♪ Well, we're movin' on up ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To a deluxe apartment ♪
♪ In the sky ♪
♪ We're movin' on up ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ We finally got a
piece Of the pie ♪
♪ Fish don't fry
In the kitchen ♪
♪ Beans don't
burn On the grill ♪
♪ Took a whole lot of tryin' ♪
♪ Just to get up That hill ♪
♪ Now we're up
In the big leagues ♪
♪ Gettin' our turn at bat ♪
♪ As long as we live
It's you and me, baby ♪
♪ There ain't Nothin'
wrong with that ♪
♪ We're movin' on up ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To a deluxe apartment ♪
♪ In the sky ♪
♪ We're movin' on up ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ To the East Side ♪
♪ Movin' on up ♪
♪ We finally got a
piece Of the pie ♪♪
Whoo!
Man, that was some wedding!
I am whipped.
Well, I'm not surprised, the
way you were banging bodies
with your old
girlfriend, Maxine Curtis.
We weren't banging bodies,
Weez, we was doing the Bump.
You looked more like you were
directing traffic
with your backside.
Look, when you do the Bump,
you gots to move your rump.
Ha, ha, ha!
You hear that, Mom?
I don't know about you, Louise,
but I had a wonderful time.
And wasn't I lucky to
catch the bride's bouquet?
And wasn't Elsie Carter unlucky
to get in your way
when you went for it?
I thought, "She'll
never get off the floor."
All's fair in love and w*r.
Man, that was a
real fun wedding.
I never saw so much
food in all my life.
Yeah, I have to admit it
was a marvelous spread.
Why didn't you eat some of it?
Because I've got to
start watching my weight.
That ought to be easy, Louise.
Seeing how much
you got to watch.
I think I'll stick my
bouquet in some water.
Why don't you stick
your head in too?
Weezy, don't let
Mama get you down.
I love every pound
of you. Ha, ha, ha!
Hello, Mr. Jefferson. Can
I see you for a second?
Sure. Time's up.
George.
I was just kidding,
Bentley. Come on in.
Thank you.
In fact, you can have a
whole minute if you want.
I shan't be as long as
that. I just came to tell you
that you had a visitor
while you were out.
Visitor? What visitor?
Uh, the young lady
from New Jersey.
What young lady from New Jersey?
She was standing
outside your door,
when I got off the
elevator, so I offered to help.
Did she tell you her name?
Oh, yes.
Well, what is it?
Oh! Yes, of course, you'd
want to know that, wouldn't you?
I wrote it down somewhere.
Ah, Edward Villella.
Her name is Edward?
Oh, no, Edward
Villella isn't a her.
He's a great ballet dancer.
Daphne and I are
going to see him tonight.
The girl's name?
Yes, I wrote it down
right here, you see?
"Gail Bryant."
Do we know anyone
named Gail Bryant?
Not me. Must be
one of your friends.
Mm. I don't remember
a Gail Bryant.
What did she look like?
Oh, she was in her 20's,
slender, nicely dressed,
pretty face, lovely smile.
Was she black?
I didn't notice.
Well, didn't you ask her? No.
No, but she asked
a lot of questions
about you, Mrs. Jefferson.
Oh? What sort of questions?
Oh, well, what your
maiden name was,
what your address
was 24 years ago,
what time you'd be home,
which was the only
question I could answer.
She said she'd come back later.
Huh. Gail Bryant.
I don't remember
any Gail Bryant.
Hello, Mrs. Jefferson.
Oh, what lovely flowers.
That's Mama's bridal bouquet.
My word! How do you
keep them looking so fresh?
No, Mr. Bentley, we
went to a wedding today.
And Mother Jefferson
caught the bridal bouquet.
Oh, delightful.
That means you'll be
the next one to be married.
Oh, no.
I'm not even going steady.
Well, I hope you solve the case
of the mysterious stranger.
Meanwhile, TTFN.
Huh?
Ta-ta for now.
Uh, Mother Jefferson,
do you know anyone
named Gail Bryant?
Gail Bryant.
Oh, George, didn't you once
have a girlfriend named Gail?
No, I didn't, Mama.
You know, George had
so many lovely girlfriends.
He couldn't remember
all their names.
Will you cut that out?
I had one girlfriend in my life,
and I married her.
What about Harriet Johnson?
That wasn't serious. Oh, no?
Not as serious as I
would have liked it.
Now look, Mother Jefferson...
Oh, listen, I was just teasing.
It was all very innocent,
just like you and
Fred What's-his-name.
Fred Williams.
Fred Williams. I never
knew any Fred Williams.
Well, it was Fred something.
What about Louise and
this Fred something?
