John Amos, the veteran actor best known for his roles as the family patriarch in Good Times and as the adult Kunta Kinte in the miniseries Roots, has passed away. He was 84.
His son, K.C. Amos, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he died of natural causes on August 21 in Los Angeles.
“He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold … and he was loved the world over,” K.C. Amos said in a statement. “Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor.”
Before turning to acting full-time, Amos had a brief professional football career, playing in a number of minor leagues. He signed a free agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967, but was cut after three weeks, with coach Hank Stram telling him, “You are not a football player, you are a young man who happens to be playing football.”
Luckily, it didn’t take Amos very long to start securing TV roles. He first became known for his role as weatherman Gordy Howard in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, in which he appeared from 1970 to 1973.
But he really rose to prominence after he left The Mary Tyler Moore Show for Good Times, a spinoff of Maude. Amos played James Evans Sr. in the sitcom, the tough-but-loving family patriarch of the central family living in inner-city Chicago.
Good Times was groundbreaking for the period, featuring one of the first all-Black casts in American sitcom history and often tackling difficult issues much in the way Norman Lear’s other shows did. But Amos, famously, clashed with the writing staff about how the family was being portrayed. Amos talked about his disagreements between himself, Lear, and the writing staff in a 2014 interview with the TV Academy:
“I felt too much emphasis was being put on JJ in his chicken hat, saying ‘Dy-no-mite!’ every third page,” Amos said. “I felt just as much emphasis and mileage could have been gotten out of my other two children, one of whom aspired to become a supreme court justice, played by Ralph Carter, and the other, Bern Nadette Stanis, who aspired to become a surgeon.”
“Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life.”
Amos’ character was written out of the show in the two-part Season 4 premiere, with James being killed in a car accident.
Still, one of Amos’ most famous roles would come shortly after that. He played the adult Kunta Kinte (with LeVar Burton playing the younger version of the character) in lauded 1977 miniseries Roots, which would become a massive cultural landmark and was nominated for 37 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning nine of them. Amos was among one of the nominations, scoring a nod for Outstanding Lead Actor for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series.
Amos is also well known for his roles in Coming to America and its sequel, as well as The Beastmaster, Lock Up, and Die Hard 2. He played himself in the 2019 Adam Sandler thriller Uncut Gems.
Thumbnail credit: CBS via Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
