Original subtitles

Well, we're moving on up, moving on up, to the top, moving on up, to a deep...

Jefferson talks, nobody listens.

George, look, Tom Willis' picture's in the paper.

Where? On a Save the Whales ad?

No, in the business section.

It says Tom Willis has been promoted to senior vice president of his publishing

company. Ooh, Mr. Willis is famous.

Any fool can get his picture in the paper.

No, I don't see your picture in there.

You're a special one.

Blonde, could you get the door?

But I'm busy cutting out these coupons.

Forget the coupons and get the door.

But they're having a big sale at the supermarket.

And you get half off.

Look, if you don't start doing some work around here, you're going to get half

off your salary.

That's okay.

Half of nothing still leaves nothing.

Thank you, Florence.

Just think, this morning, the whole city is looking at Tom's picture.

I should have bought some stock in Alka -Seltzer.

Oh, George, can't you let Tom have his moment in the sun?

Yeah, you're right, Weas.

He sure could use some color.

George!

That's all right. my Louise, maybe we are making too much of this.

Having your picture in the paper isn't really that big of a deal.

Oh, you're too modest, Tom.

Oh, please.

Hi, Ralph Lawrence.

Mr. Willis, here's that two dozen newspapers you ordered.

I thought I told you to bring these to my apartment, Ralph. I did, but you

weren't in, so I thought maybe you'd be here.

Can you autograph one of them for me, sir?

Well,

Yes, I guess I can.

I'll sign it to my dear friend Ralph, who's opened many doors for

me.

There you are, Ralph.

That's a funny one.

who's opened many doors for me.

That's it, Ralph. And I have a telegram for Mr. Jefferson.

My pleasure, sir.

Thank you, Ralph. Here you go.

Mr.

Willis gave me much more than that, sir.

Well, that's because there's so much more of him.

Forget it, Ralph.

I'm trying to follow the president's wage guidelines.

Which president? Hoover?

Oh!

A telegram? I hope it's not bad news.

How bad could it be? The Willis is already here.

Dear Mr. Jefferson, we are happy to announce that you have been chosen the

Midtown Small Businessman of the Year.

The award will be presented at our annual banquet this Tuesday evening.

We'll be contacting you. Congratulations.

Bob Simmons, president.

Wait, did you hear? Oh, George, that's wonderful!

Congratulations, George. This has been quite a day for both of us.

It sure has. I win an award and you get to shake my hand.

And just to show you how generous I am, I'm inviting all of you to the awards

banquet to honor me.

But don't worry.

I'll make sure they have a special dessert for you two.

Oh, what's that?

Ice cream.

Chocolate chip.

Hey, we... Did the guys from the Small Businessmen's Association get here yet?

No, but they should be here any minute.

Good. Where's Florence?

In the kitchen making hors d 'oeuvres for your guests.

What? I don't want her to kill them before I get my award.

Hello.

Leroy, calm down. What you so excited about?

One of the machines is going crazy and eat up all the clothes.

Well, look, I can't come down right now. I got important guests coming over.

What? It's eating the silk sheets?

Well, feed a pile of that until I get there.

George, you can't leave now.

I got you. We just an emergency.

Well, those people are coming over here to get some background information on

you. Well, just tell them my life story. Look, I was born the son of a

sharecropper. And my family was so poor, we ate dirt for breakfast.

And that was only on good days.

Then my father saved up enough money, and we moved up to the ghetto.

I started my business with nothing but courage, determination, and two -wire

coat hangers.

And all by myself, I built the Jefferson Cleaners into the empire it is today.

Well, here, Emperor.

Since you're so good at talking garbage, how about throwing some out?

Sure, hop in.

Good one.

You know, George sure is excited about that award.

Well, you can't blame him.

And you know something? When Mr. Jefferson goes up to accept that award,

will be as happy for him as I will.

Oh, Valaris, that's so nice.

I always knew you really liked George.

I said I was happy for him. Liking him is your job.

Hi. We're here to see Mr. Jefferson.

I'm Bob Simmons, and this is Jack Feldman.

Yes, come in.

Thank you very much.

I'm Louise Jefferson, and this is our housekeeper, Florence.

Hello. How are you doing?

Is Mr.

Jefferson at home? I'm afraid not.

He had a problem at one of his stores and he had to go fix it. Well, that's

quite all right. He did what any good businessman would have done. It's men

your husband who keep this country running.

Thank goodness for the George Jeffersons of the world.

Oh, Lord, you mean there's more than one?

Florence, would you bring in the refreshments?

