[WestVirginiaRebel]

Only 57? Wow, that's young...

I guess he's movin' on up....to the sky...

[newzjunkey]

RIP. Quite young!

Throat cancer is suggestive of tobacco use.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Oh, no. :-( I wondered what had happened to the guy, always enjoyed his work, especially as he outwitted Archie on "All In the Family." Rest in peace, Mr. Evans. Prayers for his family.

[proudofthesouth]

And so the cycle of celebrities dying in 3's starts yet again.

[Silly]

I loved both of those shows.

I think Jay Jay should have had his own show with the maid from the Jeffersons. Those two -- wow, sparks would fly.

[napscoordinator]

The Jeffersons has been hit hard. Almost all the actors have gone to Heaven on that show. I really liked the character of Lionel on Jeffersons.
RIP Michael Evans. Prayers is his mother.

[paltz]

I believe he based the character of "michael evans" on "Good Times" with some of his personality in mind....I know...no duh

[BallyBill]

Didn't 2 different actors play Lionel? I remember when the Jefferson's where on All in the Family the actors changed, but I forget if the spin off used all the same.

[RichardW]

Good grief, has it been that long? I was just watching "Wall Street" the other day and realized that the actor married to the black lady was also deceased.

[paltz]

SONG FACTS ABOUT "MOVIN' ON UP"

The Jeffersons was a spinoff of All in the Family in which the Bunkers' black next-door neighbors moved to a "deluxe apartment in the sky." This gospel-tinged song described their progression "on up."

Although it features a gospel choir, this is often covered by garage bands.

Ja'net Dubois: "I know about black folks movin' up. I've been there."

DuBois played the role of Willona Woods on another black sitcom, Good Times. Good Times was a spinoff of Maude, which like The Jeffersons, was a spinoff of All in the Family.

The Jeffersons featured TV's first mixed-married couple, a white husband and a black wife. It had its own short-lived spinoff, Checking In.

This is commonly played at sporting events when a team which has previously been doing poorly makes a startling comeback and hence moves back "up" to its previous status.

Nelly sampled this for his song "Batter Up" (the title was inspired by the line in this song, "Now it's our turn at bat"). "Batter Up" was a spoof of the media's enthusiasm for sports and also featured St. Lunatics and Murphey Lee.

When the first season of The Jeffersons was released on DVD, it was called "Movin' On Up."

Legendary songwriter Jeff Barry, who helped compose this, sang backup vocals. Barry and his wife, Ellie Greenwich, composed several popular songs such as "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts?," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Then He Kissed Me," "Baby I Love You", "Be My Baby," "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget," "I Can Hear Music," and "River Deep, Mountain High."

The choir consisted of 35 black churchgoers. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, rapper Ludacris said, "That's every black person's favorite TV theme, because we movin' on up!"

[devans761]

I am Damon Evans the actor who replaced Mike on The Jeffersons. This news comes as a lost to me because I never had the opportunity to meet him and thank you for creating one of the most positive images of a Black man seen on commercial TV. Also, Mike was the first "Jefferson" family member to ever be seen on ALL IN THE FAMILY and too many people forget that. Thanks for your comments.

Damon Evans
Lionel from 1975-1977

[Lancey Howard]

'Lionel' was a great character. It was hialiour when Archie would ask him what he wanted to do so that he could hear Lionel say, "Ahh-m gonna be an electical engineer!"

[lunarbicep]

Mike Evans in December 1979.

*thx to the NYT's obits