hemsley was born on february 1, 1938 in philadelphia, pennsylvania to and was raised in south philadelphia by his mother, who was a factory worker. he left school to join the air force, where he served in for four years. later he returned to philadelphia where he worked in a post office during the day and at night he went to acting classes. later he moved to new york still working for the post office during the day and at night he went to acting classes.