Now, George, you know
I don't like coming
between man and wife.
Now, I'm sure you and Louise
can handle your own problems
without any help from me.
Now, wait a minute, Mama.
I'm going to take a nap.
Weddings always make me sleepy.
So do five Bloody Marys.
All right. What about you
and this Fred something?
I never went with
anybody called Fred.
That leaves a lot of
Tom, d*ck and Harrys.
Oh, well since we are
going to dig up old dates,
what about you and Babs Davis?
Babs Davis?!
Mm. You didn't know I knew
about Babs Davis, did you?
What bigmouth told
you about Babs Davis?
The same bigmouth who just told
you about Fred What's-his-name.
And since we're
mentioning names,
what about Wilma Barnes and
Jan Harris and Meg Oliver...?
Do you want me to go on?
No, Weezy. Let
sleeping dogs lie.
I mean, what
difference does it make
what happened before
we were married?
All that counts is that we
love each other now, right?
Right, George.
In fact, let's make it a deal.
What's past is past, okay?
You're right again, George.
That's my baby.
What's for dinner? Lamb chops.
Great! Nobody makes
lamb chops like you, Weezy.
Except maybe Harriet Johnson.
Your arm ain't what
it used to be, Weezy.
Oh, hello.
Hi. Are you Mrs. Jefferson?
Yes.
You're very pretty.
Thank you.
Oh, I'm Gail Bryant.
Oh, yes. Mr. Bentley
told us about you.
Won't you come in, Miss Bryant?
Mrs. I'm sorry.
This is my husband.
George, this is Mrs. Bryant.
Hello. Hi.
What can we do for you?
Mrs. Jefferson,
did you once live
on 135th and Amsterdam?
Yes.
And was your maiden
name Louise Mills?
Yes, it was.
That's wonderful.
What are you, the
CIA or something?
No. You see, I... You
wouldn't be a lawyer?
No, but I work in
a lawyer's office.
That's it! Weezy, we're in luck!
Maybe one of your relatives d*ed
and left us some dough.
No, it's nothing like that.
Then what's this all about?
Well, this is kind of personal
between your wife and me.
Oh, you can talk
in front of George.
He's a friend of the family.
Okay.
Now that I'm here, I
don't know how to say it.
Say what?
You're my mother.
What?!
Mama!
Uh, Mrs. Bryant,
there must be some mistake.
Oh, no, there isn't.
I'm your daughter.
What is this, some
kind of con game?
You looking for some money?
Oh, no. I don't want
anything from you,
I just wanted to find my mother.
Then you better buy
yourself some glasses
and look someplace else,
because she ain't here.
Um, my husband
is right, Mrs. Bryant.
What in the world made
you think I was your mother?
I don't even know you.
Well, how could you? I was
adopted right after I was born.
When was that?
1951. July 10.
Does that ring a bell?
Yeah, that rings
a bell, all right.
Weezy couldn't have
had no kid in 1951
because I was in Korea.
If you were in Korea,
how would you know?
Uh...
Because we was going
steady, that's how I know!
Look, this is crazy!
You tell this girl
you ain't her mother.
Mrs. Bryant, I am
not your mother.
You don't have to keep
saying that, Mrs. Jefferson.
I didn't come here
to cause any trouble,
and I certainly don't
hold any grudges.
After all these years, I
just wanted to meet you.
To see what you looked like.
And to know that
I had touched you.
Uh, Mrs. Bryant.
Gail.
I can imagine what
you're going through,
But, believe me, I
am not your mother.
But I have all this proof.
Look. Court records.
Hospital files.
Church registers. You name it.
I've covered every possibility.
I'm sorry, but you've
made a mistake.
I don't think so.
What's your blood type?
Red.
Is it O?
That's right.
And do you have a
scar on your right leg?
No way!
There goes your
case, Christy Love.
Not unless you
count this little cut
I got from a sled
when I was a girl.
Hey, I didn't know about
that! Hey, that's cute!
It's only just a coincidence.
Including my birth certificate?
It says my mother
is Louise Mills.
So what? There's lots
of Millseses in Harlem,
and I ain't even counting
the Mills Brothers.
I'm sorry, Gail,
but I'm really not your mother.
Okay. If that's how you want it.
That's the way it is.
I'm still glad I came.
At least I've seen you.
That poor girl.
Poor, nothing!
I bet she takes a lot of
suckers with that line.
I'm sorry, Louise.
I was wrong about Fred Williams.
I had to get up and tell you.
You never went out with him.
You hear that, George?
Mm-hm.
It was Manfred Wilson
you went out with.
Manfred Wilson?!
Now I can sleep peacefully.