Please sit down. Oh, thank you. Thank you.

I just wanted to get a few facts so I can make a nice speech when I introduce

your husband as the small businessman of the year. Well, since Mr. Jefferson

isn't here, I guess we won't be needing this.

What's that?

Oh, a tape measure.

A tape measure? What were you going to do with it?

Measure your husband.

Measure him.

How tall is Mr. Jefferson?

Five foot six. Oh, but perfect.

Well, perfect for what? I'm afraid I don't understand.

Let me explain, Mrs. Jefferson.

The Midtown Small Businessmen's Association is made up of businessmen

all five feet six inches and under.

We're small businessmen.

Here's some snacks to Munchkin on.

Here's some munchkies to... Just eat them.

Uh, Mr.

Simmons, what made you select George?

Oh, well, one of our members was in his store and noticed that they were the

same height. They saw eye to eye.

So we did some checking and found out that Mr. Jefferson owns seven stores and

is certainly worthy of our award.

Uh, that...

Very nice.

Thank you.

This is a very important organization.

It's about time we short people came out of the footlocker.

Right.

We short people have to look out for each other. Yeah, because nobody else

see us.

Right.

Will you gentlemen kindly excuse us for a minute? I have to show Florence

something in the kitchen.

Lawrence, did you hear that?

They are not small businessmen. They're small businessmen.

I wonder what Mr. Jefferson's going to say.

He sure ain't expecting this.

Yeah, I hope he doesn't get too upset.

Thanks for your help, Mrs. Jefferson.

Yes, we're looking forward to having your husband as a new member.

You know, we're not a very big group yet.

Oh, I'm sure you'll grow.

I don't mean grow, grow.

I mean grow, grow.

That's all right, Mrs. Jefferson. We know we're short.

Short? Oh, I hadn't really noticed.

Well, you can't just stand there and tell us we're tall.

Maybe you could sit there and tell us.

It's nice that your height don't bother you. Yes, but it's not always fun being

short. That's why our organization is so very important.

Yeah, we have to make people aware that everything is built for the convenience

of tall people.

Kitchen cabinets, public telephones.

Women.

But there is one advantage to all this.

What's that?

It keeps us on our toes.

See you at the banquet, Mrs. Jackson.

Florence, how am I going to break this to George?

How about on a postcard from Miami?

I'm serious, Florence. What am I going to do?

I don't know. You know Mr. Jefferson.

He's got a short temper.

Oh, hi, Tom. Helen, come on in. Hi, Louise. We brought George some scotch to

celebrate his award.

George isn't home yet.

And I don't know if he's going to feel like celebrating.

Why not? It's a very big honor.

No, it's a little honor.

It seems that the Midtown Small Businessmen's Association is just that.

Just what? It's an organization of small businessmen.

All the members are... Shrimps.

They are not.

They're just not tall.

You mean George is getting an award for being a short businessman?

Yes, but please don't say anything.

I want to break it to him gently when we're alone.

Oh, you know, Louise, it may not be as bad as you think.

George is still getting an award, a very important award.

Maybe so, but I'm afraid when he finds out about this, he's going to hit the

ceiling. Not unless he's standing on a ladder.

She's just happy.

Why? Did she strike oil in her meatloaf?

Hey, Will, did those guys from the Small Business Association leave already?

Uh -huh. It was a short visit.

What do they want to know about me?

How you measured up.

She means your stature in the community.

I told them that all your friends and neighbors look up to you. I mean, look

down. I mean...

They think you're great. Oh.

Well, Willis, I guess we know who the big man is around here.

Whatever you say, George.

Well, right now, I'm saying, why don't you two split? I gotta get started on my

acceptance speech.

Okay, George, but don't say anything that'll go over their heads.

Sorry you have to leave so soon, but George should work on his speech.

Well, keep it short.

Yeah, don't talk down to him.

What's wrong with that?

Wrong?

I mean, I heard a laughing hyena, but I ain't never heard no laughing zebra.

Well, we have to go have a little drink before I get started on my speech.

Ah, hey, where did the scotch come from?

Oh, Tom brought it down to celebrate your award.

Oh, he didn't have to do that.

Yeah, he should have bought a half pint.

Uh, Florence, isn't it dinner time?

I'm not hungry.

Well, I guess I could eat a little something.

Uh, George.

Yeah, Weez?

About that award, it isn't what you think it is.

It ain't?

No. It's for small businessmen.

Small. Oh, I know that, Weez. I've known that all along.

You have?

