Mike Evans (1949–2006) was an American actor and writer best remembered for playing Lionel Jefferson on the classic sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons. He got his big break when director John Rich cast him over Cleavon Little to play the "less threatening" neighbor, and he later left The Jeffersons after a screen-time dispute, only to return for several later seasons. Beyond acting, Evans was a co-creator and writer for the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom Good Times and appeared as a panelist on the game show Match Game. Born in North Carolina and raised in Los Angeles, he studied acting at Los Angeles City College and also worked as a real estate investor. Evans, who never married, passed away from throat cancer at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, California, in December 2006 at the age of 57.