The Jeffersons Sanford Hemsley Evans 1974

Michael Jonas Evans (November 3, 1949 – December 14, 2006) was an American actor, best known as

Lionel Jefferson Lionel Jefferson is a supporting character from the hit television program, sitcoms ''All in the Family'' and ''The Jeffersons''. He is the son of George Jefferson, George and Louise Jefferson. He was originally portrayed by D'Urville Martin for ...

on both ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series '' Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...

'' and ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of List of The Jeffersons episodes, 253 episodes. ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longe ...

''. He was also a guest celebrity panelist on the TV game show ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...

''.

Early life

Evans was born in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

. His father, Theodore Evans Sr., was a dentist, and his mother, Annie Sue Evans, a teacher. He attended

Palmer Memorial Institute The Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial Institute, better known as Palmer Memorial Institute, was a school for upper class African Americans. It was founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown at Sedalia, North Carolina near Greensboro. Palmer Memo ...

, a private school for young black Americans in

Sedalia, North Carolina Sedalia is a town in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 623 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. History The Dr. Joseph A. McLean House and Palmer Memorial Institute, Palm ...

. His family later moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from

Los Angeles High School Los Angeles High School is the oldest Public education#United States, public high school in the Southern California, Southern California Region and in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Its colors are royal blue and white and the teams are ...

. He studied acting at

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

."Mike Evans"
Biography Resource Center Online. Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2009. Updated June 1, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2009. Document Number: K1650005514.

Career

A college student majoring in drama but with no acting experience, Evans caught his big break when ''

'' producer and director

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After d ...

hired him to play Lionel Jefferson, the son of the Bunkers' new black neighbors. Show developer

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (born July 27, 1922) is an American producer and screenwriter, who has produced, written, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear is known for many popular 1970s sitcoms, including the multi-award winning ''All in the Famil ...

preferred

Cleavon Little Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of ''Purlie'', for which he earned both ...

for the role, but Rich lobbied to cast an actor who would appear less threatening. Evans continued to play the role on the spinoff ''

'', but left after the first season to pursue other aspects of his career. According to

Jimmie Walker James Carter Walker Jr. (born June 25, 1947) is an American actor and comedian. Walker portrayed James Evans Jr. ("J.J."), the older son of Florida and James Evans Sr., on the CBS television series ''Good Times'', which ran from 1974 to 1979, ...

, Evans had threatened to leave if he was not given more screen time, and Norman Lear let him out of his contract. Actor and opera singer

Damon Evans Damon M. Evans is the athletics director/chief financial officer at the University of Maryland. Since October 2017, Evans has served as the interim athletic director at Maryland and in June 2018, was named the permanent athletic director. Afte ...

(no relation to Michael) then took the role of Lionel, but Mike Evans returned in the role for the sixth through eighth seasons. Evans was a creator/writer of the series ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first African ...

'' (1974–79).''Good Times'' Full Cast and Credits
IMDb.com; accessed October 22, 2021. Evans played Lenny in the cast of the 1976–77

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running si ...

situation comedy ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in 1 ...

'' during its second and final season. Evans was also a real estate investor and owned properties in California's

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...

.
Jeffersons' Actor Mike Evans Dies
.

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

, 2006. Published December 22, 2006, 9:42 a.m. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

Personal life and death

In July 1974, Evans met Helena Jefferson (1952–2002). They married on January 10, 1976. On September 11, 2002, Helena Evans died of breast cancer after she was diagnosed in February 2001. Four years after her death, Evans died of throat cancer at his mother's home in

Twentynine Palms, California Twentynine Palms (also known as 29 Palms) is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Twentynine Palms serves as one of the entry points to Joshua Tree National Park. History Twentynine Palms was named for the palm trees found there in ...

, at the age of 57. He was survived by his two daughters (Carlena and Tammie), his mother (Annie Sue), a brother, a cousin, and a niece. Evans's body was cremated.

Filmography

References

External links