As Lionel's parents and uncle Henry appear more frequently, Lionel's role becomes less significant. Isabel Sanford net worth and salary: Isabel Sanford was an American actress and comedian who had a net worth of $3 million at the time of her death. 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. On the PBS childrens show Sesame Street, Benedict was the Mad Painter who painted numbers everywhere. They eventually marry and gave birth to a daughter, Jessica. George, opposed to miscegenation, calls Helen and Tom "zebras" or "chocolate and . 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. 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. Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV comedy series "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," has died. All content, including text, and images contained on news.AmoMama.com, or available through news.AmoMama.com is for general information purposes only. For his part, Lionel remains unfazed by Archie's racism and unrelenting condescension. Online (22 Dec 2006, 02:56:00 PM PST): ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Evans_(actor)&oldid=1125602728, People from San Bernardino County, California, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Main cast (34 episodes) (final appearance), This page was last edited on 4 December 2022, at 22:04. Lionel Gets the Business: Directed by Bob Lally. Of those in the Bunker household, Lionel is closest to Archie's son-in-law Michael Stivic. Damon revealed that his sexual preference became an issue for him on The Jeffersons as well. 2006 The Associated Press. Damon Evans was a cast member on the CBS hit 70s sitcom The Jeffersons, but while everyone must have thought he had the best life, Evans was battling personal demons that would lead him down a drug-fueled path and near-suicide. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College before getting the role of Lionel Jefferson in 1970s situation comedy All in the Family.. The family moved to Los Angeles when Evans was a child. One could say Mike was quite successful in the entertainment industry for a little more than a decade. Mike Evans and more members of the "All in the Family" cast circa 1972 | Photo: Getty Images. Damon: No, they do know Im gay but they wont accept it. When Lionel Jefferson actor Mike Evans left The Jeffersons shortly after the All in the Family spin-off debuted on CBS in 1975, it was . The family moved to Los Angeles when Evans was a child. Mike Evans eventually returned to the role in 1979, appearing in several episodes before the end of the series in 1985. Work would take him to London, where he gained quite the reputation for his brilliance onstage. Evans attended the Interlochen Academy on a Reader's Digest Scholarship. Because once you get there youll find out that there is no there there. 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. Actress Marla Gibbs, best known for her roles on shows like The Jeffersons and 227 is now 90 years of age and still going strong. Getting high was all that mattered, Damon shared. On the first two seasons of All in the Family, Lionel has an uncle named Henry. Samuel L Jackson & Wife Are Married for 41 Years & 'Still Love Each Other' Though They Took 10 Years to Wed, 'Law & Order's' Camryn Manheim Turns 61 - Meet Her Son Milo Who Is All Grown-up & Is Also an Actor, Who Is Jake Sully from Avatar? [3] 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. Unfortunately, in the years that followed, Damon soon realized Hollywood had mostly typecast him as the comedic character, Lionel. However, he wanted to prove his diversity. / AP. Mike Evans left The Jeffersons after its first season in order to devote more time to writing for Maude spin-off Good Times, which he had helped create. Turns out, he has some very interesting and deep reasons for this. Evans died of throat cancer Dec. 14 at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, said his niece, Chrystal Evans. Gibbs, who played the Jeffersons housekeeper Florence, is still alive today. I thought, I cant go on like this anymore, Damon recalled, but then another thought crept in that stopped him from ending his life: I was thinking, How am I going to kill myself when I dont even know myself?. 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). TWENTYNINE PALMS, California Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons," has died. Evans, along with Eric Monte, also created and wrote for Good Times, one of the first TV sitcoms that featured a primarily black cast. Damon Evans (no relation to Mike) played the role from the fall of 1975 until early 1978. Four years after her death, Evans died of throat cancer at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, California, at the age of 57.[5]. The hit show was a spinoff featuring bigoted Archie Bunkers black neighbors in Queens who move on up to the East Side of Manhattan. 