Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up. We're moving on up. Too deep down. We're moving on

Too deep.

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The coffee that lets you be your best.

Is it time to check the ham yet?

Yeah. It's been about two hours. Good.

After you spread the brown sugar on, put some of that pineapple on top.

Lawrence, aren't you forgetting something?

Huh? Oh, yeah. Put a few of them little cherries on top, too.

I mean, aren't you forgetting who the cook is around here?

Oh, that's okay, Miss Jefferson. I don't mind if you help out.

Would you mind getting the door, Florence?

Oh, no, of course not.

I'll get it. Gee, y 'all don't let me do nothing around here.

George Dusty! Hey, cousin!

Dusty, Dusty, how's it going?

Dusty, Dusty!

Hey, guess who's here? Don't tell me.

Dusty.

Dusty Jefferson, I don't believe it!

When are you going to dump this turkey and run off with me, huh?

Warren,

this is George's cousin.

Hi. Hi.

Hey, Weezy, Dusty ain't just my cousin. He's my main cousin. We were tighter

than brothers, right, Dusty? You got it, George. Hey.

Yeah, when we was growing up, I used to tell everybody we was twins.

Really?

Dusty, were you that ugly as a child?

Yeah, but I improved.

Come on, Florence. Let's go get dinner ready. Okay, Miss Jefferson. And I'll

make sure you do it right.

Boy, we sure had some great times, didn't we, George?

Yeah, man. They can take a lot away from a man, but they can't take away his

memories. Right.

Hey, I remember the time you saved my skin.

When was that?

Well, you know, you lent me that hundred bucks to buy Weezy her engagement ring.

Anybody would have done that, George.

Yeah, but you're the only one who did it. And you know something?

With all the money we got today, Weezy still hangs on to that old ring. Really?

You know, Matt, it's been quite a while, but you're still looking good. Yeah,

you're looking good, too, Doug. Well, maybe on the outside.

Well, nobody looks good on the inside.

Especially me.

Remember that automobile accident I had?

Yeah.

Messed up one of my kidneys.

Oh, yeah? Well, you still got the rest of them, don't you?

Charles, a person only has two kidneys.

Well, one out of two ain't bad. You're still bad in five, huh?

Except now that kidney's going bad. I have to go to dialysis three times a

You got to go to Dallas, Texas three times a week?

Not Dallas, dialysis.

It's a machine that they hook me up to. It takes the place of my kidney.

Cleans my blood.

That's a drag.

Yeah, especially when you're on the road a lot selling.

I may have to look for a new job.

Well, if you ain't got to look no further for the job you want, you got

Well, I tell you, there is something I need from you, George, but it ain't a

job. Hey, look, if it's money... Of course, I don't need money.

Well, whatever I got is yours.

Honest? Just saying.

Well, how about giving me one of your kidneys?

For a minute, I thought you were serious.

I am serious. I need a kidney transplant.

Are you jiving?

You want me to give you one of my kidneys?

Oh, George, your kidney's down here.

You really want my kidney?

Believe me, George, I hate asking this.

Not as much as I hate hearing it.

But my only other choice was to wait until somebody dies and donates a

Oh, well, cheer up. People are dying all the time.

But I have to find one that matches mine.

Oh, I'm sure ours ain't gonna match. Look, you're six feet tall. I'm only

foot six.

No, George, what I mean is... is we stand a good chance of matching because

we're closely related.

Yeah, but, Dustin, man, I ain't never had an operation in my life.

I didn't even go to the hospital when I was born.

It's pretty simple to remove a kidney, George. It's just snip, snip.

Snip, snip.

Look,

George, I know what I'm asking is pretty heavy, and if you don't want to do it,

I'll understand.

Look, I didn't say I didn't want to do it, but asking somebody for a kidney

ain't like bumming a cigarette.

Now, look, why don't you think about it for a while, okay?

Now, if you decide to do it, you call Dr.

Feller at Manhattan Medical Center.

He'll give you a blood test to see if our kidneys match.

Here's his phone number.

Thanks, Dustin.

