TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. — Actor Mike Evans, best known as Lionel Jefferson in the TV sitcoms “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 57.

Mr. Evans died of throat cancer Dec. 14 at his mother’s home in Twentynine Palms, said his niece, Chrystal Evans.

Mr. Evans, along with Eric Monte, also created and wrote for “Good Times,” one of the first TV sitcoms to feature a primarily black cast.

Michael Jonas Evans was born Nov. 3, 1949, in Salisbury, N.C., and moved to Los Angeles when he was a child.

He studied acting at Los Angeles City College before getting the role of Lionel Jefferson in the 1970s sitcom “All in the Family.”

Mr. Evans kept the role of Lionel when “The Jeffersons” launched in 1975. It was a spinoff featuring bigoted Archie Bunker’s black neighbors in Queens who “move on up to the East Side” of Manhattan.

He also acted in the 1976 TV miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man” and made guest appearances on the TV series “Love, American Style” and “The Streets of San Francisco.” His last role was in a 2000 episode of “Walker, Texas Ranger.”