Franklin Cover

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Franklin Edward Cover (November 20, 1928 – February 5, 2006) was an American actor best known for starring in the sitcom The Jeffersons. His character, Tom Willis, was half of one of the first interracial marriages to be seen on prime-time television. Cover was born on November 20, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, to Britta (Schreck) and Franklin Held Cover. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1947. Cover graduated from Denison University in 1951, and he received his MA in Theater in 1954 and MFA in Theater in 1955 both from Case Western Reserve University. His career started on the stage acting in Henry IV, Part 1 and Hamlet. He also appeared in Forty Carats with Julie Harris. He made his television debut on Naked City and later appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show. In 1965, he married Mary Bradford Stone. His first starring role was on The Jeffersons as Tom Willis who was married to a black woman, Helen, played by Roxie Roker. The couple lived in the same high-rise apartment building as the sitcom's title characters. Cover would often be the foil to Sherman Hemsley's black businessman, George Jefferson. The sitcom ran from 1975 to 1985. He also appeared in The Stepford Wives in 1975, and played Hubert Humphrey in the 1982 TV movie A Woman Called Golda. Following the end of The Jeffersons, Cover continued to make guest appearances on television shows as well as appearing in a supporting role in Wall Street (1987). In 1994, he appeared in the second episode of ER. His final television appearance was in an episode of Will & Grace (entitled "Object Of My Rejection") that aired on May 13, 1999. Cover died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, on February 5, 2006. He had been living at the home since December 2005 while recovering from a heart condition, and died of pneumonia. He was survived by his wife; the former Mary Bradford Stone, two adult children; Susan and Bradford, and a grandson, Maxwell. His son, Bradford Cover, an actor who lives in New York City, has appeared on Law and Order, Broadway, and Off Broadway, and is a company member at The Pearl Theatre Company. His daughter Susan is the founder of Susie's Supper Club (now closed), a home delivery food service that catered to parents and children in New York. CLR

Known For: Acting

Born: Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 1928-11-20

Died: 2006-02-05

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1965	Mirage	Group Leader	70
2	1968	What's So Bad About Feeling Good?	Medical Expert	66
3	1972	Between Time and Timbuktu	Col. Donald 'Tex' Pirandello	80
4	1972	Short Walk to Daylight	Conductor	62
5	1973	The Connection	Lee Harris	0
6	1974	The Great Gatsby	Senator Evans (uncredited)	63
7	1975	The Stepford Wives	Ed Wimpiris	67
8	1982	The Day the Bubble Burst	Herbert Hoover	20
9	1982	A Woman Called Golda	Hubert Humphrey	81
10	1987	Wall Street	Dan	72
11	1988	Zits	FBI Chief	39
12	1992	Brain Donors	Doctor	62
13	1994	Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle		73
14	1994	Cosmic Slop	(segment 'Space Traders')	43
15	1998	Almost Heroes	Nicholas Burr	54

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1958	Naked City	Steelworker	55
2	1967	N.Y.P.D.		58
3	1971	All in the Family	Tom Willis	79
4	1971	Columbo	Harry Jenkins	81
5	1975	The Jeffersons	Thomas "Tom" Willis	73
6	1977	The Love Boat		63
7	1982	A Woman Called Golda	Hubert Humphrey	0
8	1984	Who's the Boss?		74
9	1985	227		68
10	1988	In the Heat of the Night		74
11	1989	Coach	Gunnar	68
12	1990	They Came from Outer Space		70
13	1992	Batman: The Animated Series	General Vreeland (voice)	85
14	1992	Mad About You	Yankee Infielder	67
15	1993	Living Single		84
16	1994	ER	Mr. Thurnhurst	78
17	1995	Too Something		0
18	1998	Will & Grace	Justice of the Peace	69

Franklin Cover

Film

Television