LOS ANGELES (CNS) – John Amos — the athlete-turned-actor who played the strong father figure on the early seasons of the TV sitcom “Good Times” in the mid-1970s, and later the adult version of Kunta Kinte on the groundbreaking 1977 miniseries “Roots” — has died at the age of 84, his family said Tuesday.
Amos died on Aug. 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” his son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement provided to multiple trade publications.
“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.
” … He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Amos attended Long Beach City College before graduating from Colorado State University, where he also played football. A onetime Golden Gloves boxing champion, he tried out for the AFL’s Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in the late 1960s but failed to catch on.
Amos turned to acting, getting his big break when he was hired for a recurring role as weatherman “Gordy” Howard on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” He parlayed that into the role of James Evans on producer Norman Lear’s CBS sitcom “Good Times,” which premiered in 1974.
“Good Times” was a significant advance in the portrayal of Black life in America on network television, dramatizing the daily struggles of a working class family living paycheck to paycheck in a Chicago tenement. Its emotional realism was anchored by Amos’ portrayal of the gruff, hard-working patriarch, who was a tough disciplinarian but clearly loved his family and pushed them to stay in school and avoid the pitfalls of ghetto life.
As the show gained popularity, however, Amos frequently clashed with Lear and the show’s writers, and chafed under the ascendance of castmate Jimmie Walker, who played his son James Evans Jr., or “JJ.” Walker’s catch phrase, “Dyn-o-mite!” had caught on in a big way, and “Good Times” was increasingly tailored to make him the star.
Amos left the show after the third season in 1976, and the next year he starred in “Roots,” based on Alex Haley’s best-selling book.
The show examined America’s history of slavery and was a ratings phenomenon, drawing over 130 million viewers. Amos played the adult version of Kunta Kinte, the story’s main protagonist whose younger version was played by Levar Burton. Amos was nominated for an Emmy for his performance.
Amos made dozens of appearances on television shows over the next few decades, including recurring roles as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on ABC’s “The West Wing” and as Ed on CBS’ “Two and a Half Men.”
His big-screen appearances include “Vanishing Point” (1971), “The World’s Greatest Athlete” (1973), “Let’s Do It Again” (1975), “Touched by Love” (1980), “American Flyers” (1985), “Coming to America” (1988), “Die Hard 2” (1990), “Ricochet” (1991), “The Players Club” (1998), “My Baby’s Daddy” (2004) and “Dr. Dolittle 3” (2006).
In December 2019, Amos appeared on a live televised version of one of the original “Good Times” episodes in ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience,” produced by Lear and Jimmy Kimmel.
He was married twice, to artist Noel Mickelson from 1965 to 1975, and to actress Lillian Lehman from 1978 to 1979.
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