Don Bexley

Early life

Bexley was born on March 10, 1910 in either Jamestown, Virginia or Detroit, Michigan to the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bexley. His father was a Bible scholar and teacher and his mother a classical vocalist. "I was born with a flair for the stage, as I had always been a clown - even during early adolescence," Bexley wrote in 1983.

Career

In his career, Don Bexley has been an orchestra director, singer, dancer, stand-up comedian, and actor.

Early career

In the early 1940s, Bexley started doing stand-up comedy in upstate New York. He worked with Milton Berle, Danny Kaye, and Henny Youngman, and danced with Sammy Davis Jr..

Bexley was the first black stand-up comedian to do the hotel circuit in the Borscht Belt. During his travels, he met many black entertainers, including Redd Foxx. They worked in New York City, Philadelphia, and New Jersey.

He was also a singer and dancer. Early in his career, he performed with a dance group called Three Shades of Rhythm. And before his television debut, he did theater in Los Angeles and New York City.

Redd Foxx and Sanford and Son

When Bexley returned from Europe in 1969, he and Foxx were cast together in Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970). Upon Bexley's arrival from Asia in 1971, Foxx sent for him to join in the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son. It was Foxx who convinced Bud Yorkin and Aaron Ruben to hire Bexley to play one of Fred G. Sanford's friends. At the time, Bexley was 62 years old and had never appeared on television before. Bexley gained international popularity for his portrayal as "Bubba" on the series, which is a very successful "rerun sitcom" even today.

Sanford and Son, based on a British show Steptoe and Son, was an instant hit and remained in the country's top 10 programs for its entire run from 1972 to 1977. Bexley reprised Bubba in the short-lived sequel, Sanford Arms, which had many of the same characters but not Foxx and Demond Wilson.

Later career

He appeared in many television shows such as Cheers, Hunter and Laverne & Shirley, as well as the 1976 film Sparkle. One of his final appearances on television was in an episode of Foxx's The Royal Family. In the episode, "New Beginnings", Bexley made a special guest appearance as an old friend of Al Royal's (Foxx) who attends his funeral.

In 1989, Bexley had a sitcom in the works which he had written and would have starred in titled Cee Cashman and 'Yul Stay Broke. It was a story about a Black Jew who owns a pawnshop. Just before his death, Bexley was still writing for stage and television. Clarence Williams, Sr., a friend of Bexley's, said the actor had completed several scripts, although he knew of no current plans to produce them.

Later life

In 1989, Bexley was awarded the "Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year" award by the Support the Artists of America (STAA) in Orlando, Florida.

Since his relocation to Hampton, Virginia (before that, he resided in the San Fernando Valley) during the 1990s, Bexley was still quite active, always working on new ideas for shows and live performances.

Bexley made personal appearances and signed autographs on many occasions, including the Newmarket Fair Day-Talent Show on September 1996, and the Aberdeen Athletic Association on June 1996. One of Bexley's last signings was during his attendance at the NASA Langley Research Center's "Black History Program," on February 1997. These types of activities added to his longevity.

Personal life and death

Bexley had a close friendship with Redd Foxx, until Foxx's death in October 1991. He attended Foxx's funeral in Las Vegas, where he was an honorary pallbearer. Their friendship lasted for nearly fifty years.

In 1995, Bexley reportedly injured his hip.

Bexley died of heart and kidney failure on April 15, 1997, at Hampton Sentara Hospital, in Hampton, Virginia. He was 87 years old. He is survived by his wife Sally Bexley and his two daughters Donna and Stacies Marie, as well as grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Filmography