Sherman Hemsley, best remembered for his dimunitive in size but gargantuan in moxie TV character George Jefferson on The Jeffersons, died today in El Paso, Texas. It is unclear at this moment the cause of death, though initial reports are citing natural causes. Hemsley was 74 years old.

Born on February 1, 1938, in Philadelphia, Hemsley acted in local summer theater before landing the role that made him famous, successful dry cleaning tycoon George Jefferson. First appearing in 1973 on the sitcom All in the Family as the African-American neighbors of controversial character Archie Bunker, the Jefferson family eventually got their own spin-off show in 1975 called The Jeffersons, which showed how they were “movin’ on up” in life. The show went become one of TV’s all-time greatest and most successful sitcoms.