Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up. Moving on up. To the top. Moving on up. To the deep.

Yeah, about three.

Clarence took me out.

Again?

Looks like he's getting serious.

I bet he's ready to pop the question.

He already did.

He did?

Oh, Florence, what did you say?

No, and get your hand off my knee.

You know, I went out with a guy like that once, always grabbing me and pawing

me. How'd you stop him?

I married him.

How come you didn't wake me up on time?

Because I overslept myself. I had a date last night.

With who?

The moon wasn't even full.

Where's my breakfast?

You're drinking it.

Look, you don't wake me up on time, you don't get my breakfast. What kind of

maid are you?

Underpaid.

I don't know how you can think about breakfast after all we ate last night.

Where'd you go?

To a fundraising dinner for the new wing on Mercy Hospital. All the best people

in town were there.

How come they let you in?

Because we didn't bring you.

It was real fancy, Florence. A hundred dollars a plate.

For a hundred bucks, I'd still be eating.

Well, the money did go to a good cause.

It went to a great cause. Getting my name in the society column of the East

Chronicle.

Hey, I wonder if it came yet.

I still don't understand what's so important about seeing your name in the

society column.

Publicity, Weezy.

Look, if my name's in here, that means everybody knows George Jefferson.

Ah, I should think you'd want to keep that a secret.

Hey, here's the story.

New Wing Mercy Hospital.

Mr. and Mrs. Forbes, Dr. Scott, go lay me down.

Hey,

look at that.

You found my name?

No, the supermarket's having a half -price sale on nuts.

It's so lousy, paper. Now, you know we've been going to those fundraising

dinners for weeks, and they ain't mentioned my name once.

They didn't mention me either.

That's because you're black.

And what are you?

I'm out 200 bucks because they bleed me white.

Oh, hi, Tom.

Come on in. Good morning, everyone.

Here's the casserole dish we borrowed.

Helen thought you might need it for dinner. Oh, thank you, Tom. Tell Helen

was very thoughtful of her. I will, and thanks.

Why waste time? Go tell her now.

You have to excuse George.

He made a terrible mistake this morning. Oh?

What did he do?

He got up.

Well, I have to be going anyway.

I'm picking up my shotgun this morning.

Shotgun?

No, George, it's for my new hobby, skeet shooting.

Skeet shooting?

What's a skeet?

Don't you know nothing, Weezy? A skeet is a little bird with a long tail.

No, it isn't, George.

It's a clay disc you use in trap shooting. There are no birds.

Oh, I get it. You just imagine you've got birds. Right.

Well, why don't you just imagine you've got a gun?

You know, bang, I got one.

I'll explain the whole thing later when I get the gun.

Seems kind of silly, grown men standing around shooting at pieces of clay.

I wouldn't mind doing it if the skeet had a picture of that news editor's face

on it.

Oh, forget about that. It's not important. Oh, yes, it is important,

if I ain't good enough to be in their paper, then they ain't good enough for

advertising. I'm calling the editor.

Oh, try and stay calm, George.

Don't worry about me, Weasley. I'm always calm.

Hello, this is George Jefferson calling.

Who's this?

I don't want to speak to you. I want the editor.

Look, you tell him he's got five seconds to get on his phone.

What's he doing?

Keeping calm.

Hello, Mr. Hirsch?

You damn right something's wrong. How come my name don't ever appear in your

column? The society column.

Uh -huh.

Oh, you ain't got enough room for everybody, huh? Okay, well, in that

ain't got enough room for my advertisement.

Right.

Say what?

Oh, yeah?

Oh, good. Well, thanks.

Bye.

What did he say?

They're going to send a reporter over to talk to me.

Uh, darling, will you put this in the kitchen, please?

Did you hear the bell?

Yeah, didn't you?

George, don't get so excited. The reporter couldn't make it here that

Oh, hello, Florence.

Huh?

That's mental telepathy.

No, it's a casserole dish.

But how did you know I was coming over to borrow a casserole dish?

Just a wild guess.

Oh, no, it's got to be telepathy. My Aunt Agatha was gifted like that. She

called in once by Scotland Yard.

Oh, they wanted her to help solve a crime?

Uh, no, they wanted her for walking nude through Piccadilly Circus.

All your family belongs in a circus.

Thank you.

Why do you want the casserole dish, Mr. Bentley?

Oh, I'm fixing dinner for Valerie this evening.

Another new girl?

Oh, no, you don't understand.

Ah,

here's Valerie now.

