Actor John Amos Dies Aged 84

Amos enjoyed a varied performing career that also included ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ and ‘The West Wing’ among its highlights.

John Amos in 'The West Wing'. Photo: Warner Bros. Television.

Preview:

Actor John Amos has died aged 84.
He was best known for roles in ‘Roots,’ ‘Good Times’ and ‘The West Wing.’
Amos’ son paid tribute to his “heart of gold.”

John Amos, a beloved, accomplished actor whose career spanned more than five decades, has died. He passed away from natural causes on August 21st, but his family has waited to confirm the news.

Amos’ passing was announced by his son, Kelly Christopher Amos:

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned. 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. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life, most recently in ‘Suits: LA’ playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”

John Amos: Early life and Career

(L to R) John Amos and Esther Rolle in 'Good Times'. Photo: Tandem Productions.

John Alan Amos Jr. was born on December 27th, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey. His father drove a tractor-trailer and worked as a mechanic, and his mother, Annabelle, was a housekeeper who eventually went back to school and became a nutritionist.

His mother cleaned the home of a cartoonist who drew for the Archie comics, and that led to Amos and a friend attending a taping of radio’s ‘The Archie Show' at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. “It blew my imagination wide open,” he later said.

Amos was a multi-talented young man –– he drew cartoons and wrote for his high school newspaper, acted in a school production of ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ and also found time to be a star running back.

Football initially seemed like it might be his calling, and he won scholarships to Long Beach City College in California and then Colorado State University, where the Rams had the longest losing streak in the nation at the time.

Undeterred, he played with or tried out for a variety of other teams, but after failing to find success in both the States and Canada, he switched to stand-up comedy and television writing, which in turn saw him encouraged to head to Los Angeles, where he landed a writing and performing job on a syndicated TV variety show hosted by radio personalities Al Lohman and Roger Barkley.

That in turn led to work writing and performing in sketches on the 1969 CBS variety program ‘The Leslie Uggams Show.’ Two producers there, Lorenzo Music and Dave Davis, were developing a series for Mary Tyler Moore and thought he might be a good fit for it.

John Amos: TV work

(Center) John Amos and the cast of 'Good Times'. Photo: Tandem Productions.

The actor was indeed a good fit; he ended up playing meteorologist Gordy Howard on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ while also landing an Emmy for portraying Toby, the older version of Kuna Kinte, in groundbreaking 1977 miniseries ‘Roots.’

His success on ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ and elsewhere landed him another plum gig: that of James Evans Sr. on ‘Good Times.’ He appeared for several episodes on ‘Maude’ to set the new show up and starred for three seasons until what he perceived as silly and stereotypical storylines for his character’s son, and, after complaining publicly and to the producers, he was killed off at the start of Season 4.

Still, he went on to enjoy a prolific career as a guest star on TV, including ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ (as Will Smith’s stepfather), ‘Hunter,’ ‘The District,’ ‘Men in Trees,’ ‘All About the Andersons’ (as Anthony Anderson’s father) and the Netflix drama ‘The Ranch.’

To fans of ‘The West Wing,’ he’ll be forever remembered as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Amos most recently worked on the upcoming ‘Suits: LA’ playing himself.

John Amos: Movie Career

John Amos in 'Coming to America'. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Kicking off his movie career, Amos started in Melvin Van Peebles‘ blaxploitation classic 'Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song'.

His films included the likes of ‘Coming to America,’ ‘Beastmaster,’ ‘Die Hard 2, ‘Lock Up,’ ‘The World’s Greatest Athlete,’ ‘Let’s Do It Again,’ ‘Ricochet,’ ‘Night Trap’, ‘The Players Club,’ ‘Coming 2 America’ and ‘Because of Charley.’

Coming to America

"This summer, Prince Akeem discovers America."

R1 hr 57 minJun 29th, 1988

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch Coming to America Online

During a brief fallow time in his screen work in the 1990s, Amos wrote and starred in the one-man play ‘Halley’s Comet,’ about an 87-year-old man who ruminates about the state of the world while he waits in the woods for the coming of “the comet.” He toured all over the U.S. and in several overseas cities with the play for more than two decades.

In addition to K.C., Amos is survived by his daughter, Shannon, both from his first marriage to Noel “Noni” Mickelson.