Original subtitles

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

To a deep.

Not even a little bit?

Sorry.

Now, wait a minute. Let me get this straight.

Your husband calls you in the middle of the day to tell you to get all dressed

up for tonight and don't tell you where you're going and you ain't even curious?

Uh -uh.

Well, at least you could suffer a little bit for me.

Well, I never said I wasn't excited, Florence.

As a matter of fact, the whole thing's kind of romantic.

I know. That's why I'm so curious.

I mean, your husband ain't exactly Mr.

Romance.

He thinks Casablanca is a Cisco kid movie.

Florence, you underestimate George.

I think he's the most thoughtful, considerate, loving husband in the whole

world.

Right.

Hi, George.

Ah.

Well, how do I look?

Ah, you look like my financial statement. Beautiful.

Look, I felt a little bad about calling you on such short notice, but I just

found out about it myself this morning about 11 o 'clock, you know? And even

then, I don't usually open my mail that early, but something told me that today

was going to be different, so there I am opening up my letters, and as usual,

most of them are bills, right?

But then, I go to open this one.

Ha ha.

And you'll never guess who it's from.

Give up?

Yes, I sure do.

It's from the moguls club.

Remember I sent in that membership application about a year ago? Well, I'm

Weezy. I am now an associate member of the moguls club. Ain't that great?

Well, you don't get excited about nothing, do you?

George, I'm all dressed up.

for a big night. Where are you taking me?

Yeah, Mr. Jefferson, I'm with it.

Hold on to your head, Weez.

We are going to a fundraising meeting.

Ha!

That's it?

That's it? What do you mean, that's it?

A fundraising meeting at the Moguls Club?

That's the most exclusive club in New York.

But I thought we were going to spend the evening doing something romantic.

Yeah, I know, but thanks to this, now we don't have to do that.

Just think, we see corporate presidents from all over New York are going to be

there. And each one is a potential client.

I mean, look, we get one contract out of that club, it could set us up for the

rest of our lives. I mean, we could retire.

We could relax.

We could move.

Good evening, Mr.

J, Mrs. J.

You are now looking at the proud recipient of the United Nations Employee

Month Award.

Oh, Mr. Bentley, that's wonderful.

Yes, especially considering the competition I was up against last month.

my co -workers was trapped in an elevator with two pregnant women, and

went into labor at the same time.

Goodness. And you managed to beat him out?

Yes. Well, you see, I organized the office collection to help pay for his

nervous breakdown.

We'd love to hear the rest of the story, Bentley. Forgive me, Lord.

But me and Weezy got to go out.

Oh, which reminds me, I must say, you look splendid this evening, Mr. J. Are

going somewhere special?

Yeah, Bentley, but it's no place you ever heard of. We are going to a meeting

the Mogul's Club.

Oh, do you mean the Mogul's Club?

You mean you heard of it?

Oh, I should say so, Mr. J. Well, one of the ambassadors down at the U .N.

applied for membership last year, and he's practically a millionaire.

A millionaire?

Did you hear that, Wheezy? I told you we'd be rubbing elbows with a heavy

weight. Unfortunately, this ambassador's elbows won't be among them. He was

turned down.

Why? Oh, he failed to meet the financial requirement.

What? Nice talking to you, Bentley.

I don't understand, Mr. J. If the ambassador couldn't meet the

how can you manage?

I better show her how to answer stupid questions, can't I? Uh, George, uh, I

didn't think it was so stupid. If the ambassador got turned down, how come

let you in?

My charm and personality.

George, you did tell them you only had seven cleaning stores, didn't you?

Oh, yeah, sort of.

And just how many stores is sort of?

Well, 17.

17?

Okay, 20. So I rounded it off.

But why did you lie?

Most people would be proud to say they have seven stores.

Don't you think it's enough?

Not enough to get into that club. Look, I'm telling you, one or two contracts

from those people and we'll be set for the rest of our life.

But that's dishonest.