Oh, did you find her in the circus, too?

You know, Mr. J, in Russia, Valerie is a man's name.

Valerie Kamilkov, Mr. and Mrs. George Jefferson.

Hi.

How do you do?

I am pleased to meet you.

Hey, you speak English real good.

So do you.

You see, when I was working at the embassy in Moscow, Valerie showed me the

town. He took me to all the fun places.

Lenin's tomb, Stalin's tomb. And now Harry is returning the favor.

Oh, yeah. And where are you going to take him? Woodlawn Cemetery?

Valerie's here with the visiting trade delegation, and I'm getting him into the

U .N. tomorrow to hear President Carter's speech.

Oh, President Carter's speaking here tomorrow?

Look, he's always speaking someplace. That way you don't have to do nothing.

Will you be translating his speech, Mr. Bentley?

Yes, and that can be a problem with President Carter.

Why? I don't know how to translate y 'all into Russian.

You like President Cartier? Oh, yes. He's just like one of us.

Oh, Wheezy, he ain't like one of us.

I mean, he doesn't put on airs. He even carries his own luggage.

Oh, that's true. He's the man of the people.

When he visited Massachusetts, he stayed overnight at the home of a beer

distributor. His brother Billy must have made those reservations.

Well... We've got to be going.

Do svidaniya, Mr. Jefferson.

And do svidaniya to, Mr. Valerie.

Do svidaniya to.

Is this for real about the president staying at ordinary people's homes?

Oh, yes. It was on television and in the newspapers. He does it all the time. He

likes to get to meet the people.

Yeah? And I guess all those people get great publicity, right?

Oh, yes. You know, I was in the newspaper once.

Wait.

I just got a great idea.

Look, since Carter's going to be in town tomorrow, let's ask him to stay here

overnight.

What? I'm going to call the president and ask him to stay here overnight.

What? Look, can you think of a better way to get publicity?

That's crazy!

Hello, operator.

I'd like to place a long -distance phone call to the White House, please.

Yes, the one in Washington.

Floss! George, have you lost your mind? The president will never stay here.

A dry cleaner is just as good as a beer distributor any day.

What? Oh, yeah, yeah, I'll hold it. Hey, look, would you talk to my secretary,

please?

I ain't no secretary.

You ain't no maid neither.

Who am I calling?

The White House.

The White House? You're wasting your time, child.

They do their own cleaning.

Look. Just tell him it's Mr. Jefferson calling.

George, you can't be serious.

What are you talking about? Of course I'm serious. This is a great move.

Hello. Is this the White House?

It is the White House.

I'm talking to the White House. I'm talking to the White House, y 'all. See?

Would you just tell him who I am?

Hello.

I are calling for Mr. Jefferson.

They said Jefferson ain't president no more.

Give me that.

Move.

Hello?

Hello?

This is George Jefferson calling.

I'd like to speak to Jimmy, please.

What do you mean, Jimmy who?

Jimmy president.

What? No, I don't want to talk to you. This is personal between Jimmy and me.

Say what?

You don't want to talk? Look here. You tell him if he don't talk to me, I'll

him where it hurts.

I just won't vote for him next time.

You didn't vote for him last time.

Look, are you going to put me through or not?

Okay, you tell your boss if that's the way he feels about people, that this

country would be better off without him.

George! Look, don't worry about it.

This is the way you handle these people. That's the only language they

understand.

What?

Oh, yeah? Oh, oh. Oh, that's more like it, sister.

Yeah, I'll be here.

George Jefferson.

New York City, 555 -3197.

Thank you.

What happened? What did they say?

I did it, Wheezy.

You know, they asked me if I was going to be here. That means he's going to be

calling me back.

No, Jeff.

President Carter really might stay here.

That's right.

Oh, I've got to tell Tom and Helen.

Hold on, hold on. Look, if the president wants to see zebras, he can go to the

zoo.

We better get this place straightened up.

You're right. I don't want him telling Rosalind I keep a meckly house.

Oh, yeah, you better get a cleaner lady in here, Weave.

I just cleaned yesterday.

Rearranging the dust ain't cleaning.

Get a caterer, too.

Oh, I don't know, George. I read the president likes plain food.

I can cook plain food.

Yeah, plain awful.

Well, if I can't clean and I can't cook, I guess I'm just in the way around

here, huh? I've been telling you that for two years now.

That's enough, George.

You said it, Miss Jefferson.

Lawrence, where are you going?

Out. I'm taking the rest of the day off.

