Sherman Hemsley Burial Held Up Over Will Dispute
Sherman Hemsley, who died of lung cancer on July 24, has not been buried yet because his long lost brother from Philadelphia is contesting the will...
Six weeks before he died Sherman Hemsley signed his last will and testament leaving his entire estate, worth $50,000, to his manager Flora Enchinton.
The will is being contested by Sherman's brother, Richard Thornton, who believes the will is fake. Flora tells the Associated Press she was Sherman's manager for over 20 years and lived with the actor and his friend Kenny Johnston and never heard Sherman mention any relatives.
Flora says,
"Some people come out of the woodwork — they think Sherman, they think money. But the fact it that I did not know Sherman when he was in the limelight. I met them when they (Hemsley and Johnston) came running from Los Angeles with not one penny, when there was nothing but struggle."
No date has been set for a hearing.
Wow...only $50K? After all of the television, commercials etc? That's sad :( This man has at least 2 shows in syndication RIGHT NOW, Amen and The Jeffersons and his ENTIRE estate is worth $50K?
there is one in every family......
well he can't speak any longer , why keep the body?
dreadee said...
"friend"? Yeah, I know, I'm reaching....
50K? But both of his shows were before TV actors got crazy pay...sad.
I'm sorry to hear that's all he had. The story about the relative is pretty typical, though.
I don't think residuals from the shows were great back then as they are now.Remember,the "Jeffersons" and "Amen" were ensembles shows as well.
$50K???
That's sad. He was pretty much penniless. :(
And the brother wants his share of that money? GTFOH.
Hottestchick said...
That's fucked up but at least he had that 50k! A lot of people are alive and working in the industry and have less than that in their bank accounts!
"Friend" my ass.....well...HIS ass lol!
Never mind all the rest of that money shit, so is this the official confirmation that he was gay? Who lives with another man for 20+ years?
Bee Gee said...
Whether it's $50,000 or $50,000,000 at stake, the vultures take flight to claim every piece of the carcass possible..
AT one point, Sherman Hemsley was heavily in debt and if I'm not mistaken, he gave away his residuals from The Jeffersons and Amen to pay his debts hence an estate that is only $50,000 but at least he didn't file for bankruptcy or lose his house. Also, I'm sorry to hear that he died of lung cancer; the cause of death wasn't given before and reports said that no autopsy would be done.
Why didn't he leave any money to his "friend" Kenny? Why would he leave everything to his manager?? Kenny's been with him over 20 yrs and he left nothing (something out of $50K is still something.) Why not bury the body? What if this case pends in court for months?
Do yall believe everything you read? Im PREEETTTY sure its 50 million...just a typo...do you see the coma after the first set of zeros?! Even if residuals arent that high for these oldie shows, they have been in syndicate for YEARS on end! If he was paying a manager, had a house w/ expenses/upkeep, Im sure he was sittin on more than 50k. I make more than that in a year and wouldnt/couldnt pay for a manager! Its less than most celebs so makes sense if he was in debt that its not double triple that amount. I mean come on - Whitney may she RIP - was sittin on - what, like 20mil (dont quote me) and she had a drug habit.
@12:35 That man was broke as hell and living in El Paso, Texas. Oh, and here are the receipts.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/photos/10-celebrities-who-went-bankrupt/
My. Question is is it a man with no family to take care of could be so heavily in debt? His debt should have been paid off with his TV series in sendication for years. What kind of manager did he have? She needs to be check out.
AnRnBThug said...
Co-Sign BeeGee,
They'll fight over $100, in this economy? SHIIIIT.
Plus, His estate could possibly earn income in the future because of His image or likeness.
Weeeezay!"
They probably already had joint accounts and moved most of the money to a sole owner account in Kennys name. Sherman probably didn't want to be outed in death by having kenny in the will. Also kenney will avoid inheritance taxes. The 50k is prob just the mgrs cut.
BINGO!!!!
thank you 12:35 for my laugh of the day 50 MILLION ...lol, people think because someone is on TV they rich...chile please!
This is 1235 - Thank you @1242! LOL I cant see the story on the link, but I will take your word for it! LOL I do agree w/ other posters who said he may have had shared accts with his friend - hopefully he was sitting on a LITTLE something more than 50k - if not...darn shame and may he finally rest in peace!
Not sure about Amen but many shows from the 70s and before did not pay residuals. Even white actors that worked on Norman Lear shows (All in the Family, etc.) back in the day did not receive residuals.
Well there you have it, the story that will never be told. SH was 74 years old never married, never had kids but lived with a man who was clearly mentioned as someone who was with him for a long period of time during THEIR struggle. Sad that he only had 50k after all he contributed to TV.
That is a damn lie! The Jeffersons and Amen have been in syndication for well over 20 plus years! One of his bank accounts may have had 50,000 but a man with as much work as he got, hell Flora just wants it all.
Yeah that man was not rich by any means. I always wonder why he was living in El Paso, Texas after all those years in Hollywood. Now it makes sense. Texas is one of the cheapest places to live and you get more for your money.
TRUE YALL RIGHT ABOUT DONT BELIEVE EVEYTHING YOU READ. 50 K , I DONT THINK SO AND SNITCH ALWAYS LIKE TO GET A RISE OUT OF US. I HAVE TO SEE THIS TWICE.
Can you say GAY!!! I how come we are just founding out about this. I must say he kept this tea very quite. Who else from the old school is living in the closet?
Yeah, Sherman Helmsley was VERY gay. Sad that I have more money than he does and he been hollywood royalty for over 40 years.
From what 12:25pm said, it sounds like they jacked him for his rights to his residuals. If that's the case, that'd explain the lack of a stack of cheese in his will. To make a show as timeless as the Jeffersons and to be forced to give up the right to earn money from it... I just hope George was happy in his last days cuz he'll still keep me laughin' long after his passing..
50 thou? Is that it?!?
Friend? Is that gay?!?
WHO ARE ALL THESE MANAGERS CLAIMING CONTROL OVER THE DECEASED ESTATE? Something fishy about all of this. It just goes to show, you can't even depend on your attorney to carry out your wishes, afterwards! IF YOU HAVE A WILL, MAKES SURE THE BENEFACTORS GET A COPY.
Something is not right with this, but then again Hollyweird does have a way of doing things.
From my understanding, residual checks get smaller and smaller after an episode airs 3 times.
long lost brother. why wasn't his brother in his life why come around now that he is gone. it all about the benjamins baby
"Weeeezay!"
People get took in hollywood all day every day and Sherman was no different than anybody else that play in the devil's playground. At least he was mart enough to not live amongst the devils & servants of the devil and I'm pretty sure he lived a happy and wonderful life on the low key.
Yes he was gay but that's really not relevant because he gets major props from me by not living the dl life and further complicating his happiness and comfort.
I do believe he took care of his friend Kenny before things took a toll for the worst and I applaud him for doing so since their relationship lasted longer than 90% of unions in hollywood.
Sherman is a legend deserving of the upmost respect and like @BeeGee said He'll be making people laugh for years to come with the outstanding work he left behind.
Well, Sherman Hemsley was a gay man & so what. Funny as hell,made us lol foryears and had more than 50k. LOL, his ranch in Texas even in a recession is worth more than that. Sherman never filed for bankruptcy in 1999, he didn't qualify and paid it off. That was in a old Jet magazine. But his partner and him were anti gov't so best believe there was more money than 50 k. Thirsty relatives get Nathan.
I think Sherman probably took care of Kenny before he passed to keep his name out of the limelight.
reggie said...
No Matter what is the estate was worth,he was priceless to me.