Shirley Hemphill
Shirley Hemphill was born in Asheville, North Carolina, United States on July 1st, 1947 and is the Comedian. At the age of 52, Shirley Hemphill biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
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Shirley Ann Hemphill (July 1, 1947 – December 10, 1999) was an American stand-up comedian and actress. Hemphill, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, migrated to Los Angeles in the 1970s to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian.
Her routine eventually attracted interest, leading to her appearances on television as a guest starring role.
She earned the role of waitress Shirley Wilson on the sitcom What's Happening! The series was a modest success on ABC, but ABC had to cancel it in 1979 due to production and cast issues.
Hemphill appeared in her own sitcom, One in a Million, in the upcoming year.
The series was unable to attract a following and was cancelled in June 1980. Hemphill resurrects her role as Shirley Wilson in the syndicated revival of What's Happening!!titled What's Happening Now!!
What's Happening Now! Like its predecessors. During three seasons, the program aired.Hemphill performed stand-up comedy and made occasional appearances in film and television following the show's cancellation. Hemphill died of renal disease at her West Covina, California home at the age of 52 in December 1999.
Early life and career
Hemphill was born in Asheville, North Carolina, to Richard and Mozella Hemphill. William was her brother. Hemphill attended Hill Street School and Stephens-Lee High School, then earned an athletics scholarship to Morristown College, where she majored in physical education. Hemphill returned to Asheville two years later and began working in a nylon weaving plant.
Flip Wilson received a cassette tape of one of her comedy routines from an aspiring stand-up comedian, Hemphill. Wilson was captivated by her routine, and so she gave her a cassette recorder and a dozen roses. Wilson also invited Hemphill to visit the Flip Wilson Museum in London. Hemphill returned to work in Asheville after the trip but decided against pursuing a career in comedy instead. She left her career and moved by bus to Los Angeles. Hemphill worked during the day and performed at The Comedy Store at night.
Hemphill's stand-up routine began to get noticed in 1976, and casting agent Joan Murray was caught on film. Murray appeared in Hemphill's guest role on Good Times, resulting in another guest starring role on All's Fair. Norman Lear brought Hemphill her own spin-off series after she saw her on Good Times, but she turned it down. Instead, she auditioned and gained the role of waitress Shirley Wilson on ABC's What's Happening! !
The series, which is based on Eric Monte's 1975 film Cooley High, follows three teenage boys, Raj (Ernest Thomas), Rerun (Fred Berry), and Dwayne (Haywood Nelson). Rob's Place, the restaurant that the boys frequented, was Hemphill's character. The series was a modest success for ABC, but the show was hampered by the scene's difficulties.
Fred Berry and Ernest Thomas led a walkout over uncomfortable conditions in their dressing rooms, which they described as inappropriate. Fred Berry pleaded for more money and allegedly begged Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson to join him in a strike during the series's third season. Rather than raising the actors' salaries, producers decided to cancel the series instead.
Hemphill auditioned for the role of cook on Archie Bunker's Place, but Anne Meara took the lead after the cancellation of What's Happening. Hemphill was given the leading role in her own sitcom One in a Million the day after losing the role. Shirley Simmons, a taxi driver who inherited a large company and fortune from one of her clients, was depicted on the series. The series premiered on ABC on January 8, 1980, but it failed to attract a large audience. In June 1980, ABC cancelled the program.
Hemphill spent the majority of his early 1980s in nightclubs around the United States, as well as occasional guest appearances on television shows, including The Love Boat and Trapper John, M.D. She was invited to co-star on What's Happening in 1985.entitled What's Happening Now!
!, which aired in syndication from 1985 to 1988.After What's Happening Now!!
She spent three years on the bar scene and doing the occasional acting gig on several '90s comedy sitcoms, including Martin and The Wayans Bros. She appeared in her first film, CB4 starring Chris Rock, in 1993. Whitney Anderson appeared in her second film, Shoot the Moon, two years ago.Hemphill performed her stand-up routine on several television programs, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, A&E's An Evening on BET's Black Comedy Showcase and Black Comedy Tonight, throughout her career. She was also a regular at The Laugh Factory comedy club in Los Angeles. Hemphill appeared on an episode of The Jenny Jones Show in a What's Happening!! a year before her death. Ernest Thomas and Haywood Nelson appeared at the reunion show, although Haywood Nelson appeared as well.