Current:Home > ContactEthermac Exchange-John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and an Emmy nominee for the blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84 -VitalWealth Strategies
Ethermac Exchange-John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and an Emmy nominee for the blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84
Fastexy View
Date:2025-04-08 06:40:52
LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Amos,Ethermac Exchange who starred as 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.
Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death 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 actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” it ran from 1974-79 on CBS.
“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.
His character, along with wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated on another Lear show, “Maude.” James Evans often worked two manual labor jobs to support his family that included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a breakout star as oldest son J.J.
Such was the show’s impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, the Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics.
Amos and Rolle were eager to portray a positive image of a Black family, struggling against the odds in a public housing project in Chicago. But they grew frustrated at seeing Walker’s character being made foolish and his role expanded.
“The fact is that Esther’s criticism, and also 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-Mite! 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 storylines that he felt were inauthentic to the Black characters.
“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things. It’s anathema to Black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind,‘” he told Time magazine. “And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.”
Amos’ character was killed in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision had been up to me, I would have preferred that John stay and the show remain more of an ensemble,” he wrote in his memoir. “Nobody wanted me up front all the time, including me.”
Amos and Lear later reconciled and they shared a hug at a “Good Times” live TV reunion special 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 U.S. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of its 37 Emmy nominations.
“I knew that it was a life-changing role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic standpoint,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all of the misconceptions and stereotypical roles that I had lived and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for having suffered those indignities.”
Born John Allen Amos Jr. on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a sociology degree and played on the school’s football team.
Before pursuing acting, he moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with defendants 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 instead. He had jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving in front of the camera.
Amos’ first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970-73. As the show’s only Black character, he played straight man to bombastic anchor Ted Baxter.
Among Amos’ film credits were “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 star 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 “The Ranch.”
In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He served in the New Jersey National Guard.
___
Associated Press Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.
veryGood! (59826)
Related
- Louisiana high court temporarily removes Judge Eboni Johnson Rose from Baton Rouge bench amid probe
- Beyond ‘childless cat ladies,’ JD Vance has long been on a quest to encourage more births
- Notre Dame suspends men's swimming team over gambling violations, troubling misconduct
- Love Island U.K. Tommy Fury Slams “False” Allegations He Cheated on Ex-Fiancée Molly-Mae Hague
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Florida school psychologist charged with possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material
- NBA schedule 2024-25: Christmas Day games include Lakers-Warriors and 76ers-Celtics
- Jennifer Lopez Visits Ben Affleck on His Birthday Amid Breakup Rumors
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Babe Ruth jersey could sell for record-breaking $30 million at auction
Ranking
- Shilo Sanders' bankruptcy case reaches 'impasse' over NIL information for CU star
- Rail bridge collapses on US-Canada border
- Mark Meadows tries to move his charges in Arizona’s fake electors case to federal court
- BeatKing, Houston Rapper Also Known as Club Godzilla, Dead at 39
- A Georgia governor’s latest work after politics: a children’s book on his cats ‘Veto’ and ‘Bill’
- What to know about the US arrest of a Peruvian gang leader suspected of killing 23 people
- Harvard and graduate students settle sexual harassment lawsuit
- Man didn’t know woman he fatally shot in restaurant drive-thru before killing himself, police say
Recommendation
Oklahoma parole board recommends governor spare the life of man on death row
Racing Icon Scott Bloomquist Dead at 60 After Plane Crash
The 10 best non-conference college football games this season
Try these 3 trends to boost your odds of picking Mega Millions winning numbers
Charges: D'Vontaye Mitchell died after being held down for about 9 minutes
Michael Brown’s death transformed a nation and sparked a decade of American reckoning on race
No Honda has ever done what the Prologue Electric SUV does so well
Ed Sheeran joins Taylor Swift onstage in Wembley for epic triple mashup