John Amos, Good Times and Roots Star, Dies at 84

Actor John Amos is pictured during the Florida Film Festival at the Enzian Theater in Maitland. Credit – TNS

John Amos, who played the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84 years old.

Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday. No other details were immediately available.

He played James Evans Sr. on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” actor Mike Evans, it aired from 1974 to 1979 on CBS.

“This show was the closest to a realistic depiction of life as an African-American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.

His character, along with his wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated in another Lear show, “Maude.” James Evans often worked two manual jobs to support his family, which included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a rising star as the eldest son JJ.

Such was the impact of the show that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who have checked out Amos or his persona in their lyrics.

Amos and Rolle were keen to portray a positive image of a black family struggling against the odds in a Chicago public housing project. But they became frustrated when they saw Walker’s character being done poorly and his role expanded.

“The truth is that Esther’s criticism, as well as that of John and others — some of it very pointed and personal — seriously damaged my appeal in the black community,” Walker wrote in his 2012 memoir “Dyn-O- Bribery! Good times, bad times, our times.”

After three seasons of critical acclaim and high ratings, Amos was fired. He had become critical of the show’s white writing staff, creating stories he felt were inauthentic for the black characters.

“There were a couple of instances where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things.’ It is anathema to black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind,'” he told Time magazine. “And it became confrontational and heated enough that ultimately being killed off the show was the best solution for everyone involved, including me.”

Amos’ character was killed in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision was up to me, I would have preferred John to stay and the show to remain more of an ensemble,” he wrote in his memoirs. “Nobody wanted me in front all the time, including me.”

Amos and Lear later reconciled and shared a hug at a “Good Times” live TV reunion in 2019.

Amos quickly bounced back, landing the role of an adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of “Roots,” based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the US. of 37 Emmy nominations.

“I knew it was a life-changing role, as an actor and just from a humanitarian standpoint,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all the misconceptions and stereotypical roles I had experienced and seen being given to me. It was like a reward for suffering those injustices.”

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on December 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology and played on the school’s football team.

Before pursuing acting, she moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with inmates at the Brooklyn House of Detention.

He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. He signed a free agent contract in 1967 with the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing. He held jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving to the front of the camera.

Amos’ first major TV role was as Weatherman Gordy Howard on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970-73. As the show’s only black character, he played a straight man with bombastic anchor Ted Baxter.

Amos’ credits include Let’s Do It Again with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, Coming to America with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel Die Hard 2, Madea’s Witness Protection and Uncut Gems ” with Adam. Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video “Natural Born Killaz.”

He was a frequent guest on “The West Wing,” and his other TV appearances included “Hunter,” “The District,” “Men in Trees,” “All About the Andersons,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Farm.”

In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He served in the New Jersey National Guard.

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