Well, yeah, if you want to get picky.

Let's keep going.

Okay, but I think you're getting it over your head. Don't be silly, Weezy. How

could I get it over my head?

Easy. Try standing up in the bathtub.

See, Weezy, I told you there'd be a lot of women here.

I know, but they all look so ostentatious.

Ostentatious?

Well, as long as they're rich, I don't care what their religious beliefs are.

George Jefferson?

Yeah? Big Tony Tyler, big T's barbecued ribs, the secret's in the sauce.

Big George Jefferson, Jefferson Cleaners, the secret's in the starch.

Twenty locations, one near you.

Well, don't fret, son.

We all had to get our start somewhere.

This is my wife, Louise.

How do you do, pretty lady?

Howdy.

Say,

Tony. Hey, now.

You just call me Big. Oh, okay, Big.

Look here, those people that work for you must slop a lot of that rib juice on

themselves. Yeah, we do go through quite a few aprons. Oh, yeah? Well, look,

maybe your sauce and my starch can get together.

That's not a bad idea, Jefferson.

Tell you what, we'll talk about it after dinner.

Right now, why don't you and the missus just mosey on over to the buffet table?

Tie on a feed bag.

We're going to start this little to -do in a few minutes.

Enjoy yourself.

Try the ribs.

Georgia,

you all right?

Yeah, wees, I'm having the time of my life.

See what I tell you about those contracts? Excuse me.

I'm Lucilia Pettigrew, and this is my sister, Mavis. Oh, hi.

I'm Louise Jefferson, and this is my husband.

George Jefferson, Jefferson Cleaners, 35 stores, one near you.

How nice.

Anyway, Mavis and I own a chain of small boutiques around the city, and for the

life of me, I cannot place that dress.

Obviously, it's a De La Renta, Lucci. No, I would know a De La Renta. He's

more into ruffles this season.

Oh, well, actually... No, no, no. Don't tell me.

Adolfo, right?

Impossible. I've seen Adolfo's entire line. And it's red.

Well, to tell the truth, it's just... Would you mind? Just living outside in

hall is better, right? But, uh, George!

Hey, Weezy, have a nice time.

Well, hello there, Mr.

Jefferson. Oh, hi, yeah.

G .W.

Brookhouse of Brookhouse Furriers here. Oh, how are you? Have you met everyone

yet? No, not yet, but it seems like a nice bunch of people. Oh, I'll say.

Listen, I met some of my very best business contacts in this club.

You mean to tell me that this club is good for business, too?

The thought never even entered my mind.

So you own the Jefferson Cleaning Store, eh? That's right.

Jefferson Cleaners, 57 locations.

I was just telling my VP this morning that we need the new dry cleaners. You

what?

I mean, do tell.

Listen, why don't you give me a call this Monday morning and perhaps we

Come on, now.

It's time to get the wagons in a circle. Here I go. I'll talk to you again.

Excuse me. No, no, no, no. You haven't told us yet who

did your dress.

Florence Johnston.

That was my very next gift.

All right, friends.

I reckon our first order of business is to introduce our newest associate

member, Mr. George Jefferson and his pretty little filly. Stand up and take a

bow, y 'all.

Hey,

give some to your friends.

Real nice, Jefferson.

Modest little fella, ain't he?

Well, let's get down to business.

Now, we're here to raise money for a fountain for our New York headquarters.

We got a few of the world's best sculptors fighting over which one's

get the job.

But ain't none of them going to lift a chisel till we tell them how much money

they got to work with.

In other words, it's pledge time.

All right. I'm going to start things rolling with a pledge of 25.

I pledge 10.

10? 15.

All right, 10 more here.

Did you listen to these cheapskates?

George, what do you... Hey, I'd like to pledge.

Oh, well, appreciate that, Jefferson, but associate members don't have to

participate if they don't want to.

Oh, I don't mind. I pledge 50.

