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|---|---|---|---|---|
 "Black Elmo" Bridgewater, as played by J.A. Preston | ||||
| Personal Information | ||||
| Gender: | Male | |||
| Occupation/ Career: |
Dockworker/Dispatcher, Pendergast Tool & Die | |||
| Character description: |
Beats Archie out for the open dispatcher job at the plant | |||
| Character information | ||||
| Appeared on: | All in the Family | |||
| Episodes appeared in: | "Archie the Donor" in Season 6 | |||
| Character played by: | J.A. Preston | |||
Elmo "Black Elmo" Bridgewater is a character who appears in the Season 6 episode of All in the Family titled "Archie the Donor". The part of Elmo is played by character actor J.A. Preston.
About Elmo[]
Elmo, who works with Archie on the loading dock at Pendergast Tool & Die, drops by to tell Archie about a new charity that Mr. Sanders, their boss, the personnel manager, was trying to influence his workers to sign up to donate their vital organs to after they die, in hopes that if Archie was to sign up, he would be a sure bet to get promoted to the recently vacant dispatcher job, thus as Elmo said "would make life easier for me", as he encourages Archie, who dyed his hair black, in order to try to look younger to impress Mr. Sanders "you've got to be his fair-haired boy, even with that head!"
Elmo, who's known and worked with Archie for twenty years, seems to have a somewhat tenuous, uneasy relationship with Archie, as they have apparently never associated outside of work, as Archie says to Elmo upon his visit: "Twenty years we've been working together, and I've never invited you to my house!", and Elmo replies "That's because you've never invited me!" When Archie responds "We'll, Elmo, you know you're welcome to my house anytime...did I invite you tonight?" Elmo says "No, you're battin' 1.000!"
As for Archie's new hair color, when he asks Elmo what he thinks of the hair dye job "If that spreads to the rest of your body, you'll be beautiful all over!"
Archie, in trying to earn brownie points in order to get a promotion at the loading dock. agrees to help Mr. Sanders with his latest charity, until he finds out that it involves posthumous organ donation! When he tries to go Mr. Sanders, and the charity representative to have his name removed as he complains about ailments as a reason not to donate his body parts as Mr.Sanders gives the new dispatcher job to Elmo, whom he didn't know, along with he, and Irene, were up for the job!