Florida Evans

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Florida Evans was a fictional character on the sitcoms Maude and its spinoff Good Times. She was the hard-working mother of the Evans family. She first appeared as Maude and Walter's housekeeper on Maude, but later she quit to be a housewife, which she was when Good Times began. Florida Evans was portrayed by Esther Rolle.

Florida was either born in Alabama or Chicago. Originally, her character had worked for Maude and Walter Findlay, who lived in Tuckahoe, New York while appearing on Maude. However, Florida's background was rewritten when Good Times began, with the character now having spent her entire life in Chicago; no further references were made to the Findlays or New York. Florida grew up poor. She never finished high school because she wanted to support her parents and did so by working at minimum wage jobs. As a young adult, she met the man of her dreams: James Evans, Sr.. They were later married, made the move north to Chicago, and had three children together: James Evans Jr., Thelma, and Michael. The family lived in various housing projects for many years after living in a cold water flat.

Her husband James fought to get out of the ghetto. At the beginning of the show's fourth season, the children and Florida learned that James Sr. died in an automobile accident in Mississippi, while working at his new job. (The family was planning to join him there, when they received the news.) That left Florida to support herself and her three children. Also giving her much needed moral support was her best friend, Willona Woods.

Later, Florida met a man named Carl Dixon (played by Moses Gunn). He was an atheist whom her youngest son Michael worked for. Carl was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to move to a place where the weather was good for his condition. He decided to move to Arizona and Florida moved with him. (This was done to accommodate Esther Rolle's departure from the show during the 1977–78 season.) Florida returned to Chicago the following season, but little mention was made of Carl, leaving the viewers to wonder if he either lost his battle with lung cancer, or he decided to remain in Arizona without Florida. (Carl was never mentioned again because Esther Rolle did not like the marriage between Florida and Carl. Part of Rolle's agreement to return was contingent to the show's writers writing the character out of the series.)

In the final season of the show, Florida finally moved out of the projects to live in a nice neighborhood with her pregnant daughter Thelma, Thelma's husband Keith, and their expected baby (Florida's first grandchild, whom she was ecstatic to help raise).

[edit] Quotes

"Damn, Damn Damn!" - mourning James' death.