50? Oh,

what the heck, it's only money. Make it 100.

Jefferson, come on up here. Give a nice round of applause to Mr. Jefferson.

All right.

Folks, I move that Mr.

George Jefferson here, because of his generosity, be made a permanent member

the Muggles Club with full rights and privileges thereof.

And I also say that George here should be our keynote speaker tomorrow night at

the collection ceremony.

Congratulations, George.

Thanks, Dick.

Oh, that was kind of a puny round of applause, wasn't it? Come on, let's dig

down and give one rip -snorting round of applause for the dangest new member our

club's ever had.

The man who donated to our cause the sum of $100 ,000.

$100 ,000.

George, it's late.

$100 ,000.

George, couldn't we talk about it in the morning?

That's one, zero, zero, comma, zero,

zero, zero, decimal point, zero, zero, dollar.

The only sensible thing to do is to go back and tell them it was a mistake.

A mistake? Are you kidding, Weasley? They'll kick me out of the club. You

how embarrassing that is?

I know, dear.

But what other choice do you have?

Oh, I don't know.

Say, how much are these rings worth?

George,

you've got to go back and tell them the truth.

Tell them you can't afford it.

Yeah, I guess I have to tell the truth.

Oh, I really have sunk low.

Come on.

Let's go up and get some sleep.

Oh, you go weak. I'm going to stay here and see if I can drink up, I mean, think

up something to say to him.

Well, don't stay too long, George.

We're okay.

Good night, Charlie.

Night, Mr. Jefferson.

Charlie, give me another drink.

Sure thing.

Say, something bothering you or something?

Oh, no, nothing.

Much.

Hey, Mr. Jefferson, you know I've been known to do a little more than just pour

fire water.

I mean, after some 20 -odd years in the business, I've become a pretty good

listener. So, uh, you got something on your mind? Believe me, I'm all ears.

Yeah, okay, well...

This is what happened. I went to this meeting. I'll never forget one time a

came in here looking at Ben.

Well, you know, I told him right out, you looking for a listener?

I'm all ears.

So, I was... Well, he had the usual problems.

Bad job, bad marriage, bad breath.

Well, he didn't need no advice or nothing, you know, just wanted somebody

listen. So I sat him down right here and I said to him, hey, look... Damn it,

Charlie, are you going to listen?

I'm all ears.

Okay. So, I went to the meeting. Hello, Charlie.

Oh, Mr. J, I see you're back from the meeting already.

Yeah, apparently things didn't go too good.

Oh, sticky wicket, eh, Mr. J?

Well, look, if there's anything I can do to help... Oh, yeah. Hey, Mr.

Jefferson, look, you need anything at all, just ask.

I need $100 ,000.

Well, it's being funny, but I... Wait, wait, wait.

I didn't come down here to borrow the money from you guys.

It's like I pledged $100 ,000 for a fountain by mistake, and if I back out,

can't live it down.

Hey, look, don't let that depress you, Mr. Jefferson. Like the song says, let a

smile be your umbrella.

On the other hand, Mr. J., there's another song which says, here's that

day.

Yeah, but there's another song that says, everything's coming up rosy.

Oh, yes, but what about Willow Weep for me?

with the problem, remember me?

Yeah, sure.

I'm sorry, Mr. Jefferson.

Thank you.

Still like I was then. Hey, I don't know. It just sure seems dumb.

You give $100 ,000 for a fountain when there's so many charities around, it

could really use the money.

Yes, I agree.

Oh, hey, Ralph.

Yeah, charities.

Hey. Thanks a lot, fellas.

Sure thing, Mr. Jefferson. Take it easy.

Look, Ralph, I need you to do me a favor. Please, Mr. Jefferson, I've been

feet all day. The night man's sick and I had to take his place.

I can hardly move a muscle, sir.

There's 200 bucks in there for you. I need the exercise.

You gotta promise me one thing. You don't mention this to Weezy.

See, it's an extra, sir.

