Marla Gibbs made her name — and scored five Emmy nominations — playingThe Jeffersons' no-nonsense maid Florence Johnston for 11 seasons. In her next project as headliner of NBC’s227, she naturally brought that same spirit to her on-screen relationship with futureOscar winnerRegina King.
In fact, a mother-daughter collaboration was at the heart of227from its inception.
227not only made a star of series regularJackée Harry, it introduced audiences to King as Brenda, the teenage daughter of Gibbs' Mary and Hal Williams' Lester Jenkins.
“I fought for Regina [to be cast],” the actress recalls. “She had light brown hair and light eyes and she really looked like Hal.”
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Gibbs remembers fondly working with King, now 52, even when the lines of their on-screen mother-daughter relationship blurred.
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Gibbs says her tough love was, among other things, a lesson in career longevity.
“Sometimes she’d come ask me if the clothes made her look too [young],” says Gibbs. “And I’d say, ‘I’ll tell you one thing: If you get too old, [the producers] are going to send your behind to college, and you won’t be on the show anymore! So be young as long as you can!”
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Gibbs’s daughter Angela, who currently stars in the ABC sitcomNot Dead Yet, can vouch for her mother’s stern parenting style.
“You see how she was with Regina! She was strict! " says the 68-year-old actress and producer, whose credits also include Bounce’sFinding Happy,HBO’sHacksand Adult Swim’sBlack Jesus. “I couldn’t wear makeup. Had to be home at a certain time. If I was on a date and had to be home at 10 p.m., she was there, standing on the porch.”
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For a wide-ranging interview with Marla and Angela Gibbs in honor of Black History Month, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
Like King, Angela credits her mother with setting a strong example at home and exercising uncompromising integrity within the industry.
“In this business, especially as Black artists, you wait so long for something to happen, you get the job and here comes the money. You figure, ‘Down the line I’ll put my foot down, but right now I need to give in,'” says Angela. “But if you play the game too hard, the game will play you. My mother was not going to play the game.”
source: people.com
