Here's what 'Good Times' actor Ralph Carter, who played Michael, is up to these days

The world met Ralph Carter as a teenager on the 1970s sitcom "Good Times," and while he's largely stepped away from the Hollywood scene, he's still comfortable being around the spotlight — these days on stage, not screen.

Before he joined the cast of Norman Lear's iconic family program, Carter was already acquainted with professional show business: By nine years old, he was performing on Broadway, appearing in a string of major productions in New York. Lear was so impressed with the young actor, he bought out the rest of his Broadway contract so he could write him into "Good Times" as Michael, the youngest son of the hardworking Evans family.

Rounding out the cast alongside Carter were his onscreen family members: Esther Rolle, who played mom Florida Evans; John Amos, who played her husband James; Jimmie Walker as older brother JJ; and Bernnadette Stanis as older sister Thelma.

Carter first began flirting with a music career in the mid-1970s, when "Good Times" was at its height. After the show ended in 1979, Carter became a composer who occasionally wrote for soundtracks and music videos.

Just recently, in November 2019, ABC 7 caught up with Carter, who today is a vice president of AUDELCO, an organization that highlights the work of black Americans in the theater industry.

"I was fortunate to be in the explosion, not only of the African American theater in the 1970s but into that wave of consciousness and beautiful television productions that featured African American artists," Carter told the outlet. "The relevancy is not only to celebrate the black actor and black actress but also to celebrate the black cameraman, the black set designer and black light designer. We cover the whole gauntlet of all those talents who come together to make a production possible."

It's not yet known whether Carter will make an appearance on ABC's live "Good Times" special on December 18.

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