Origins
The series was adapted from a play written in 1978 by Christine Houston about the lives of women in a predominantly black apartment building in 1950s Chicago. The setting of the series, however, was changed to present-day Washington, D.C.. The show was created as a starring vehicle for Marla Gibbs, who had become famous as the sassy maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and had starred in Houston's play in Los Angeles. This role was similar in nature to that of tart-tongued Florence; Gibbs' character, housewife Mary Jenkins, loved a good gossip and often spoke what she thought, with sometimes not-so-favorable results.
According to Gibbs, when 227 was originally sold to NBC, the show was targeted to begin in 1986, as Gibbs was thought not to be immediately available, with The Jeffersons still on the air on CBS. When The Jeffersons was abruptly and unexpectedly canceled in 1985, however, Gibbs was free to begin, and 227 went into production a year earlier than had been previously planned.
Synopsis
227 followed the lives of people in a middle-class apartment building in Washington, D.C. At the center was Marla Gibbs, who portrayed Mary Jenkins, a nosy, tart-tongued housewife. Hal Williams played her husband, Lester, a construction worker, and Regina King played their studious 14-year-old daughter, Brenda; it was King's first significant acting role.
Also cast in 227 was Jackée Harry as the building's sexy vamp, Sandra Clark, who constantly bickered back and forth with Mary about their respective views on life. Helen Martin arrived to play Pearl Shay, a crotchety-but-kind busybody neighbor, who was always known for snooping. Pearl had a grandson named Calvin Dobbs, played by Curtis Baldwin, whom Brenda had a crush on and would finally date later in the series' run.
Alaina Reed Hall played kindhearted best friend to all, Rose Lee Holloway. She had a daughter named Tiffany, played by Kia Goodwin, who disappeared after the first season. Halfway through the first season, Rose became the unexpected landlord of the building after the building's stingy slumlord Mr. Calloway (who was constantly mentioned but never seen onscreen) died out of the blue. Rose stayed on as landlady until the fourth season.
In the first season, both Helen Martin and Curtis Baldwin, who had only been recurring stars, appeared in nearly every episode. In the second season's opening credits, Helen Martin and Curtis Baldwin share a title card, thus making them official full-time cast members. Martin has her own title for the third and fifth seasons, while Regina King and Curtis Baldwin share a title card together in those years.
By the time taping started on the third season in 1987, Jackée Harry, who had just won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress changed her stage name to simply Jackée, which she used until 1994. In the fourth season, Countess Vaughn joined the cast as Alexandria DeWitt, an 11-year-old child prodigy who becomes the Jenkins' houseguest. The following year, however, Alexandria disappeared from the show without an explanation.
By the time production on the fourth season commenced in 1988, tension between stars Gibbs and Jackée were mounting due to the show's increasing focus on the Sandra character. To keep the stars happy, Jackée was given the chance to spin off Sandra into her own show. Jackée's television pilot, entitled Jackée, found Sandra moving to New York City and finding work at a spa. NBC aired the episode in primetime on May 11, 1989. The pilot was rejected, and Jackée returned to 227 appearing only sporadically.
The show's final season saw Toukie Smith, Barry Sobel, Stoney Jackson, Kevin Peter Hall and Paul Winfield join the cast in an effort to rejuvenate the show's sagging ratings. In the end, the cast additions proved fruitless, and 227 ended its run in the spring of 1990.