You went out with
Manfred Wilson?
Uh, yes, but...
Manfred Wilson, the great
lover who rang the bell
with every fox he ever dated?
George...
You went out with
Manfred "100%" Wilson?
George, he said he
wouldn't stop calling me
unless I went out with him.
So I went out with him once.
It was the only way
I could get rid of him.
How come I didn't
know about this?
You were in Korea.
Korea! Hold it!
Hold it! Hold it!
Does that birth certificate
say who the father was?
Yes. Let me see.
George, what's the matter?
Read that.
Oh, my God. You
can say that again.
"Father: Manfred Wilson."
Manfred "100%" Wilson.
You lied to me!
I did not!
You lied to me, you
lied to me, you lied to me!
George, will you
stop saying that?!
Please! I didn't mean to
cause so much trouble.
I'm sorry.
Don't be sorry. You did me a
favor. You opened my eyes.
And closed your brain!
Explain this. I can't!
A-ha! Don't you "a-ha" me!
What?!
You had a kid
by that jive turkey
before we were even married,
and you tell me
not to "a-ha" you?!
I'll "a-ha" you all I want!
A-ha! A-ha! A-ha! A-ha!
Please, don't fight.
You might as
well get used to it.
You're part of the family now.
George, this is the last
time I'm going to tell you this:
She is not my daughter!
Birth certificates don't lie.
Look. "Mother: Louise Mills.
Father: Manfred Wilson."
There it is.
Somebody must
have made a mistake.
Yeah, me. I trusted you.
Why you... You... Not
me. "100%" Wilson.
Can't take the truth, huh?
Fine mother you picked!
Now, Louise...
I don't want to hear
a word out of you.
Unless it's an apology.
Apology?!
After what you did to me?
While I'm over there in Korea
dying for my country,
you're back here k*lling me.
Well, don't you
have anything to say?
What do you want me to say?
Say you didn't do it.
All right. I didn't do it.
I don't believe you.
George, if you don't get
away from me, I swear...
That's it, swear. Swear.
You swear on the
Bible that you didn't do it
and I'll believe you.
I'm not going to dignify
that insult with an answer.
That proves it.
That proves it,
and that does it.
I'm getting out of
here. Mr. Jefferson...
I'm leaving you alone
with your mother.
I know you got
a lot to talk about.
What's all the yelling about?
Ask your son. That's
where it's coming from.
George, where are you going?
Don't bother waiting up
for me. Just don't bother.
Hey, Pop, what's wrong?
Ask your sister!
There you go again, old friend.
I ain't your friend.
Oh, sure, that's what
they all say at first,
but two more of these,
and you'll be talking to me
like I was your long-lost brother.
I doubt that.
Oh, boy. Something
really bothering you, ain't it?
Yeah. You.
Okay. Let me tell you
something, old friend.
A bartender ain't just
some guy who pours drinks.
A bartender is the
drinking man's psychiatrist.
Then why don't you go
find yourself a drunken nut?
Come on, come on.
You can tell old Charlie.
What's eating you, old buddy?
Okay. If I tell you, will
you leave me alone?
Anything you say.
I just found out that
my wife had a daughter.
A dau...? Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Congratulations!
Compliments of the house.
So why the long face?
Oh, I got it.
You're worried about your age.
What? Yeah.
You think you're too
old to start being a father.
Listen, don't worry.
I know guys even older than you
became fathers, loved it!
Come on, cheer up.
Before you know it,
she'll be toddling around
the house, calling you daddy.
That'll be the day.
Just give me another drink.
Why, sure, Dad.
Don't call me Dad.
Hi, Pop. And don't
you call me Pop.
Hey. Are you okay?
Sure. I'm fine. Fine.
Everything is just fine.
Good. Then let's go home, huh?
Hell, no.
Are you just going to sit
here and drink forever?
No. Just till I pass out.
Hey, Pop. Come on.
Your mother sent
you down here, right?
No, she didn't.
She's too upset to
do much of anything.
She's upset? She's upset?
I suppose I'm jumping for joy!
You came down
pretty rough on her.
What was I supposed to do?
Tell her how thrilled I am
to know she has a daughter
of whom I ain't the father?
What? You didn't tell me that!
Do you mind?
I'm trying to have a private
conversation with my son.
Oh. Well, is your son drinking
or just taking up bar space?
I'll have a Coke. A Coke.
Well, I guess I can buy my
dream house on the Riviera.
Hey, Pop. You really believe
Gail is Mom's daughter?
Well, she had more
evidence than Columbo.
But it doesn't prove anything.
I'll tell you what it proves.
It proves that the minute I
stepped on that boat to Korea,
your mother got in a
cab to "100%" Wilson.
