Created by Norman Lear, The Jeffersons wasn’t just a ratings juggernaut. It was a cultural phenomenon. The show aired at a time when most depictions of Black life on television were steeped in struggle, i.e. Good Times and Sanford and Son. Yet here were the Jeffersons, who were rich, opinionated, flawed, funny, and, for once, unapologetically at the center of their own story.
And yet, as The Jeffersons turns 50, some of its key players and their stories remain on the margins. One of them is Damon Evans, who portrayed Lionel Jefferson, the Jeffersons’ son, for three seasons. Evans replaced original actor Mike Evans (no relation), who left the show after one season and would later return.
Today, Damon Evans is ready to talk, not just about his own complicated journey as an out gay Black actor on one of America’s biggest shows, but also about the man who held it all together: Sherman Hemsley.
“There wouldn’t have been a Jeffersons without Sherman,” Evans said during a recent interview. “And yet, even after 11 seasons, he was only nominated once for an Emmy.”
Evans, who went on to a successful career in classical music and theater, said he was also at the Stonewall Riots of 1969. “There were more Black and brown people there than people realize,” he said. “The Village didn’t always welcome us. But something shifted. A friend turned to me and said, ‘Damon, this was our Rosa Parks moment.”
The actor said he’s speaking now to illuminate what others wouldn’t or couldn’t during the show’s original run about Hemsley. Evans said the actor didn’t get the accolades or recognition that he so deserved.
“I think the last time I saw Sherman was when I went to the National Black Theater Festival to collect an award in his honor. I gave it to him,” he recalled. “That was in the early 2000s. And I did see Isabel [Sanford], Roxie [Roker], Franklin Cover, some of the original cast for a People magazine story once. But Sherman? He was always a little separate.”
And by “separate,” Evans said he meant that Hemsley was not one to seek the spotlight. “He was a very humble guy, unlike George in the show.”
Evans also described Hemsley as a consummate professional. “He was a man of fearlessness who could plow through any script and always end up with a flawless performance.”
Still, the work didn’t always come easy. “Remember, we had an all-white, heterosexual writing staff,” Evans said. “Sherman wasn’t bothered by anything that may’ve appeared derogatory, whereas I was. I remember one episode with a cheap gay joke. I felt so uncomfortable. But Sherman, he just rolled with the punches.”
Rumors around Hemsley’s sexuality have swirled for decades, even after his death at 74 in 2021. Evans claims that Hemsley was gay. Hemsley never came out publicly during his lifetime. A 2007 VH1 story that listed three favorite allegedly gay black actors from the past put Hemsley in the top spot.