Career
He is best known for playing Henry Jefferson on the popular television series All in the Family and for playing section chief Billy Melrose on the television series Scarecrow and Mistress King. Stewart is sometimes credited as Melvin Stewart or Mel Stuart. Mel Stewart began his acting career in 1959 with small roles in television and films.
In the early 1960s, Stewart also appeared in the Broadway shows Purlie Victorious, The Hostage, The Cool World, and Simply Heavenly.
Stewart"s early career also included notable work as a voice actor. He provided the narration for "Scenes in the City", a long jazz composition with a text by Lonne Elder and Langston Hughes that appeared on Charles Mingus" 1957 album A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music and Poetry.
In 1961, Stewart recorded an album of Langston Hughes" poetry on Folkways Records: Langston Hughes" The Best of Simple. Stewart went on to land roles in various television series including That Girl, Marcus Welby, Doctor of Medicine, The Bob Newhart Show, Good Times, and Harry O. One of his most memorable roles was as "Henry Jefferson", George Jefferson"s brother, in the series All in the Family.
In 1973, he co-starred in the short-lived series Roll Out.
The following year, Stewart directed two episodes of yet another short-lived series Get Christie Love!, before co-starring in On the Rocks. After On the Rocks was canceled in 1976, Stewart portrayed the role of Marvin Decker in the Bewitched spin-off series Tabitha from 1977 to 1978. In the 1980s, Stewart starred on Scarecrow and Mistress
King as section chief Billy Melrose during the show"s four-year run from 1983 through 1987, and continued guest starring in both television and films.
His last on screen appearance came in the 1993 film Made in America, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson. A longtime resident of San Francisco, he also taught acting at San Francisco State University.
His students included actor Danny Glover. A third degree black belt in aikido, Stewart opened a dojo for inner-city youth in the Bayview district of San Francisco.
On July 11, 1976, Stewart married Annie Dong.
The couple had one child together, a daughter. On February 24, 2002, Mel Stewart died of Alzheimer"s disease.