And if you want to call me, I'll be staying in Brooklyn with my brother Bob.

Bob? Hey, that's right.

Why don't you ask Bob to give you a kidney? He can't. He's got diabetes.

Damn.

He always was lucky.

I gotta go.

Goodbye, Louise.

Can't you stay for dinner?

I'm sorry, I can't. Let's make it another night, okay?

Let's make it soon.

Right.

And, uh, whatever you decide, George, you know, I'll understand, man.

You're still my main cousin.

Hey, Duff, later.

Right, later.

Hit me.

Some cousin here.

George? Yeah.

Did Dusty want something? Want something?

Oh, no, he just wanted to talk.

Talk? About what?

About something he's missing.

Missing?

Yeah. He's missing the good old days.

Oh, yeah.

We did have some good times with Dusty, didn't we?

It wasn't that good.

What do you mean?

I mean, every time he went for a ride, he had to come along.

George, it was Dusty's car.

Stingy turkey.

Stingy? Yeah, he even made me pay for gas once.

George, remember that night you borrowed Dusty's car and we rode to the beach?

Yeah.

Remember what I told you that night?

Yeah. Not until we married.

George!

That was the first night I told you I love you.

Oh, yeah.

Then I said, not until we are married.

Miss Jefferson?

Yes, Florence?

I need some help.

You ought to help, dummy.

I'll be right there, Florence.

George, is something bothering you?

Oh, no, Weezy.

Seeing Dusty again just made me think.

Think about what?

Maybe him and me are too close.

What? I mean, look, Weasley, we're only cousins.

It ain't like we're brothers or nothing.

But, George, you just said... Hurry up, Mr. Jefferson. I can't get the ham out

the oven.

You better go help her, Weasley. But, George... Go on.

Look, you tell Floss if she burns that ham, I'm burning her paycheck.

Hi, Mr. Jefferson.

Hi, Alan. You got diabetes?

No.

Why?

Well, look, let me ask you something.

Suppose somebody came up to you and asked you for a part of your body. What

would you say?

Depends on what she looks like.

I mean, like, if somebody needed a kidney so they wouldn't have to be

to a machine all the time, would you give them one?

Man, that's a tough question, Mr. Jefferson.

I mean, if it were a close friend, yeah, I guess I'd want to do it.

You would?

Great. But I'd be scared.

Scared? What is there to be scared of? I mean, if your kidney mattress hits,

it's a very simple operation. Just snip, snip.

Why are you asking me this?

Well, Dusty, I mean, this person who needs his kidney.

George. Shh.

Oh, hi, Alan. Hi, Mrs. Jefferson.

George, about Dusty.

Dusty? Yes, George's cousin.

George's cousin?

Is that the one who needs a kidney transplant?

Quiet, Zebra.

Kidney transplant?

George, what's Alan saying?

Who knows? I don't understand, Zebrish.

You're hiding something, George. I want you to tell me the truth.

Okay, we... Lou Rawls is my favorite singer.

George!

That's the truth.

I want the truth about Dusty.

Now. Okay.

Dusty asked me to give him one of my kidneys.

He what?

Yeah, he's only got one and it ain't working. What's wrong with it? It's

It needs some more screws. How should I know what's wrong with it?

Damn.

Why'd this have to happen to Dusty?

George, does Dusty really... really expect you to give him one of your

Yeah.

What are you going to do?

I'm going to do what anybody else in this situation would do. I'm going to

a drink.

Hi, Weas.

Hi, George.

Where have you been?

Uh, I just wanted to have a little talk with Dusty's doctor.

What? Why?

Well, you know, I just wanted to have the blood test just to see if my kidney

matched Dusty's.

But I thought we decided you weren't going to give him one. I ain't. I ain't.

Then why did you take the test?

So I won't have to tell Dusty I can't do it. He can't blame me if they don't

match.

But what if they do match?

Bite your tongue.

I took out a little insurance.

I slipped the doctor's nurse a $10 bill.

You bribed a nurse?

Yeah. I just said, listen, baby, you and me both know that that rabbit ain't

gonna die, right?

