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1-14 of 14
- Writer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Clean cut and smoothly handsome as a youth, Mike Evans got on board the Norman Lear TV train in the early 1970s and took a straight ride to sitcom stardom in both a landmark comedy series and its black-oriented spin-off. Born Michael Jonas Evans in Salisbury, North Carolina, on November 3, 1949, his dentist father and school instructor mother moved the family to Los Angeles when Mike was quite young. Graduating from Los Angeles High School, he attended Los Angeles City College before his abrupt TV success. Landing the role of black next-door neighbor Lionel Jefferson in Lear's iconic sitcom All in the Family (1971) was a lucky fluke -- something every fledgling actor should get to experience. In fact, Mike was still attending acting school when he was cast in the 1971 show at age 21. The series altered the course of TV comedy while tackling many then-taboo subjects, including racial prejudice. Due to the quality of the cast and writing, the series managed to thoroughly engage and entertain an audience despite being fronted by a blue-collar bigot in the form of Archie Bunker (played by the great Carroll O'Connor). As the calm, intelligent, level-headed Lionel, son of hothead George (Sherman Hemsley) and his beleaguered wife, Louise Jefferson (Isabel Sanford), Lionel's liberal-minded stance was more akin to Archie's live-in younger generation. As friend to Archie's daughter, Gloria, and her husband, Mike, Lionel had to somehow tolerate his grouchy neighbor's exasperating politically incorrect banter but made up for it with clever, carefully worded digs at the often-clueless Archie. During the run of the show, Mike also boosted his visibility with the TV movies Killer by Night (1972), Call Her Mom (1972), and Voyage of the Yes (1973), costarring Desi Arnaz Jr., not to mention the Disney family comedy feature Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), starring Kurt Russell. The hit series spun the Jefferson clan into its own "moving-on-up" sitcom The Jeffersons (1975) four years later. The "moving on up" was from Queens to a "deluxe apartment" in Manhattan, where the burgeoning, financially successful George now held court as head intolerant. Mike's character eventually met and fell for Jenny, the beautiful product of an interracial marriage. This became a major source of combustible comedy material that initially fed the new sitcom. In the meantime, Mike and writing partner Eric Monte also cocreated and were writing for another Lear sitcom, Good Times (1974), which was a spin-off of Lear's comedy hit Maude (1972), which in turn was a spin-off of sitcom daddy All in the Family (1971). The major responsibilities and hardships of writing for "Good Times", which became one of the first TV sitcoms to feature a primarily African American cast in quite some time, took its toll, and Mike began making fewer appearances as Lionel. In fact, he left the role completely in the fall of 1975 after only eight months to focus on his writing and was replaced by actor Damon Evans (no relation to Mike), who inhabited the part for four seasons. Mike eventually reclaimed the part in 1979 after the cancellation of "Good Times". His character of Lionel, however, had dwindled so significantly in importance that he left the show again in 1981, this time for good. The family show ended its long run in 1985 after a decade. Mike took on a low profile after his 1970s successes and was not seen onscreen again. By this time he had delved into Southern California real estate. He died of throat cancer in 2006 at age 57 at his mother's home in Twentynine Palms, California.- Mustapha Adouani was born in 1946. He was an actor, known for Le Prince (2004), O, The Sultan of The City (1992) and Poetical Refugee (2000). He died on 14 December 2006 in Tunis, Tunisia.
- Kate Fleming was born on 6 October 1965 in Arlington, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Mario Tennis (2000), Hard Candy (1993) and Ollo in the Sunny Valley Fair (2002). She was married to Charlene Strong. She died on 14 December 2006 in Madison Valley, Seattle, Washington, USA.
- Music Department
- Producer
- Composer
Ahmet Ertegun was born on 31 July 1923 in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a producer and composer, known for Angel Heart (1987), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) and Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987). He was married to Ioana (Mica) Maria Banu Grecianu and Jan Holm. He died on 14 December 2006 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Pupo De Luca was born on 6 April 1926 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He was an actor and writer, known for L'inconveniente (1976), Trinity Is Still My Name (1971) and Nero Wolfe (1969). He died on 14 December 2006 in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.- Stacey Halberstadt was an actress, known for The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979). She died on 14 December 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- Lorraine Straka was born on 8 August 1925 in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA. She was married to Straka, Robert. She died on 14 December 2006 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Robert Schaefer was born on 17 July 1926 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. He was a writer, known for Lassie (1954), Science Fiction Theatre (1955) and Annie Oakley (1954). He was married to Jane. He died on 14 December 2006 in Laguna Woods, California, USA.- Make-Up Department
- Actress
Hallie D'Amore was born on 13 August 1942 in Harvey, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for Forrest Gump (1994), Galaxy Quest (1999) and The Princess Diaries (2001). She was married to Richard D'Amore. She died on 14 December 2006 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Ralph Miller was born on 27 August 1923 in the USA. He was an actor, known for Outbreak (1995), Village of the Damned (1995) and Mission Mars (1968). He died on 14 December 2006 in Berkeley, California, USA.
- Bendt Reiner was born on 3 February 1928 in Denmark. He was an actor, known for Mirror, Mirror (1978), Elvis Hansen, en samfundshjælper (1988) and Help, My Daughter Wants to Marry (1993). He died on 14 December 2006 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Sivuca was born on 26 May 1930 in Itabaiana, Paraíba, Brazil. He was a composer and actor, known for The Best Things in the World (2010), Água Viva (1980) and Os Trapalhões na Serra Pelada (1982). He was married to Gloria Gadelha. He died on 14 December 2006 in São Francisco, Paraíba, Brazil.- Composer
Otmar Mácha was born on 2 October 1922 in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]. He was a composer, known for Veronika (1986), Velké prání (1981) and Oldrich a Bozena (1985). He died on 14 December 2006 in Pardubice, Czech Republic.- Music Department
- Production Manager
Katalin Kótzián was born on 8 April 1926 in Budapest, Hungary. Katalin was a production manager, known for Napfény a jégen (1961) and Kétszer kettö (1946). Katalin was married to László Ranódy. Katalin died on 14 December 2006.