Mike Evans ( actor ) - wikipedia Mike Evans ( actor ) For other people named Michael Evans, see Michael Evans ( disambiguation ). Mike Evans Mike Evans, circa 1975 Michael Jonas Evans ( 1949 - 11 - 03 ) November 3, 1949 Salisbury, North Carolina, U.S. December 14, 2006 ( 2006 - 12 - 14 ) ( aged 57 ) Twentynine Palms, California, U.S Occupation Actor Years active 1971 -- 1985 Spouse ( s ) Helena Jefferson ( m. 1976 ; d. 2002 ) Children Cast of All in the Family - Back row, L-R : Jean Stapleton, Mike Evans, Carroll O'Connor. Front : Sally Struthers, Rob Reiner ( 1973 ) Cast of The Jeffersons, clockwise from top : Mike Evans, Sherman Hemsley, and Isabel Sanford ( 1975 ) 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. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life and death 4 Filmography 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Early life Evans was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. His father, Theodore Evans Sr., was a dentist, and his mother, Annie Sue Evans, a teacher. He attended Palmer Memorial Institute, a private school for young black Americans in Sedalia, North Carolina just outside Greensboro. His family later moved to Los Angeles, where he graduated from Los Angeles High School. He studied acting at Los Angeles City College. 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. 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. Evans was also one of the creators and writers of the series Good Times ( 1974 - 79 ). Evans played Lenny in the cast of the 1976 - 1977 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. Actress Berlinda Tolbert who played Evans ' wife, Jenny, on The Jeffersons is just one day younger and they were also both born in North Carolina. Personal life and death In July 1974, Evans met Helena Jefferson ( June 18, 1952 -- September 11, 2002 ). They married on January 10, 1976. On September 11, 2002, Evans lost his wife to breast cancer after she was diagnosed on February 24, 2001. Four years after her death, Evans died of throat cancer at his mother 's home in Twentynine Palms, California at the age of 57. He was survived by his two daughters, Carlena and Tammie, his mother Annie Sue, his brother Thomas, his cousin Harold and his niece Chrystal. Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1971 -- 75 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 Do n't Henry Fathington Feature film 1972 Love, American Style Jerome Wilson `` Love and the Perfect Wedding '' segment 1973 Voyage of the Yes Orlando B. Parker Television film The House on Skull Mountain Phillippe Wilette The Streets of San Francisco Paul Hudson Episode : `` For Good or Evil '' Far Out Space Nuts Episode : `` Galaxy 's Greatest Athlete '' 1975 ; 1979 -- 81 ; 1985 The Jeffersons Lionel Jefferson Main cast ( 34 episodes ) 1976 Rich Man, Poor Man Arnold Simms Television miniseries 1976 -- 77 The Practice Lenny Main cast ( 13 episodes ) References Jump up ^ `` Mike Evans ''. Biography Resource Center Online. Gale, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Gale, 2009. Updated June 1, 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2009. Document Number : K1650005514. Jump up ^ FoundationINTERVIEWS ( 2011 - 06 - 28 ), John Rich Interview Part 10 of 14 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG, retrieved 2018 - 08 - 10 Jump up ^ Good Times Full Cast and Credits at IMDb ^ Jump up to : `` ' Jeffersons ' Actor Mike Evans Dies ''. CBS News, 2006. Published December 22, 2006, 9 : 42 a.m. Retrieved February 1, 2014. Further reading Associated Press ( 2006 - 12 - 22 ). `` Mike Evans, 57 ; Lionel in ' Jeffersons ' created ' Good Times ' ''. Los Angeles Times. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2007 - 05 - 14. Retrieved 2006 - 12 - 22. E ! Online ( 22 Dec 2006, 02 : 56 : 00 PM PST ) : `` Jeffersons Star Dead '', by Joal Ryan Buffalo News, December 23, 2006. Variety, January 8, 2007. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mike Evans. Mike Evans on IMDb ISNI : 0000 0000 7417 1145 SUDOC : 061230901 VIAF : 56274563 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mike_Evans_(actor)&oldid=854384129 '' Categories : 1949 births 2006 deaths African - American male actors American male television actors American television writers Male television writers Male actors from North Carolina People from Salisbury, North Carolina People from San Bernardino County, California Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from cancer in California Los Angeles City College alumni Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Italiano Nederlands Edit links This page was last edited on 10 August 2018, at 23 : 18 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. 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Question: who played lionel in all in the family
Answer: Michael Jonas Evans