Actress Jackée Harry recounts how she had secretly longed to get fired from a television series that launched her into superstardom.
For context, the particular show in question was NBC’s hit 227. The series — which aired on the network for five seasons, from 1985 to 1990 — follows the lives of the cast members, including Harry as Sandra Clark, who regularly interact in apartment building 227. Each episode would be based on the group’s conversation. 227 also starred Helen Martin, Marla Gibbs, Hal Williams, Alaina Reed-Hall, Regina King, Curtis Baldwin, Barry Sobel, and many others.
The success of 227 would ultimately land Harry an Emmy award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series in 1987. At the time, this was a monumental occasion, because Harry was the first African American to receive that honor, and over three decades later, in 2022, actress Sheryl Lee Ralph would be the second African American to obtain the same award for her performance in Abbott Elementary.
In a recent interview with VladTV, Harry opened up about her journey within the entertainment industry and unveiled the various reasons why she wanted to get fired from 227.
During the discussion on June 11, the 66-year-old shared that before landing her iconic role as Clark, she played in the hit soap opera, Another World. Harry appeared in the series from 1983 to 1986 as Lily Mason. The mother of two would go on to describe her experience on the job as “heaven” because it was her debut television gig, and she was being paid about $450 per episode. She said while mentioning that the Another World set was located in the same studios “where Bill Cosby was” in Brooklyn, New York.
“I was in heaven. It was my biggest job, my fore right into tv. I loved it I got $450 per show. Ooh that was a lot of money back then [in] 1981. But I had to go to Brooklyn to tape it at the same studios where Bill Cosby was. The Historian Studios… Back then, he built it. He took that studio and had it made new. It was a fabulous time. I enjoyed it throughly. I did it for two years.”
Further into the interview, Harry disclosed that while working at Another World she landed the role of Sandra Clark at 227 and was working both jobs because she wanted desperately wanted to get fired from the NBC show due to its location in Los Angeles, California.
“But then I got 227. So I did both for while because I thought I’ll be fired from 227. I was hoping I’d be fired to be honest with you. I wanted to live in New York. I didn’t want to go to L.A.”
Harry would add that because she had a life in New York and settled down with her fiancé at the time, she couldn’t picture herself going anywhere else. The Sister, Sister star shared that the commute is now possible with technological advancements.
“No because I said I’m an actor, I’m dramatic, I’m brilliant. I was. I was working a lot. I had it going on, I had a man, fiancé. I had a life. That’s the way New Yorkers feel today like, ‘I don’t want to go out to L.A. because you had it together. Of course now with the advent of the internet you could do both.’”
Towards the end of her statement, Harry offered another reason why she was very reluctant to stay at 227. During that time, Harry explained that many people weren’t taken seriously in the acting world if they played in sitcoms. The Everybody Hates Chris star revealed that she would ultimately tune out the negativity after she saw her check in the life-changing role.
“Back then, you were considered low level if you took a sitcom, until I saw that check. It definitely changed my life forever.”
227 can be viewed on various streaming platforms for a small fee.
