Mel Stewart

Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and jazz saxophonist whose career spanned more than three decades of stage, screen, and music. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Stewart began his professional journey in 1959 with modest television and film parts, quickly expanding into Broadway where he appeared in productions such as Purlie Victorious, The Hostage, The Cool World and Simply Heavenly. He also earned early recognition as a voice artist, narrating the influential jazz‑poetry piece “Scenes in the City” on Charles Mingus’s 1957 album A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry, and recording Langston Hughes poetry for Folkways Records in 1961. A versatile performer, Stewart was a member of the San Francisco improv troupe The Committee, showcased on The Dick Cavett Show in 1969, and later directed episodes of the crime drama Get Christie Love! in the mid‑1970s. Television audiences most vividly remember him as Henry Jefferson, the brother of George Jefferson on All in the Family, a role he inhabited for three seasons, as well as his later turn as section chief Billy Melrose on the espionage series Scarecrow and Mrs. King from 1983 to 1987. His film résumé includes appearances on That Girl, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Bob Newhart Show, Good Times, and his final screen credit in the 1993 comedy Made in America. Beyond acting, Stewart devoted himself to education and community activism. He taught acting at San Francisco State University, where he mentored future stars such as Danny Glover, and founded the theater collective Black Actors Now Through Unity (BANTU), directing works at the Center for African and African‑American Art and Culture and the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley. A third‑degree black belt in aikido, he opened a dojo for inner‑city youth in San Francisco’s Bayview district. Stewart married Annie Dong in 1976, and they had one daughter. He succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease in 2002, leaving behind a legacy of artistic achievement and civic dedication.