*You know how when you’re watching something on live TV like one of those live recreations of a broadway play or a old TV show and you sorta wish something would go wrong so you could see how it works out one way or the other?
Well guess what bunky, if that’s what you wish for, last night if was watching ABC’s “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” tribute, you got your wish, courtesy of Jamie Foxx.
If you missed it (you can watch it here via the player below), Foxx blew his one of his lines during the 90 minute reenactment of the classic shows by creator Norman Lear, but broke out of character by telling the audience, “It’s live! Everyone sitting at home just thinking their TV just messed up.”
Foxx, of course, was playing the late Sherman Hemsley’s character George Jefferson who debuted in the 70s on “All in the Family” before “The Jeffersons” spinoff. In any event, Foxx’s George Jefferson was supposed to be insulting Anthony Anderson’s Uncle Henry in the scene, but as we said, things went left for him on the live broadcast.
“Ever since I was a little boy, I would always beg my mother for a little brother. But you know, we were broke,” Foxx said, stumbling on the punchline, “so all we could afford was you.”
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We said anything could happen! #LiveInFrontOfAStudioAudience #TheJeffersons #AllintheFamily pic.twitter.com/d8lNCjUzD3
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) May 23, 2019
As you can see, most of the other actors inthe scene remained cool through the boo-boo, including Anderson, Wanda Sykes (playing Weezy Jefferson) and fellow Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (as Edith Bunker). Others on set, including Woody Harrelson (Archie Bunker), Ike Barinholtz (Mike Stivic) and Ellie Kemper (Gloria Stivic) seemed to break, themselves, laughing hysterically at the mishap.
Of course, Foxx — a sitcom veteran who honed his sketch comedy chops on “In Living Color” and his own sitcom, “The Jamie Foxx Show” — redeemed himself and in the process, created comedy gold with his natural charisma. After that magical moment, the rest of the cast felt the vibe and moved on without skipping a beat.
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An icon for an iconic night! #LiveInFrontOfAStudio #TheJeffersons #MarlaGibbs pic.twitter.com/gDcfzYMzj7
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) May 23, 2019
Wait! That wasn’t the only “surprise” moment from the live “in front of a studio audience” event Wednesday night, which was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear, himself.
During “The Jeffersons” segment, original cast member Maria Gibbs reprised her role of Florence Johnston in a surprise appearance which garnered her mucho love from the studio audience as the gave her a humongous applause.
It ereally was a surprise because previopusly, the production camp had sent out releases to the media saying that Justina Machado, of “One Day at a Time” would portray the role. Psych! stardom. They was just messin’ with folks to throw thm off the trail. It worked. 🙂
And there was another treat … from singer/actress Jennifer Hudson who also had the crowd cheering, as she performed classic theme some from “The Jeffersons.“
.@IAMJHUD brought the house down! #TheJeffersons #LiveInFrontOfAStudioAudience pic.twitter.com/6Bxz8cJYjQ
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) May 23, 2019
For those too young to remember, “All in the Family” originally premiered in 1971 and was praised for tackling tough subjects including racism and women’s rights. “The Jeffersons” ran from 1975-1985 and followed a black family living in a predominantly white society.
“The fact that a group of Oscar winners eagerly agreed to play these iconic characters is a testament to the greatness of these shows and their creator, Norman Lear,” Kimmel said, according to Deadline.
Now that the event is over, in retrospect, there were voices that said the restaging would work in the 2000s, but Lear wasn’t having it.
“We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting of “All In The Family” and “The Jeffersons,” the timelessness of human nature,” he said, adding, “I cannot wait to see what these glorious performers make in our time of these indelible characters.”
Well, last nights performance proved Mr. Lear correct because as Deadline notes: “The Jimmy Kimmel passion project: Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s ‘All in the Family’ and ‘The Jeffersons,’ ABC won the final night of the 2018-19 season by strong margins, beating runner-up NBC on Wednesday with season finales of its three Chicago dramas by 600K viewers and 3/10ths in demo rating.”
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