Amen (TV series)

Amen
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Ed. Weinberger
Starring	Sherman Hemsley Clifton Davis Anna Maria Horsford Roz Ryan Jester Hairston Barbara Montgomery (1986–90) Rosetta LeNoire (1987–89) Elsa Raven (1988–90) Tony T. Johnson (1988–91) Montrose Hagins (1989–91) Bumper Robinson (1990–91)
Theme music composer	Andraé Crouch
Opening theme	"Shine on Me" by Vanessa Bell Armstrong
Composer	Bruce Miller
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	110 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	James R. Stein Bob Illes David Lloyd Arthur Julian Ed. Weinberger
Producers	Jim Geoghan Marilynn Loncar Peter Noah Bob Peete
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	Carson Productions Stein & Illes Productions (season 5)
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 27, 1986 (1986-09-27) – May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)

Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that aired on NBC from September 27, 1986, to May 11, 1991. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen stars Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s and early 1990s that featured predominantly black casts – others included The Cosby Show, A Different World, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and 227.

Premise

The series revolves around Ernest Frye, a widower deacon of the First Community Church of Philadelphia, who also works as a lawyer. He is often dishonest and frequently gets into trouble with his many harebrained schemes. Frye has a single daughter named Thelma. Reuben Gregory is the new, young pastor of the church, and also the object of Thelma's affection. The two get married during season four, despite the fact that Gregory and Frye often butt heads. In the series finale, Thelma gives birth to the couple's first child.

Cast and characters

• Sherman Hemsley as Ernest Frye, a widowed deacon of the First Community Church in Philadelphia. Ernie was also a personal injury lawyer and notorious ambulance chaser.
• Clifton Davis as the Reverend Doctor Reuben Gregory, the new pastor of the Community Church and Thelma's love interest and eventual husband
• Anna Maria Horsford as Thelma Frye Gregory, the Deacon's daughter and Reuben's eventual wife
• Roz Ryan as Amelia Hetebrink, the church secretary, Casietta's sister (both were chatterers and known as "the Hetebrink sisters")
• Jester Hairston as Rolly Forbes, an elder church member, who often acts as the voice of reason
• Barbara Montgomery as Casietta Hetebrink (1986–90), the church trustee, Amelia's sister. Barbara was the only original cast member to leave the series, she went on to star in ABC's Married People in 1990. Casietta mysteriously disappeared and was never talked about.
• Elsa Raven as Inga (1988–90), the Deacon's Swedish housekeeper
• Tony T. Johnson as Chris (1988-91), a young boy, the Deacon's neighbor
• Rosetta LeNoire as Leola Henderson Forbes (1987–89), Rolly's love interest and eventual wife
• Montrose Hagins as Leola Henderson Forbes (1989–91), Rolly's wife
• Bumper Robinson as Clarence (1990–91), a young street kid and protégé of Deacon Frye

Exterior shot location

The Mount Pisgah African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, a stone gothic church building at 41st and Spring Garden Street, was used for exterior views of the First Community Church. Consequently, the Mount Pisgah Church became known to the nation as the "Amen Church".

Episodes

Further information: List of Amen episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	22		September 27, 1986 (1986-09-27)	April 4, 1987 (1987-04-04)
2	21		October 3, 1987 (1987-10-03)	May 7, 1988 (1988-05-07)
3	22		October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08)	April 22, 1989 (1989-04-22)
4	23		September 23, 1989 (1989-09-23)	April 7, 1990 (1990-04-07)
5	22		November 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)	May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)

Ratings

• 1986–1987: #13
• 1987–1988: #15
• 1988–1989: #25
• 1989–1990: #33
• 1990–1991: #65

External links

• Amen at IMDb