How will we know the difference?

I sure will be glad when the president gets here, Mr. Jefferson.

It'll make history.

You damn right it will. It'll be the first time the Democratic donkey stayed

with a Republican jackass.

George, you should be ashamed of yourself. You insulted her.

Don't worry about it. We should get over it.

Well, when she comes back, you're going to apologize.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, hey, I got a lot of good ideas to give the president.

Oh, really?

Like what?

Well, you know, things that are going to help the country, like peace in the

Middle East, job for everybody, tax cuts for dry cleaners.

George, you're a real patriot.

I try my best.

Yeah? Morning, sir.

Agents Allen and Neal, Secret Service.

Secret Service? Are you George Jefferson?

Yeah, that's right.

And you're the man we want.

Me? For what?

For threatening the President of the United States.

Sit down, Mr. Jefferson. We have several questions we want to ask you.

What do you mean I threatened the President of the United States? What

nut do you think I am? If you answer the questions, maybe we'll find out. Who do

you call a nut?

It'll be a lot easier on you, Mr. Jefferson, if you just cooperate.

Look, it'll be a lot easier on me if you just leave.

Now, wait a minute.

There must be some mistake here.

Aren't you the George Jefferson who called the White House this morning?

No, my maid did. I see.

And why did you make the call?

maid. I'm his wife.

Where's the maid? She went out. What's your name?

Florence Johnston.

Can you describe her?

Yeah. Just picture Dracula with earrings.

Mr. Jefferson, this is serious business. The White House notified our field

office while you were still on the phone.

Did you say, referring to the president, I'll get him where it hurts?

Oh, yeah. And this country would be better off without him?

My husband said those things, but he didn't mean any harm.

Right.

I wasn't threatening the president.

I was threatening the operator.

I mean, I wasn't threatening nobody.

Would you guys just leave me alone?

As soon as we get some answers.

Okay, ask me some questions.

Mr. Jefferson, do you have the feeling that the government has done something

you? Of course not. The government don't do nothing for nobody.

Mr. Jefferson, what we're trying to determine is, do you feel you're getting

raw deal somehow?

I mean, you are black.

Man, these guys don't miss a thing, huh?

George, I don't think you should be playing games with them.

Then tell them to get out of here. I got enough problems without worrying about

them. Say,

Mr. Jefferson, do little things often make you mad?

Oh, sure. You know, I lose my temper every once in a while. Everybody does.

course, some days are worse than others.

Yeah, that's right. You know, some days you have to talk to idiots morning,

noon, and night, and that's the worst part.

Yeah, then by the end of the day, you're so mad, you want to get rid of all of

them. Yeah, that's right.

You get that way, too, huh?

No, never.

Neither do I.

Hey, don't write that down.

Oh, relax, George.

How can I relax with these two goons hanging around here?

They shouldn't even be in here.

This is my house.

Look, I'm a taxpayer and I'm a citizen.

Hey, wait a minute.

I pay your salary, right?

That's right, sir. Well, you're fired.

I should have known that phone call was going to be trouble.

Mr. Jefferson, we're just doing our job.

Before the president goes anywhere, the service checks its list on anyone in the

area who might be a threat.

And thanks to your phone call, you made the list.

Well, congratulations, George. You finally got your name mentioned

So, I hope you understand we can't take any chances. We have to check every nut

in the area.

He said it again.

He called me a nut. What does it take to make you guys listen, huh?

Believe me, we're listening to everything you say.

I tell you, I'm not a nut.

We'll have you jailed.

Look, the only reason George made that call was to get the president to stay

here. It was just a publicity gimmick for his cleaners.

You mean you don't have anything against President Carter?

No, I like him. Well, what do I know? I like Nixon, too.

Well,

we'd like to believe you, but it would help if the maid was here to back up

story.

If there is a maid.

Look, I didn't say she was a good maid.

Normally, she'd be here right now, wouldn't she, George?

If she hadn't had an argument with someone.

Oh, see, that's got to be Florence now.

Now you're going to see what a big mistake you made. I tell you, I'm the

red, white, and blue apple pie American you've ever seen in your entire life.

Jefferson!

Now,

now, Valerie. I just came from a... Oh, excuse me, I didn't know you had guests.

And who are you?

Valery Kamilkov, Soviet Union.

Andrew Neil, Secret Service.

George Jefferson, dead duck.

Guys are coming. I think we really got something this time.

Wait, hold it, Jack.