How many years
have you known Mom?
I don't know, 25, 26.
What does it matter now?
It's all dirty water
under the bridge.
And how many times
did she lie to you?
Weezy never lied to me. You see?
She just never told me things
she didn't want me to know.
You know she loves you.
What's that got to do with it?
Louise loves everybody.
A-ha!
Look, don't you "a-ha" me.
There have been
enough a-ha's for one day.
Pop, remember when any
of our old neighbors in Harlem
used to get sick?
Who was it who always
looked after them?
Your mother. That's
another one of Weezy's faults.
Always helping people.
And stray cats...
And stray cats.
Always petting them,
and hugging them,
and picking them up
and feeding them
better than she feeds me.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
Mom is, um... too sentimental.
Mm-hm. She'd hug a
rhinoceros if it was lost.
Give me another one.
I bet... I bet she went crazy
when she found out Gail
was her very own daughter.
Say what?
Oh, she must have
hugged her and kissed her
and couldn't stop
crying all over.
No, she didn't do none of that.
Hey, come on, Pop. This
is Mom we're talking about.
The first time she's seen
her daughter in 24 years?
Her very own baby?
Now, all that love must
have spilled right over.
No, Weezy didn't spill nothing.
She didn't even cry?
No.
Well, doesn't that
tell you something?
Yeah.
It tells me that you got
more brains than your father.
Well, let me get up to Weezy.
Hey, what about the check?
Well, you the brainy one.
You figure out a way to pay.
And then a couple of
years ago, I got married,
and it's been just great.
Would you like some more soup?
Oh, no, thanks. I've had enough.
You finish that.
You need all the
strength you can get,
you poor girl, after all
you've been through.
No, I'm fine, honest.
I love my parents.
They adopted me and
gave me a very good life.
It's just that I couldn't
help wondering
what my real mother was like.
You can understand
that, can't you?
Of course, dear.
Well, what about your
father, Manfred Wilson?
I've looked everywhere, but
there's just no trace of him.
I may be able to help you, Gail.
Really?
I have some friends living
in the old neighborhood.
You may not believe this,
but I have an ear for gossip.
No?!
Hi, Weezy. Hi, Mama.
Don't you talk to me.
And don't you
talk to me, either,
after the way you
behaved with your wife.
You know what it reminded me of?
Your father.
Weezy, I... I told
you not to talk to me
unless you had an apology.
Well, how can a man
apologize if he can't talk?
You'll just have to...
You were going to apologize?
Yeah.
Start talking.
I'm sorry. I was wrong.
I believe you. You're
not her mother.
Oh, George.
What made you change your mind?
All those stray cats
on 135th Street.
Huh?
And you never lie to me.
I was just telling
Lionel that in the bar.
Oh, George. Well, that's that.
Well, sorry, young lady,
but you ain't her daughter.
Oh, I know that now.
She showed me proof.
Proof! I don't need any
proof. I believe my wife.
Oh, thank you, George.
What proof?
Show him the picture,
Mother Jefferson.
Here it is, George.
All I see is you and Weezy
on the beach in bathing suits.
Turn the picture over, George.
"July 4, 1951. Jones Beach."
I was born July 10, 1951.
Well, in that picture, your
wife certainly isn't pregnant.
She sure ain't.
Mm-mm. You was something, Weezy.
What about me, George?
You was something else, Mama.
Thank you.
You know, what
I can't figure out
is why your real mother
used Louise's name?
Well, she wasn't married.
I guess she was ashamed.
She wouldn't be if
she could see you now.
Thank you.
I guess I better be going now.
I'm sorry if I caused
you any trouble.
No trouble. No trouble at all.
Back to the drawing board.
Mrs. Jefferson, it's been
a pleasure meeting you.
It's been a pleasure
meeting you too,
and if George's mother
should dig up anything,
I'll give you a call.
Thanks.
You know, Mrs. Jefferson,
if I ever do find
my real mother,
I hope she's a lot like you.
Well, I was your
mother for two hours,
so I guess I'm entitled to this.
Good-bye.
I'm glad she's not going to
stop looking for her mother.
Yeah, but I can't help feeling
sorry for "100%" Wilson.
Why?
Well, he's going to
have to change his name.
After going out with you,
he's only "99%" Wilson.
The Jeffersons was
recorded on tape
in front of a studio audience.
02x03 - Louise's Daughter
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Spinoff series from "All in the Family" is about literal upward mobility of couple George and Louise Jefferson who move into a swanky high-rise building.
Spinoff series from "All in the Family" is about literal upward mobility of couple George and Louise Jefferson who move into a swanky high-rise building.