Is Mike Evans Dead?
Mike Evans, an actor, best remembered for portraying Lionel Jefferson on "All in the Family" and its well-liked spinoff "The Jeffersons" in the 1970s, passed away on December 14 at his mother's house in this city. He was 57. According to IMDb, Mike Evans is dead.
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Who Is Mike Evans?
North Carolina's Salisbury is where Evans was born. His mother, Annie Sue Evans, worked as a teacher, and his father, Theodore Evans Sr., was a dentist. In Sedalia, North Carolina, he attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a private school for young African Americans. Later, his family relocated to Los Angeles, where he completed his high school education. He attended Los Angeles City College to study acting.
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How Did Mike Evans Die?
Evans passed away from throat cancer at the age of 57 at his mother's house in Twentynine Palms, California, four years after she passed away. His two daughters were left to care for him. Before landing the role of Lionel Jefferson on "All in the Family," which debuted in 1971, he had studied acting at Los Angeles City College. Lionel was the son of the racist Archie Bunker's black Queens neighbors.
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Mike Evans Career
Evans, a drama major in college with no prior acting experience, got his big break when producer and director of All in the Family John Rich hired him to portray Lionel Jefferson, the son of the Bunkers' new black neighbors. Rich pushed for the casting of a less menacing actor because Norman Lear, the creator of the show, thought Cleavon Little would be better in the part.
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On the spinoff The Jeffersons, Evans continued to portray the part, but he quit after the first season to focus on other elements of his career. Jimmie Walker claims that Norman Lear released Evans from his contract after Evans threatened to quit if he was not given greater screen time.
The role of Lionel was later filled by actor and opera singer Damon Evans (not Michael's brother), but Mike Evans returned to play the part for the sixth through eighth seasons. Evans was the series creator and writer (1974–79). Evans portrayed Lenny in the second and final seasons of the Danny Thomas situation comedy The Practice in 1976–1977. Evans also invested in real estate and owned homes in the Inland Empire of California.
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