'Jeffersons' First Lionel, Actor Mike Evans Dies; TV Land January Changes

Friday, December 22, 2006

'Jeffersons' First Lionel, Actor Mike Evans Dies; TV Land January Changes

We have some pretty shocking news to let you know. Mike Evans, best known for his role as Lionel Jefferson on All in the Family and The Jeffersons died on December 14. Evans was suffering from throat cancer. Evans is also famous for co-creating and writing the popular sitcom Good Times with Eric Monte. He has not acted in anything really since The Jeffersons, which he left for and was replaced by Damon Evans (no relation) for a few years and then he came back to. In the '70s he guest starred on series such as Love American Style, Streets of San Francisco, and the short lived sitcom The Practice. His last credit (and his first credit since The Jeffersons ended) listed was for a Walker Texas Ranger episode in 2000...but was that him really or not? In recent years he had invested in real estate in Southern California. Mr. Evans will be missed and you can catch The Jeffersons on TV Land every night. Mr. Evans was only 57.

And speaking of The Jeffersons, we have some TV Land schedule updates for January. Due to the recent changes made earlier this week, the January schedule will be altered a bit. The Andy Griffith Show will remain 8-10 p.m. every night. The Jeffersons were scheduled to move to 11 & 11:30 p.m. when M*A*S*H arrives, but that will not happen anymore, and Sanford & Son will keep its 11 & 11:30 p.m. slot. So, The Jeffersons will only air at 3:30 a.m. and 4 a.m. late nights. Everything else that was changed this past week will be incorporated to the January line-up that starts Jan. 8.
M*A*S*H week's (Jan. 1-7) schedule has been announced. As mentioned a lot already, M*A*S*H, the movie, the anniversary specials and the finale will air between 8pm-8am that week. During M*A*S*H week, some of the regular shows weekdays airing between 8am-8pm will be pre-empted: From 12-1pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of The Brady Bunch/All in the Family hour; 1-2pm will be a full hour of TV Land's 5-part Top 100 Catchphrases encore; 5pm Gunsmoke will air instead of Green Acres; 6-7pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of Leave it to Beaver and 7-8pm The Andy Griffith Show will air instead of Little House. So, Andy will lead-in to M*A*S*H that week.
To view the complete January updates, including episode numbers for M*A*S*H episodes airing in the marathon and which shows are airing when with M*A*S*H stars on other TV Land shows, I suggest you click HERE!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Thursday, January 22

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - "A Will and a Dead Man’s Wife" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Georgie’s not ready for his mother to start dating again. Meanwhile, Jim and Audrey struggle to make their wills.

Ghosts - "Kyle" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Sam and Jay’s relationship is tested when Kyle (Ben Feldman), a handsome living who shares Sam’s ability to see ghosts, arrives at Woodstone B&B.

Animal Control - "Dragons and Dognappers" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Rob Gronkowski returns and asks the team for help rehoming a zebra; Emily and Shred's first date goes awry when they unexpectedly run into Daisy and Patel on their night out; Frank must defend Templeton when Templeton is accused of dognapping.

Going Dutch - "Farmer's Mark-tet Offensive" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After a messy breakup, the Colonel and Katja find themselves going to war between the town and the base; Capt. Maggie tries to de-escalate the tension between the two ex-lovers and negotiate a truce.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 19)

Thursday, January 22

Mike Epps (The Upshaws/Uncle Buck/Survivor's Remorse) - Catch Mike on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. NBC's Today catches up with Anthony in the 10am hour.
Sean Hayes (Will & Grace/The Millers/Sean Saves the World) - Sean is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jessica Williams (Shrinking/Love Life/Just for Kicks) - Jessica talks about Shrinking on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
Michael Urie (Shrinking/Krapopolis/Partners) - Michael talks about Shrinking on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
Craig Robinson (Killing It/Ghosted/Mr. Robinson/The Office/Lucky) - Craig talks about Broadway' All Out on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.
Deon Cole (grown-ish/Angie Tribeca/black-ish) - Deon joins Sherri to discuss hosting this year's NAACP Image Awards on BET on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Heidi Gardner (Shrinking) - Heidi tells Sherri about her star turn in the new Broadway comedy All Out: Comedy About Ambition on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Kyle MacLachlan (Carol's Second Act/Sex and the City) - Kyle tells Drew about the latest season of his thrilling hit show Fallout and plays a round of memory bank dishing on his biggest moments and roles revealing which Sex and the City character he identifies most with on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jackson White (Mrs. Fletcher) - Jackson tells Drew about the newest season of the hit show Tell Me Lies, how he started dating co-star Grace Van Patten, growing up on set with his actress mom and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - Howie talks about Netflix's Best Guess Live on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.