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. If I had to make that particular choice over again, that is accepting or not accepting the role of Lionel and replacing actor Michael Evans, I definitely would have refused the role, the actor confessed during an interview with Keith Boykin, per ILOSM. "The Jeffersons" cast His Addictions & Suicide Attempt. She was 86. I was thinking, How am I going to kill myself when I dont even know myself? he says. He was known for his roles as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen, and B.P. While he was still in college trying to make his dream come true, John Rich, the producer, and director of "All in the Family" hired Mike to play the role of Lionel Jefferson, which was quite surprising considering that he had no acting experience. He also portrayed the young Alex Haley (ages 17-25) in the ABC television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations . As we previously reported, Damon Evans absolutely hated being a part of "The Jeffersons" and had several problems going on behind the scenes and internally (you can read about that HERE).So in 1978, he left the show and decided to pursue other acting roles, as well as his first passion of singing in the opera. Damon Evans (no relation to Mike) played the role from the fall of 1975 until early 1978. Biography. Maestro cue the outro music! He opened up about his drug addiction to a therapist and reportedly joined Narcotics Anonymous. Evans was a creator/writer of the series Good Times (197479).[4]. There I was Lionel which was to them the epitome of what they wanted me to be, but Lionel was just a role I played as an actor. According to her, she was raised by her mother and grandmother, and that, shockingly, Mike absolutely refused to believe that he was her biological father. To get her attention, he called her Weezy, and it stuck. I heard Gladys Knight say this, that we all get lost in the maze of materialism, but theres a greater force if you believe in it, that brings us back home. I didnt have any pride.. He also portrayed the young Alex Haley (ages 17-25) in the ABC television miniseries Roots: The Next Generations.. Are any of the members of peter, paul and mary still alive? On September 11, 2002, Helena Evans died of breast cancer after she was diagnosed in February 2001. is for general information purposes only. On the show, Bentleys disappearance is explained away like this: Bentley works as a Russian interpreter for the United Nations. He was 57. Work would take him to London, where he gained quite the reputation for his brilliance onstage. 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. Turns out, he has some very interesting and deep reasons for this. Although he was born in North Carolina, Mike eventually moved with his family to Los Angeles, California, where he decided that he wanted to try his luck in show business, having studied acting at Los Angeles City College. That didn't stop him from doing a fantastic job in front of the cameras and winning over the audience. (L) Damon Evans, the actor who played Lionel Jefferson on The Jeffersons sitcom; (inset photo) The Jeffersons stars, Isabel Sanford (Weezy Jefferson) and Sherman Hemsley (George Jefferson) When most of us first saw actor, Damon Evans, pop up on The Jeffersons as Weezys and Georges son, we were like, Who dat?! While the actor was away from the Jeffersons, Damon Evans, who starred in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" and Broadway's "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope," replaced him between the second and fourth seasons. 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). Away from the world of entertainment, Damon bagged his Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Bronx Community College in 2007. Damon Evans took over the role and he stayed for two years in seasons three and fourthis was the dark period. Did you? Can i register a car with export only title in arizona. We all remember "Jenny Willis," "Tom's" and "Helen's" daughter on The Jeffersons, but many of us didn't hear much from her outside of a few other roles in films like Harlem Knights, Goodfellas, and such. }); Copyright 2015 . I started loving it, I mean, started knowing that I could even write. What happened to the first Lionel on The Jeffersons show? Jenny, however, became a regular guest throughout the series, unlike Lionel, who only appeared on the screen in the last two episodes of the eleventh and final season back in 1985. According to him, he wanted to educate America in the sense that Lionel was a black married man who was working on his masters and was ready to have a family, which was something America hadn't seen yet. She was 86. [citation needed] Evans's body was cremated. _taboola.push({ 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. He was also a guest celebrity panelist on the TV game show Match Game . The question asked of me will always be Which Lionel are you, the first or the second? In retrospect, I think it was actually an impossible task to undertake because most people dont seem to remember that Michael Evans was the first Jefferson to appear on All in the Family. Unfortunately, when Damon's work permit in the UK expired, and he returned to the United States, the actor discovered he had been typecast as a comedic character. Lionel was born in New York City on October 18, 1953. This resulted in grueling struggle of unemployment, with very few acting gigs in between. Mike Evans left The Jeffersons after its first season in order to devote more time to writing for Maude spin-off Good Times, which he had helped create. container: 'taboola-right-rail-thumbnails', }); Copyright 2015 . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Through that experience, Carlene understood that her father had finally accepted her, which drove her to forgive him. His new drug-heavy life would lead Damon to almost ending his life sometime in 1997. Damon Evans (no relation to Mike) played the role from the fall of 1975 until early 1978. [1], 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. 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. Damon Evans (born November 24, 1949) is an American actor, best known as the second of two actors who portrayed Lionel Jefferson on the The Jeffersons. target_type: 'mix' That was not the case. I had a really bad attitude.. 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