The Family Tree

"The Family Tree" introduced Richard Ward as James' long lost father Henry Evans, who made two return appearances in "Grandpa's Visit" and "Something Old, Something New." Thelma is tracing the Evans family tree, inviting a mention of Alex Haley, less than a year before the broadcast of his classic miniseries ROOTS, which of course featured John Amos as the adult Kunta Kinte (Ja'net DuBois earned a small role to kick off the 1979 sequel ROOTS: THE NEXT GENERATIONS). It's James' birthday, and as a special surprise his daughter discovers his father Henry Evans alive and well, and docked in Chicago this very day as a ship's cook. Florida is at first puzzled, as her husband has always insisted that his father was dead, none too pleased to see Henry after 35 years apart. Describing how his father left the house to buy a loaf of bread without coming back, abandoned at such an early age, knowing all these years that Henry wasn't really dead, James has been unable to share this pain even with his wife. Florida convinces Henry to stay and talk with his son Jimmy: "he's right in there, there may never be another chance." Emotional, heart wrenching and heart warming, and only possible with John Amos, whose future on the show wouldn't last much longer.