John Amos, ‘Good Times’ star, dead at 84
John Amos, the actor best known for his role on the sitcom “Good Times,” has died. He was 84.
Amos passed away on August 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes, according to his son, film producer Kelly Christopher “K.C.” Amos.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” K.C., 53, said in a statement. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold … and he was loved the world over Many fans consider him their TV father.”
“He lived a good life,” K.C. went on. “His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor.”
Amos was born in Newark on December 27, 1939. He went to East Orange High School and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology.
Before his acting career, Amos was a football player. He signed as a free agent with the Denver Broncos in 1964 but was released on the second day of training camp after injuring his hamstring.
He later briefly played with the Kansas City Chiefs before leaving the NFL for the Continental League.
Amos made his acting debut in an episode of “The Bill Cosby Show” in 1970.
That same year, he was cast as the weatherman Gordon “Gordy” Howard in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He appeared in 13 episodes of the sitcom from 1970 to 1977.
Amos’ most famous role was James Evans, Sr. in “Good Times.” The CBS series, created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by Norman Lear, was a spinoff of “Maude,” which was a spinoff of “All in the Family.”
“Good Times” centered on an African American family living in an apartment in Chicago.
Esther Rolle starred as James’ wife, Florida Evans, while Ralph Carter, Bern Nadette Stanis and Jimmie Walker played the Evans children. Ja’Net Dubois also starred as Florida’s best friend, Willona Woods.
Janet Jackson joined the cast in the show’s sixth and final season.
Amos was only on “Good Times” for the first three seasons. His character was killed off in a car accident.
He was reportedly fired from the show due to issues he had with the script’s portrayal of African Americans.
In a 2017 interview, Amos said, “When the show first started, we had no African American writers on the show, and some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say … ‘We can’t do this, we can’t do that.’ And they’d say, ‘What do you mean we can’t do this?’”
“They’d go on about their credits …. and I’d look at each and every one of them and say, ‘Well, how long have you been black? That just doesn’t happen in the community. We don’t think that way. We don’t act that way. We don’t let our children do that,'” he added.
After “Good Times,” Amos appeared in the 1977 miniseries “Roots,” which earned him an Emmy nomination.
He went on to have roles in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “In the House,” “The West Wing,” “All About the Andersons,” “Men in Trees” and “The Ranch.”
Amos was also in various films like “The Beastmaster,” “Lock Up,” “Die Hard 2,” “Coming to America” and “Coming 2 America.”
His final acting project was the 2023 British drama film “The Last Rifleman.”
Amos was married to his first wife, Noel Mickelson, from 1965 to 1975. They had two kids: son K.C. and daughter Shannon, 58.
His second marriage was to actress Lillian Lehman from 1978 to 1979.
In June 2023, Shannon alleged that her father was the victim of “elder abuse” at the hands of an unnamed “caregiver.”
“The cruelty inflicted upon my dad leaves me questioning what kind of human could commit such acts,” she wrote on a since-deleted GoFundMe page.
Amos later accused Shannon of elder abuse in July 2023, which her representative denied.
In December 2023, Amos told People that he has “an acrimonious relationship” with Shannon.
“Right now, it is somewhat acrimonious, but never mind what you might read or hear about in the paper or on this medium or that medium platform. Suffice it to say we are still family, and we love each other, and that’s the bottom line,” he said.
Amos and his son made a documentary about the actor’s life that has yet to come out.
