show

The legendary Marla Gibbs appeared on The Sherri Shepherd Show last week, where she was praised for her beauty and pioneering career in entertainment. The actress best known for playing housekeeper Florence Johnson on popular sitcom The Jeffersons also played Mary Jenkins on 227. She was recently cast in Season 19 of Grey’s Anatomy and the Snoop Dogg-produced film Bromates.

Shepherd was present when Gibbs received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in July 2021. “Oh, it was so fabulous,” Gibbs said of their big day. “I never expected that. It was all Regina’s idea.”

Shepherd clarified that 227 star Regina King was responsible for getting everyone on board to make Gibbs a Hollywood star. “They turned us away the first year,” said the 91-year-old, who feels a lot younger than she is.

“I think someone got that wrong. I’m 30,” said the woman, who jokingly gets that old “every year.”

“I went back to 30. I was 44 when I started. But I said when I’m 30 I can work forever,” she explained. “And God is good. God says that there is no age and no time when you are a spiritual being. And I’m a spiritual being, so I don’t have age, I don’t have time. So I decided to vibrate to 30.”

Shepherd reminded the audience that Gibbs brought the idea for 227 to The Jeffersons creator Norman Lear. Gibbs then revealed that the show was originally a play that ran for six months. It was seen by Brandon Tartikoff, who was NBC’s president from 1981 to 1991.

“When Norman finally came to see it – which I invited him to – but then he heard about it. He said, ‘I hear you played a good piece.’ I said yes.” He said, “Well, I want to see it.” I said, “Well, you better come tomorrow because we’re closing.”

Because of her first and legendary series, Lear offered to produce “227” with Gibbs.

“So I said ok, this is home. I’m already doing The Jeffersons. But when I got it, he had two other producers who were also African American, but they didn’t agree with anything I wanted to do.”

She said they wanted their character, Mary Jenkins, to portray a single woman, to which she replied, “I’m not going to do the show without a man.”

For those who saw “227,” Gibbs’ character was married to the character Lester Jenkins, portrayed by Hal Williams, who also played Jenkins in the play. Their “chemistry” was already established, making it easier to add lines and turn them into a row. She had to fight for Williams as much as she did for actress Jackée Harry, who played Sandra Clark in 227.

“I fought for him,” Gibbs noted. “I got him and then Jackée came in and auditioned for Rose. But then she asked if she could play Sandra and we said yes. She did and she was hysterical.”

In 1987, Jackée Harry became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for 227. But Gibbs said NBC didn’t want her for the role.

“They wanted someone else, but I said I want her because she works. The other person I loved but no one would believe lived in this building. It was just challenging,” Gibbs points out. “But Jackée was hysterical.”