That's for pregnancy.

Same thing.

What? They're both for something that's got to come out.

When are you going to get the test results?

Well, they're supposed to phone me as soon as it comes through.

But, George... Don't worry, Louise.

Hello, Louise. Is George here?

Yes, he just got home from the doctor's. The doctor's?

Then he's really going to do it.

Now, Helen... George!

about your cousin.

That's right, George.

They were so proud to know you.

I wish I could say the same thing. It's like being neighbors with a couple of

octopuses.

Oh, George, you can't fool us. You may act mean, but we know that deep down

inside you're a sweet, warm, courageous human being.

No, I'm not.

You must be so proud of him. Well, actually... Modesty runs in the family.

Well, why don't you run your family out of here?

Oh, I understand, George.

You don't want people admiring you, spoken like a real hero.

Spoken like a real knucklehead.

Well, it takes a big man to do what you're doing, George.

Yes, but you're doing it anyway.

Well, if you could get out of here.

All right, George, we'll leave.

Good. George, we realize now that when you get mad and throw us out... You're

really showing us how much you like us. Like you? Well, hell, let me show you

how much I love you.

George,

that one... That might be from the doctor's office.

Aren't you going to answer it? Why don't you answer it?

You're closer.

Hello?

Ah, Dr. Feller's office.

Yeah, this is George Jefferson.

Oh, you already gave Dusty the results?

Oh, no, no, you don't have to give them to me right away.

Why don't you just mail them to me?

What?

What?

Oh, thanks.

George,

what a relief. I told you everything was going to be fine.

Except for Dusty.

Well, I tried, Wheezy.

But the test showed I only got two out of four markers.

Two out of four markers?

What does that mean?

Well, four out of four markers is a perfect match.

Which means my kidney's going to stay right where it is.

Oh,

Dusty, hi.

Hi, Louise.

Hey, George, I just got the news from the doctor.

Yeah, me too. I'm sorry, Dusty. What do you mean?

Your kidney's a great match.

It is? Yeah.

Two out of four tissue markers plus the fact that we're closely related means

we're all set.

All set?

Yeah. Dr. Feller says there's an 80 % chance that my body will accept your

kidney.

Well, if your body don't accept it, can I get it back?

Afraid not. But look, you can live fine on one kidney.

I don't know about that, Dusty. I got a feeling I'm a two -kidney man.

I go to the bathroom a lot.

You're a great kidder, George. Well, I gotta get down to Dr. Feller's office.

I knew I could count on you, bro.

I'll see you all later.

George, Dusty thinks you're gonna give him one of your kidneys.

Yeah.

Way to get a dumb idea like that.

From you, you should have told him the truth.

Oh, I can't tell him, Weezy.

Me and Dusty are real close.

You want me to tell him?

No.

It's my cousin, my kidney, my problem.

Who's that?

Who's there?

They're coming in the bedroom.

George.

Me.

George.

You scared me to death.

Have you been talking to Dusty all this time?

Yeah. And you have no idea how hard it was.

Did the two of you get everything settled?

Oh, yeah, we got everything settled.

And he's not mad at you?

No. In fact, he shook my hand and said, you're the greatest.

Well, I'm glad Dusty realized you did the only thing you could.

Yeah, well, I just hope you realize it too, Weaves.

Of course I do.

And Dusty will get over it in a few months.

In a few months? He should be up and around in a few weeks.

Up and around?

George, you almost sound like... like you decided to go through with the

transplant.

George?

George, you're not.

Wrong, Wheezy. I am.

But we decided that you wouldn't.

George, you're mine.

All of you.

I don't want bits of you floating around in other people.

When I first married you, you didn't have all your parts.

What?

I mean, you didn't hear me complaining.

And you had two parts missing.

What? Your tonsils.

Oh, George!

Look, Weezy, it's my kidney, and I can do whatever I want with it.

Oh, and to hell with what I want, right?

George, that is a serious operation.

You could... What if you... Oh, Dusty can live if you don't give him a kidney.

But I can't.