Yeah, but look, don't worry about it. Next year, I'll have me ten stores by

then, and I'll be a big businessman.

Big! Hey, hey!

George, listen.

Weez, I can't wait till tomorrow.

For... If only Mama were alive so she could be there.

But you'll be there.

The woman who has shared my life for 28 years.

And I know you're proud of me, even though I only own seven stores, right?

Oh, right.

Dinner's almost ready.

What do we have? Short ribs.

Where's George?

Oh, he had to pick up his tuxedo. He said he'd meet us here.

How did he take the news?

I couldn't tell him. He was just so, so happy.

But he has to find out sometime.

Well, all the people here seem to be about Mr. Jefferson's size. Maybe he

even notice.

Do you really think so?

No.

I gotta tell him.

George!

Come on, everybody, let's go. I don't want to be late for my award.

Don't worry about it, Willis. Maybe you'll receive one of these awards one

I doubt it, George.

Me too.

George, Jack Feldman, the vice president.

I'm honored to meet you, Mr. Jefferson.

The honor's all mine.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

You really deserve this award.

Yeah, I know. I mean, thank you very much.

Hey, I bet you Willis is eating his heart out.

Where is he?

Willis looks like he's standing on a chair.

Max McCarthy, we must get together sometime and talk business.

Sure, what business you in?

McCarthy's Mortuaries. Oh, nice to meet you.

Looks like Florence met a guy.

Oh, isn't that nice?

Maybe she'll get to take him home. In her pocket.

You know, we see something strange is going on here.

George, I should have told you. Wait a minute, I know what it is. You do?

Yeah.

I ain't never seen this many tall women in one place before.

Welcome to our minority.

Oh, thank you.

Is he black?

I couldn't tell.

Hey, brother.

Hi.

I know he ain't black.

What's going on?

Uh, George.

Hi, I'm Bob Simmons, president of the Midtown Small Businessmen's Association.

Oh, nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet you.

You know, you're an inspiration to all short people.

Thank you.

want to tell you, but I was afraid you wouldn't come to the banquet.

You know, Mr. Jefferson, we short people are proud to honor one of our own.

Oh, thank you.

I think my wife deserves all the credit. Without her, I wouldn't be here

tonight.

Let me show you to your seat. She must be very excited.

Oh, yeah, sure. In fact, I'm so excited I gotta go to the bathroom.

Excuse me.

Excuse me.

Glad you're one of us.

I'm not one of you. I'm three of you.

George, what are you doing?

What does it look like I'm doing? I'm getting the hell out of here.

But, George, they want to honor you.

Honor me?

You call making me midget of the year an honor?

Mr. Simmons told me that a lot of important people have won this award.

Like who? The seven dwarfs?

George, I'm ashamed of the way you're acting.

Look, Wheezy, all my life, I've been short.

When I was 19, I was still getting movies for under 12.

In school, they used to pick on me and make up short jokes about me.

Jefferson is so short, he can play handball up against the curb.

Mr. Jefferson, I've been looking all over for you. The awards ceremony is

to start.

George, please.

Sorry, I'm not waiting.

George, this group is saying there's nothing wrong with being short. Ain't

nothing right with it either.

Okay, George, let's go home. Good.

If I should have realized how you would feel, I know how embarrassed you are

about your size.

Say what? It must be terrible having people make fun of you all the time.

Calling you shorty, shrimp, peewee.

Oh, I don't know about peewee.

Well, I'm glad I'm not short.

I don't think I could handle it.

What you talking about? Being short ain't that bad.

Oh, George, short people like you are so cute when you get mad.

I'm not mad.

Well, you should be.

It must be terrible not being as good as everybody else.

What are you talking about? Us short people aren't as good as everybody else.

Then why don't you accept your award?

Because I'm a little stupid sometimes.

Sometimes.

It's my privilege to introduce to you the Midtown Small Businessman of the

George Jefferson.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

I had a speech, but I'm not going to use that one.

When I first found out what this award was about, I wasn't real happy.

Because I was ashamed of being short.

But I'm not ashamed anymore.

So what? I'm short.

If it wasn't for short people, the tall people wouldn't know they were tall.

just as good as everybody else.

In fact, we're better because we had to struggle more.

I'm short and I'm proud.

And I'll never be ashamed of being short again.

In fact, I feel like yelling out I'm short.

What the hell?

I've never been so proud of.

We'd like a picture. Oh, sure.

Wheezy, you know, I learned something today.

What's that?

I mean, I don't have to be ashamed of being short or anything else. I'm

just the way I am.

We're ready.

Oh, hold it.