
This past July, Sherman Hemsley, who famously played George Jefferson on the classic sitcom "The Jeffersons", passed away from what the coroner described as lung cancer. Strangely enough, the late comedic actor has yet to be buried almost three months after his death. His body is being kept at the San Jose Funeral Home in El Paso, Texas, where it has remained refrigerated.
The reasoning behind the delay in burial seems to be his will, which continues to be disputed. Certain aspects, such as his beneficiaries and his cause of death, are still being contested. An estate battle between Hemsely's "beloved partner" Flora Enchinton and Richard Thornton, who claims to be Hemsley's half-brother, ensued back in August.
Thornton, a Philadelphia native, contends that Hemsley may not have actually written the will himself and suggests that it could potentially be a forgery. The $50,000 estate lists the late actor's 20-year manager Flora Enchinton as his sole beneficiary. In previous interviews, Hemsley repeatedly stated that he was an only child, and Enchinton also says Sherman never mentioned any family members.
"Some people come out of the woodwork — they think Sherman, they think money... But the fact is, that I did not know Sherman when he was in the limelight. I met them when they [Hemsley and Johnston] came running from Los Angeles with not one penny, when there was nothing but struggle," Enchinton said in August.
This past September, a judge ordered the testing of Hemsley's DNA in an attempt to determine if Richard Thornton is actually his biological brother. The test results have not been disclosed.
Source: thegrio.com