Huh? Look, Weezy, Dusty is a Jefferson. He's blood.

Now, if I got a chance to help him, then I don't do it.

then I can't live with myself.

Well, I'm blood, too. I'm your wife.

Who's more important to you, your wife or your cousin?

George, I'm not through talking about this.

When you are, let me know. I'll come back.

Well, you're not the only one who can run out on a conversation.

Oh, Flora!

Have you been listening all this time?

No, I think I missed a couple of minutes. What happened?

George wants to have the operation.

You ought to be real proud of him.

You know, I was wrong about Mr. Jefferson.

I used to think the biggest part of him was his mouth.

What? But it ain't nearly as big as his heart.

But he went and made this decision without even consulting me.

Yeah, ain't that something?

He didn't even give you a chance to talk him out of it.

You got yourself a real man, Miss Jefferson.

And right now, he don't need you to be mad at him.

He needs all the support you can give him.

Yeah. I guess you're right.

Of course I'm right.

Florence, sometimes I wonder how you come up with such good advice.

Easy. I watch the Waltons.

Don't try to talk me out of it, Weasley. I made my decision.

I know, George, and I'm proud of you. I gave it a lot of thought, and I

figured... What did you say?

I said I'm proud of you.

You're doing the right thing, and I'm with you all the way.

What made you change your mind?

Florence watches the Waltons.

I just realized I was being selfish, George.

When are they going to do it?

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow? Well, that's the day after today.

Please, everything is going to be all right, I promise.

Now, come on, please, let's get some sleep.

I've got to be at the doctor's office at 7.

Well, did the doctor say how long you'd be in the hospital?

Well, I should be out of the hospital in about three days.

And I should be back to normal in about two to three weeks.

Well, did he say how long it would be before you and I could...

You know.

Oh, yeah, I asked about that. He said as soon as I felt like it.

That long?

Good night,

George. Good night, Weebs.

If y 'all through talking, I'm going to bed, too. Good night.

George. Huh?

I'm scared.

Me too.

I thought y 'all was through talking.

Helen, hurry up.

Raise it a little higher.

Oh, yeah, that's perfect.

They're here.

They're here.

Hey,

Helen, now take it easy.

Take it easy.

Look, you ain't got to help me. I'm all right. Welcome home, George!

Hey, I get out of the hospital okay, so I come home and they give me a heart

attack.

But, George, they're just happy to see you.

Oh, Mr. Jefferson, I'm so glad you're all right.

Look,

the next time you do that, you give me some ether first.

I'll let you down, George. Oh, yes, you don't want to overdo the first day.

That's right. You ought to get plenty of breath.

I ain't tired. I'm all right. Sit down.

Yes, you sit right down on this.

Well,

I wasn't really sure where they operated, so I... Look, right over here.

Oh, well.

Then maybe you can use it to go swimming.

How's Justin?

Oh, he's fine. The operation wasn't a success. Oh, that's wonderful. Now, you

just sit right down here, Mr. Jefferson. I got everything off you.

No, I...

Now, if you want anything, all you got to do is snap your fingers.

Oh, yeah? Yeah, Mr. Jefferson. We know you're not feeling too well. Oh, yeah.

Well, I do feel kind of crummy.

George, if there's anything any one of us can get you, just name it.

Now that you mentioned it, I do have sort of a craving for one of them salami

sandwiches from Stefano's Deli.

Stefano's Deli? That's way across town.

That's all right. Anything for George.

Can I do anything, George?

Yeah. Why don't you go with him? Make sure you don't forget the mustard.

What about me?

Why don't you run down to the corner and get me some vanilla ice cream? You got

it.

Hey, Florence. Yes, sir. Run out into the kitchen and bake me apple pie.

All right, you just sit right there and relax and don't you move.

You know, that's the first time I've ever seen Florence run.

George, where do you want to go?

Come here and sit down, Weaves.

Remember what the doctor said about what we could do when I felt like it?

George, surely you're not ready for that yet.

Maybe not.

But it wouldn't hurt to start getting in shape.

The Jeffersons was videotaped in front of a studio audience.