He studied acting at Los Angeles City College before getting the role of Lionel Jefferson in 1970s situation comedy All in the Family.. Maestro cue the outro music! Archie considers himself to be Lionel's good friend and even mentor. Damon let the cat of the bag when he publicly revealed that he hated playing "Lionel" on The Jeffersons and deeply regrets doing the show. Damon Evans (no relation to Mike) played the role from the fall of 1975 until early 1978. Ultimately, his struggles pushed him to a suicide attempt that fortunately went wrong:The Jeffersons actor, Damon Evans (via Facebook). This resulted in grueling struggle of unemployment, with very few acting gigs in between. Ebonie Smith, also known as Ebony Smith (born Negra Candalaria-Smith; September 16, 1978) is a Puerto Rican-born American former child actress known for her role as Jessica Jefferson in the sitcom The Jeffersons in four episodes in Seasons 10 and 11. Are any of the cast of my three sons still alive? Isabel Sanford, who played Louise Weezy Jefferson on The Jeffersons for a decade, died Friday of natural causes at Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, her publicist told the Associated Press. Lets just say this, Ive taken detours but I always come back home. Are any of the original little rascals cast still alive? He was 57. She was 86. He is the son of George and Louise Jefferson. Although he was supposed to play a more significant role with more screen time, he left after the first season. It would be almost a decade before they were free to leave that venue. What happened to Lionel on The Jeffersons? I just sort of just said well, let me just see where this goes. I started loving it, I mean, started knowing that I could even write. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. In 2007 (at age 56) he earned his Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Bronx College in New York. Via People: A depressed and unemployed Evans came close to ending his own life. He was later played by Damon Evans, while Mike was working with Monte co-creator of Good Times writing scripts for the series. Actor and opera singer Damon Evans (no relation to Michael) then took the role of Lionel, but Mike Evans returned in the role for the sixth through eighth seasons. For other people named Michael Evans, see, "Mike Evans, 57; Lionel in 'Jeffersons' created 'Good Times', E! I always tell people that I am the one without the fro and the one who married Jenny on TV. He also portrayed the young Alex Haley (ages 17-25) in the ABC television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.. All Rights Reserved. Evans was replaced by Damon Evans (no relation) for four years, then he returned to the series from 1979 to 1981. Evans died of throat cancer. Ed Sheeran reveals wife was diagnosed with tumor while pregnant TWENTYNINE PALMS, California Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," has died. target_type: 'mix' 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. He was 57. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College. All in the Family's CBS spinoff series, The Jeffersons premiered in 1975. Also, Sherman Hemsley was not the original George Jefferson. Lionel Gets the Business: Directed by Bob Lally. Lionel tells Archie off, but also lets him know that they can remain friends. Publicity photo of Mike Evans during his time on "All in the Family" circa 1971 | Photo: Getty Images. Michael Jonas Evans (November 3, 1949 - December 14, 2006) was an American actor, best known as Lionel Jefferson on both All in the Family and The Jeffersons. Evans died of throat cancer December 14 at his mothers home in Twentynine Palms, said his niece, Chrystal Evans. To support himself, he took a job in the mail room of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, where he gamely replied Yes whenever coworkers asked, Werent you Lionel? Evans also joined a church and began taking singing lessons. He was survived by his two daughters (Carlena and Tammie), his mother (Annie Sue), a brother, a cousin, and a niece. Through that experience, Carlene understood that her father had finally accepted her, which drove her to forgive him. For his part, Lionel remains unfazed by Archie's racism and unrelenting condescension. Lionel Jefferson, who appeared in seasons 1-5 of All In The Family is the son of George and Louise Jefferson, On the AITF series, the part was played by Mike Evans, who would go on to co-create another Norman Lear produced sitcom, Good Times in 1975, the same season his character Lionel, George and Louise were spun off themselves into a series, titled The Jeffersons. Lionel is introduced in the first episode (and, in fact, appears on screen before Archie Bunker does). In the second half of Wednesday's Live in Front of a } He reportedly had a huge crush on a girl who was older than him. All content, including text, and images contained on. Publicity photo of Mike Evans during his time on "The Jeffersons" circa 1975 | Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. He is the son of George and Louise Jefferson. The Hines band debuted there on December 28, 1928. AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. Series overview [ edit] Episodes [ edit] Season 1 (1975) [ edit] Season 2 (1975-76) [ edit] Season 3 (1976-77) [ edit] Season 4 (1977-78) [ edit] Season 5 (1978-79) [ edit] The family moved to Los Angeles when Evans was a child. Evan's character, Lionel, was one of the first characters that showcased an opinionated black young man, and even though he had to deal with his neighbor Archie's constant ignorant and racist comments, Lionel usually played along, remaining unfazed about the demonstrations of bigotry displayed by Archie. There I was a total unknown one day, and the next appearing on network television in one of the top 10 TV shows on the air. Jane Fonda announces her cancer is in remission Gibbs was born