Mike Evans' Mouth Got Him Recast On The Jeffersons

[TMC]

https://www.looper.com/1131486/mike-...he-jeffersons/

Evans confronted and called out Norman Lear over not getting enough lines on The Jeffersons

It's a claim that comes from "Good Times" star Jimmie Walker (via CheatSheet). According to him, Mike Evans confronted and called out Norman Lear at a Christmas party they were attending over the number of lines he was getting on "The Jeffersons." Walker told the Television Academy, "There's Norman Lear and [accountant] Alan Horn standing there. I'm there. And Michael Evans comes up and says, 'Hey Norman, it's getting a little crazy here, man. I'm one of the Jeffersons and you know, I was the first guy on any of your shows.'"

Quoting Evans, Walker said "The Jeffersons" actor intensely told Lear, "'I was on 'All in the Family' and then here comes Sherman [Hemsley] and Isabel [Sanford] ... And they come on my show, okay? Now, you write a show for them, not me. I should be doing more on 'The Jeffersons.'" According to Walker, Evans went on to threaten Lear with his resignation. "'If I don't get more stuff on this show, I'm walking, man,'" Walker remembered Evans saying.

In the end, Lear didn't take too kindly to Evans' demands. Walker recalled Lear asking Horn if there would be any issue with letting Evans out of his contract, to which Horn allegedly replied, "Absolutely not." Lear then turned to Evans and, according to Walker, said, "Okay, Michael, you're gone. Thanks." Luckily for audiences, the bad blood didn't last forever and Evans would eventually return to "The Jeffersons," beginning in Season 6.

[TVFactFan]

And his return came from running into Sherman Hemsley in the summer of 1979 before the 6th season and asked would he like to come back and then he was back on. The main reason was probably because the other Lionel had just left the show the previous season