Which ends the nonsense of some of the people saying he left to work on Good Times which was false.

Albuquerque Journal Jan 13, 1977

He should have stayed with George!!!

He should have stayed with George!!!

he came back in 1979

Thanks for posting this news clipping, TVFactFan!

Thanks for posting this news clipping, TVFactFan!

No problem, now I gotta find out why he left the jeffersons again in the 80's lol

What was the new NBC show he was happy in?

What was the new NBC show he was happy in?


The Practice, it debuted on NBC on Jan 30 1976.

Thats good to hear he came back in 79 :)

Wikipedia says he and Tolbert went recurring in season 8 starting with the separation episodes, and Evans was then written out. He returned for the 11th season divorce episodes.

I can't find whether he wanted out and then missed seasons 9 and 10, or whether he was fired.

Wikipedia says he and Tolbert went recurring in season 8 starting with the separation episodes, and Evans was then written out. He returned for the 11th season divorce episodes.

I can't find whether he wanted out and then missed seasons 9 and 10, or whether he was fired.

Im not going by nothing on wikipedia unless they have a source.

Good call. There is a reference at the end of the paragraph about this stuff, but the link to a TV Guide article is bad.

Good call. There is a reference at the end of the paragraph about this stuff, but the link to a TV Guide article is bad.

if its a link to a TV guide article I will check it out

Hi TVFactFan, I'm new to this message board but I'm a fan of Mike Evans. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about the Jeffersons, so do you happen to know anything about the "emotional problems" or "mental illness" that Mike supposedly dealt with? I read online multiple times that Sherman Hemsley had said something about that. Just trying to find out more about Mike as a person. Thanks.

Hi TVFactFan, I'm new to this message board but I'm a fan of Mike Evans. You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about the Jeffersons, so do you happen to know anything about the "emotional problems" or "mental illness" that Mike supposedly dealt with? I read online multiple times that Sherman Hemsley had said something about that. Just trying to find out more about Mike as a person. Thanks.

Welcome to the Boards:wave::wave:

I didnt read anything about any mental illness but I do know he was upset over his decreased role during season 1 which led to his departure. Feel free to ask me anything about the Jeffersons

These excerpts are from Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons by Jay Moriarty.

pages 82- 83:
Mike Evans as Lionel was a likeable, humorous, familiar character to All in the Family audiences and Murph could only think of two reasons Norman would let Mike slip away. One, Norman wouldn't want to stand in the way of anyone's career; and two, Norman may not want to set a precedent of offering more money to an actor just because he says he's leaving.


page 294:
Shortly after being named EPs, M&M heard from Sherman, who called to say he ran into Mike Evans (original Lionel) at a beach or somewhere. Sherman said he told Mike, "we have new Executive Producers" and he should call M&M about maybe returning to the show.

M&M discussed it and concluded Lionel and Jenny having a baby would give a whole new thrust to both the upcoming season and the entire series. They met with Mike and welcomed him back with open arms.

(M&M stands for Murphy & Malloy)

page 323:
At the table reading of "The First Store," all went well. During lunch break, however, Mike Evans showed up in M&M's office. Mike didn't want to play Lionel in the flashback episode. He said he had no problems with the script, but he just wasn't comfortable playing a more militant Lionel. He confided that his mother was white and he felt it would be disrespectful to her. He suggested M&M hire a younger actor to portray Lionel in the flashback episode. When M&M hesistated, Mike offered to pay a sum of $2,400 in cash to let him sit this one out.

(Sherman convinced Mike Evans to do the flashback.)

These excerpts are from Honky in the House: Writing & Producing The Jeffersons by Jay Moriarty.

pages 82- 83:
Mike Evans as Lionel was a likeable, humorous, familiar character to All in the Family audiences and Murph could only think of two reasons Norman would let Mike slip away. One, Norman wouldn't want to stand in the way of anyone's career; and two, Norman may not want to set a precedent of offering more money to an actor just because he says he's leaving.


page 294:
Shortly after being named EPs, M&M heard from Sherman, who called to say he ran into Mike Evans (original Lionel) at a beach or somewhere. Sherman said he told Mike, "we have new Executive Producers" and he should call M&M about maybe returning to the show.

M&M discussed it and concluded Lionel and Jenny having a baby would give a whole new thrust to both the upcoming season and the entire series. They met with Mike and welcomed him back with open arms.

(M&M stands for Murphy & Malloy)

page 323:
At the table reading of "The First Store," all went well. During lunch break, however, Mike Evans showed up in M&M's office. Mike didn't want to play Lionel in the flashback episode. He said he had no problems with the script, but he just wasn't comfortable playing a more militant Lionel. He confided that his mother was white and he felt it would be disrespectful to her. He suggested M&M hire a younger actor to portray Lionel in the flashback episode. When M&M hesistated, Mike offered to pay a sum of $2,400 in cash to let him sit this one out.

(Sherman convinced Mike Evans to do the flashback.)

I thought his mother was biracial not white, never heard that!