Mike Evans (actor)

Michael Jonas Evans (November 3, 1949 – December 14, 2006) was an American actor and television writer, best known as Lionel Jefferson on both All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Evans was a creator/writer of the series Good Times (1974–79).Good Times Full Cast and Credits, IMDb.com; accessed October 22, 2021. He was also a guest celebrity panelist on the TV game show Match Game.

Early life Evans was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, on November 3, 1949. His father, Theodore Evans Sr., was a dentist, and his mother, Annie Sue Evans, was a teacher. He attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a private school for young African Americans in Sedalia, North Carolina. His family later moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Los Angeles High School. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College."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 All in the Family producer and director John Rich hired him to play Lionel Jefferson, the son of the Bunkers' new Black neighbors. Show developer Norman Lear preferred Cleavon Little for the role, but Rich lobbied to cast an actor who would appear less "threatening."

Evans continued to play the role on the spinoff The Jeffersons, but left after the first season to pursue other aspects of his career. According to Jimmie Walker, 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 (no relation to Michael) then took the role of Lionel, but Mike Evans returned to the role for the sixth, seventh, eighth and eleventh seasons. Evans was a creator/writer of the series Good Times (1974–79).

Evans played Lenny in the cast of the 1976–77 Danny Thomas situation comedy The Practice during its second and final season.

Evans was also a real estate investor and owned properties in California's Inland Empire."'Jeffersons' Actor Mike Evans Dies". CBS News, 2006. Published December 22, 2006, 9:42 a.m. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

Personal life and death Evans died of throat cancer at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, California, at the age of 57. Evans never married.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1971–1975 All in the Family Lionel Jefferson Main cast (33 episodes) 1972 Killer by Night Marley Television film 1972 Call Her Mom Wilson Television film 1972 Now You See Him, Now You Don't Myles 1972 Love, American Style Jerome Wilson "Love and the Perfect Wedding" segment 1973 Voyage of the Yes Orlando B. Parker Television film 1974 The House on Skull Mountain Phillippe Wilette 1974 The Streets of San Francisco Paul Hudson Episode: "For Good or Evil" 1975 Far Out Space Nuts Episode: "Galaxy's Greatest Athlete" 1975–1985 The Jeffersons Lionel Jefferson Main cast (62 episodes) (final appearance) 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Arnold Simms Television miniseries 1976–1977 The Practice Lenny Main cast (13 episodes)

References

Mike Evans (actor)

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