Franklin Cover

Franklin Edward Cover (November 20, 1928 – February 5, 2006) was an American actor best known for his role in The Jeffersons, Tom Willis, half of one of the first interracial marriages to be seen on prime-time television. He graduated from Denison University in 1951 and from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) as a graduate student in 1954 and 1955.

His career started on the stage acting in Henry IV, Part 1 and Hamlet. He also appeared in Forty Carats with Julie Harris. He made his television debut on Naked City and later appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show.

In 1965, he married Mary Bradford Stone.

His first starring role was on The Jeffersons as Tom Willis, a Caucasian man married to an African-American woman, Helen, played by Roxie Roker.

Partial filmography