Margaret Theresa Bradley on June 14, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois. It really was the verbal autobiography that brought this attention to the fact of what Ive done and I and for I talked to the students about what it meant about learning to let go of family, about, you know, following your own course in life, and about confronting the fear of change. We came to know him as the character, "Lionel," from "The Jeffersons" and it was he and his friend, Eric Monte's, creative genius that gave us their sitcom creation, "Good Times.". Damon Evans: Not really. display: block; That didn't stop him from doing a fantastic job in front of the cameras and winning over the audience. Mike drew his last breath at his home his mothers home in Twentynine Palms in 2006, as announced by his niece, Chrystal Evans, following a battle with throat cancer. Father and daughter stopped talking for good when she was 21 years old, and he kept on denying that he was Harris' biological father, claiming that his brother a man that nobody ever knew was her real dad. Evans, along with Eric Monte, also created and wrote for "Good Times," one of the first TV comedy series that featured a primarily black cast. With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover. His character is significant for being one of the first TV portrayals of a young, opinionated black man. Evans was also a real estate investor and owned properties in California's Inland Empire.[5]. Damon Evans (no relation to Mike) played the role from the fall of 1975 until early 1978. Check out an interview that Damon did with blogger, Keith Boykin: Interviewer: How did the experience on [The Jeffersons] affect your life? All Rights Reserved. Damon also took a mail-room job that kept him going until he was able to secure roles in several small-time theater productions. However, his personal life was not as good as one would believe, especially when it came to his daughter, Carlena Harris. To be quite honest, I didn't have a direction when I went there. Roxie Roker, the elegant and beautiful actress best known for her role as Helen Willis on the long-running hit CBS television series The Jeffersons, has died. The hit show was a spinoff featuring bigoted Archie Bunkers black neighbors in Queens who move on up to the East Side of Manhattan. When the series ended, Gibbs took on other TV roles including portraying Mary Jenkins on the sitcom 227. https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/actors/sherman-hemsley-net-worth/, https://the-jeffersons.fandom.com/wiki/Florence_Johnston, Georges Weezy nickname was based off on a real-life romance. In 1979, Mike came back for one more season, but eventually left again, forcing the creators to write Lionel and his wife Jenny (played by actress Berlinda Tolbert) out of the script, claiming that they faced marital problems. He was 57. Mike Evans and other cast members of "The Jeffersons" circa 1974 | Photo: Wikimedia Commons. By the time she was 13 years old, he requested a DNA test to learn the truth, and, as it turns out, he was indeed Harris' father. iloveoldschoolmusic.com, A few of us were at the ILOSM office today, having one of our brainstorm idea sessions, and someone randomly blurted out the name Damon Evans a.k.a. Evans attended the Interlochen Academy on a Reader's Digest Scholarship. I thought, I cant go on like this anymore, Evans recalls. Evans died of throat cancer December 14 at his mother's home. During a guest appearance on "The Charay Vaughn Show," Harris opened up about the cruel way he used to treat her when she was only a child, revealing that he was never involved in her life. Damon revealed that his sexual preference became an issue for him on . . There was such a marked difference in our interpretations of the role. During the final season of The Jeffersons, Lionel and Jenny announce they are seeking a divorce (after living apart for several years while Lionel worked in Japan). Work would take him to London, where he gained quite the reputation for his brilliance onstage. Turns out, he has some very interesting and deep reasons for this. "The Jeffersons" cast His Addictions & Suicide Attempt. At which location is the altitude of polaris approximately 42? Damon is referring to this fun fact about the shows beginning cast: From the characters first appearance on All in the Family, producer, Norman Lear, had pegged Sherman Hemsley to play George Jefferson. But when All in the Family became a hit, Hemsley was tied up on Broadway as the co-star of Purlie, and was understandably reluctant to break his contract. }); Copyright 2015 . I guess you can say that we all learn something new everyday, dont we? Damon Evans played Lionel from seasons 2-4, before being replaced by Mike Evans, who left the series to co-produce and develop another Norman Lear series. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College before getting the role of Lionel Jefferson in the 1970s situation comedy "All in the Family.". Evans was a creator/writer of the series Good Times (197479).[4]. But he was mainly known for his role as Bentley on The Jeffersons, which ran on CBS from 1975 to 1985. } mode: 'thumbnails-rr1', Kiss announce farewell tour set to conclude in NYC The late star was born in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1949, son to father Theodore Evans Sr., who made a living as a dentist, and to mother Annie Sue Evans, who worked as a school teacher. Its really been pretty phenomenal. In one of the early episodes, the Jeffersons move into a house down the block from the Bunkers (later, the house is said to be next door). Both Weezy and George were cast later. On the PBS childrens show Sesame Street, Benedict was the Mad Painter who painted numbers everywhere. But his big break was his Jeffersons character of Tom Willis, a great foil to George. 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