Okay, $250.

My lips are sealed.

Good. Now, what do we got to do?

Mr. Jefferson, are you sure this is going to work? What if Mrs. Jefferson

out? She's not going to find out. I told her I was coming down here to talk to

Tony man to man.

I just hope I don't lose my nerve.

Look, I'll throw in an extra $50.

I could kill for you, sir.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. George Jefferson.

All right, sit around and listen up, because this is the moment we've all

waiting for. I give you the man who's going to help us put together the

new fountain on the face of the earth, Mr.

George Jefferson.

Yeah!

Thank you. Well, I'm not too much on public speaking.

But I'll get right to the point.

I have in this envelope a check for $100 ,000.

Now, last night, I made a pledge because I, too, wanted us to have the dangest

new fountain on the face of the earth.

But since then, I've had a change of heart.

No, no, no. Although the fountain is a good cause.

There are other causes out there even more worthwhile.

And so, I hereby withdraw my pledge for the fountain and

present this check to Mr. Ralph Hart, owner and operator of Ralph

House.

Ralph House?

Well, it's kind of a home.

For who?

For people.

All right, which one is it, a home for orphans or old people?

Both. You see, it's a home for orphans over the age of 65.

Shoot, I never heard of no charity like that.

Come on, Jefferson, we're counting on that money for a fountain. Yeah.

You mean a fountain means more to you than the orphaned elderly?

You'd rather see water gush out of a lion's mouth when you could see a

toothless... old orphan, face light up with hope.

All right.

Baby orphans get adopted all the time.

But has any one of you ever seen anyone adopt a 77 -year -old man?

I thought not.

Well, Ralph here wants to do something about it. And doggone it, so do I.

So,

Here's your check, Ralph.

Let's get out of here.

Hold it.

Hold it. Just rein back and hold it, Jefferson.

I don't know nothing about no old orphans.

If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me. Here's $25 ,000 for

It's my turn, Ralph.

I'm rich!

I'm rich!

George?

George, what's going on here? Wait a minute, Weasley. Weasley, what are you

doing here?

I know you wanted to do this by yourself, George, but I thought I'd come

and give you some moral support.

Oh, thanks a lot, Weasley. I feel better already. Now go home.

George! I just wanted you to know that you don't have anything to be ashamed

You started with nothing, and you built a wonderful life for your family. You

should be proud.

Howdy, pretty lady.

You know, you got a mighty fine husband here.

George, old buddy, you done good tonight.

No, I didn't, but I'm gonna.

Excuse me.

Excuse me, please.

Ralph? Oh, yeah, that's Ralph, all right. You know, he's the owner and

of Ralph House.

Ralph House?

Would you listen up, please? I want to say something, and then I'm going to

leave.

There is no such place as Ralph House. Yes, there is.

I got in over my head.

Last night when I pledged $100 for the fountain, I thought I was pledging $100.

Not $100 ,000.

Yeah, well, anyway.

I was too ashamed to admit that I couldn't afford it. So, I invented Ralph

House.

Oh, and another thing.

I don't have 57 stores.

I only got seven.

No! No, no, wait a minute. Not only.

I mean, I started out with nothing, so now I've got seven.

So that's pretty good.

Anyway, I'm ashamed the way I acted here, but one thing I am not ashamed of,

that's what I am. The best damn dry cleaner in New York.

Folks, I say it takes a big man to admit he's just...

Small potatoes.

George here may have tried to put the bamboozle on us, but he was right about

one thing.

Our money should be put to better use.

So I move that we find us a real charity to donate to.

What do you say?

Good deal.

And I also say that George here should remain a member of our little club. What

do you say to that? No, no.

It was that little fella that showed us a better way to use our money. Huh?

Yes, he did. Come on now.

Thank you. And I'd like to say that every one of you can get a discount on

dry cleaning. Just drop by any one of my 12 stores one near you.

Well, I guess there's only one more order of business.

Stop that!