Look, before you start thinking something crazy, I never saw him before

I don't even know him. Oh, sure you do.

Don't you remember?

I was here before.

I have left my gloves.

See? Yeah, that's right. He just came here to leave his gloves. No, no, no,

Don't you remember?

We talked about President Cartier.

Yeah, and I said I liked President Carter, right?

No, you didn't.

He didn't like President Carter?

His wife did, I think.

Oh, believe me, this is all a misunderstanding.

Valerie, will you please tell them what you are doing in New York? And get to

the point, huh?

Just a minute. Just a minute. I am good Soviet citizen.

I show you. Oh,

excuse me. Have you seen my pen? Oh, Valerie,

there you are. Oh, Harry, thank goodness.

Oh,

Harry.

I'm Harry Bentley. I live next door.

I can vouch for Mr. Kamilkov. Never mind him. Vouch for me.

Look, these guys are secret service agents. They think I threatened the

president. Oh, my goodness. Mr. J., why did you do that?

I didn't do it, Captain.

You say you know this Russian? Oh, very well. In fact, we were on our way to the

U .N. to reserve him a good seat so he can't possibly miss the president

tomorrow.

Oh, shit, Tristan.

Oh, please, Tristan, please. Oh, please, Tristan.

I'm making a big mistake.

Mr. Bentley is a translator at the U .N. Yes, here's my identification.

I have top security clearances. So does Mr.

Kamilkov. It's true, it's true. The Russian trade delegation.

That's easy enough to check, huh?

Hey, look, I ain't talking no more till I talk to my lawyer.

We've all been railroaded.

Don't worry.

We'll get a fair trial.

Yeah, then the firing squad is typical imperialist tactics.

Would you please stop talking like that? We're all innocent.

We have nothing to worry about.

Do we?

We'll soon find out. Okay, thanks. That's what I wanted to know.

These guys check out. They're all right. Hey, great. Not you.

Them.

Hey, gentlemen.

Hey,

you see that?

He let the white guys go.

Even the red ones.

Hey, I think the guy's probably okay.

I'd still like to talk to that maid.

Look, he's right.

You're wasting your time here, man. I'm the most nonviolent person you'll ever

want to meet.

All right, George, here's the guy.

by the Secret Service.

Secret Service?

What did you do, George? Threaten the president?

Who are you?

My name is Thomas H. Willis. I live upstairs.

That's only a skeet gun.

Well, I think we should take them both downtown.

That's my pocketbook. I won't be sorry. Come back.

Come here. I need you. This is my maid.

Is that true? You're the maid?

How many body you want me to be?

You don't have to be scared, Florence.

These men are government agents.

They just want to find out why George called the president this morning.

That's right, miss, and unless you can verify his story, we're going to have to

take him down for questioning.

You mean it's up to me whether they take you in or not? Yeah!

Hey, look, would you just tell him why I made that call?

You want me to get you off the hook?

The same me who got thrown out of here for being in the way?

What first made you suspicious of him?

Was it them little beady eyes?

Will you just tell him? I'm trying to remember, Mr. Jefferson, but I need

something to jog my memory.

Maybe if I had a sandwich.

What? Hey, look, the sandwich can wait.

Well, your apology came.

Okay, I'm sorry, Florence.

I'm a good maid.

You're a good maid.

And a good cook.

And a good cook.

And I get a $20 raise. No way.

Okay, I'll visit you every month. Hey, wait, wait, wait.

I'll make it ten.

Why, thank you, Mr. Jefferson.

Mr. Jefferson only made that phone call because he wanted the president to stay

here. He thought it'd be good advertising for his business.

That checks out all right.

See, I told you.

Yes, I'm Dean, East Side Chronicle. My editor sent me over to talk to a Mr.

Jefferson. Oh, yeah, that's me. Hey, it's about time. Come on in here.

This was to be a private interview. I didn't realize there'd be a party going

on. Believe me, this is no party. These are Secret Service men.

Secret Service?

Why are you guys here?

Oh, it's silly, really.

They thought George threatened the president.

What are you writing that for?

I'm a reporter.

So what?

I'm a dry cleaner. You don't see me cleaning your clothes, do you?

Hey, where you going?

To get my camera.

You're going to do better than the society page, Mr. Jefferson.

I'm going to put you on the front page.

What? Local dry cleaner threatens president.

Wow. Hey, wait a minute. You can't do that.

Hey, if I see my name in your paper, I'll kill you.

Joking? Just joking.

The Jeffersons was videotaped in front of a studio audience.