John Amos, star of TV series 'Good Times' and 'Roots,' dies at 84: NPR

John Amos poses for a portrait on May 11, 2016 in New York. Amos, who played the role of the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and received an Emmy nomination for his role in the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84.

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

Amos' publicist Belinda Foster confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday. Further details were initially not known.

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

“This show was the most realistic portrayal of the life of an African-American family that could live under these circumstances,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.

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

Such was the show's impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross and the Wu-Tang Clan were among the musicians who mentioned Amos or his character by name in their lyrics.

Amos and Rolle wanted to paint a positive picture of a black family fighting against the odds in a Chicago public housing project. But they became increasingly frustrated as they saw Walker's character being ridiculed and his role being expanded.

“The fact is that Esther's criticisms, as well as those of John and others – some of them very targeted and personal – have seriously damaged my appeal in the black community,” Walker wrote in his 2012 memoir, “Dyn-O-Mite!” Good Times, bad times, our times.

Amos criticized the storylines of “Good Times” as inauthentic

After three seasons of critical acclaim and high ratings, Amos was fired. He had become critical of the show's white writing team, which created storylines that he felt were inauthentic for the black characters.

“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do that. It is an abomination to the black community. If you don’t mind, I’m the expert on that,” he told Time magazine. “And it became so confrontational and heated that ultimately the best solution for everyone involved, including me, was to be eliminated from the show.”

Amos' character died in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision had been mine, I would have preferred John to stay and the show to remain more of an ensemble cast,” he wrote in his memoirs. “Nobody wanted me in front the whole time, including me.”

Amos and Lear later reconciled and hugged on a “Good Times” live TV reunion special in 2019.

“A life-changing role” in “Roots”

Amos quickly recovered and landed the role of the adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of “Roots,” based on Alex Haley's novel set during and after the era of slavery in the United States. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of his 37 Emmy nominations.

“I knew it was a life-changing role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic perspective,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all the misunderstandings and stereotypical roles I had experienced and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for suffering these humiliations.”

He was born John Allen Amos Jr. on December 27, 1939 in Newark, New Jersey, 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, he moved to New York and worked as a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice with defendants in the Brooklyn House of Detention.

He had a short professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. He signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing instead. Before he was in front of the camera, he had jobs as a commercial and comedy writer.

Amos' first major television role was as weatherman Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show from 1970 to 1973. As the show's only black character, he played the straight man to bombastic host Ted Baxter.

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

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

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