American actor John Allen Amos Jr., renowned for his memorable roles in ‘Coming to America’ and ‘Good Times’, has passed away at age 84.
The news was confirmed by his son, Kelly Christopher Amos, who shared in a statement that his father died of natural causes on August 21.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” Kelly Amos stated.
“He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold, and he was loved all over the world. 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.”
Kelly Amos
Amos Jr. was born on December 27, 1939. Before his acting career, he played college football at Colorado State University. He also had a brief professional football career, which included spending a portion of the 1967 offseason for the American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs.
After several attempts at a professional football career, Amos turned his attention to acting. His career started taking off when he landed the role of weatherman Gordy Howard on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in 1970, where he flashed his comedic chops.
He made his film debut in 1971 in Melvin Van Peebles’ blaxploitation action-thriller “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song.” He got a major break a few years later, starring in Norman Lear‘s trailblazing sitcom “Good Times” from 1974-1976.
On the CBS series, the first to focus on a two-parent, African American household, Amos played James Evans Sr., the hardworking father of three and devoted husband of a South Side Chicago family.
However, Amos was fired from the show after the third season when he disagreed with Lear over the depiction of Jimmie Walker’s character of James “J.J.” Evans Jr. Amos’ character died offscreen in a car accident in the Season 4 premiere.
He went on to star as the older version of Kunta Kinte in the acclaimed 1977 miniseries adaptation of Alex Haley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “Roots,” which became one of the most-watched series of all time and earned him an Emmy nomination.
In the 1980s, he starred as Queen’s restauranteur Cleo McDowell in the Eddie Murphy comedy “Coming to America,” a part he reprised in the movie’s 2021 sequel “Coming 2 America.”
He also memorably appeared in “Die Hard 2” as no-nonsense and scheming Army Major Grant.
He continued working steadily, doing an arc on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” as the father of Nia Long’s character in the run-up to her wedding to Will Smith’s title role. He had larger parts on “The West Wing” as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace and Washington, D.C., Mayor Ethan Baker in “The District.”
In the 21st century, he showed up in movies like “Uncut Gems” and TV shows including “30 Rock,” playing heightened versions of himself. All told, he appeared in more than 100 movies and TV shows.
He and his son had spent the past several years working on the docuseries “America’s Dad,” which follows his life and journey as an actor.
Amos recently became the subject of elder abuse allegations “perpetrated by a trusted caregiver,” which he denied multiple times, including earlier this year. He’s survived by his son Kelly Christopher “K.C.” Amos and daughter Shannon.
Stars React to John Amos’ Death
Tributes are pouring in for John Amos following the news of his death.
In a statement, his ‘Good Times’ costar Jimmie Walker said, “John was a great actor and my condolences go out to his entire family, friends, and his many, many fans.”
Martin Lawrence reacted to the news in a post on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “This one hits differently. My condolences go out to the family of a true legend, John Amos 🙏🏽.”
Al Roker shared a carousel of photos on Instagram after hearing the news, writing that Amos “will be missed.”
“Whether in ‘Roots’, ‘Mary Tyler Moore’, ‘Good Times’, ‘Coming To America’, and other roles, John Amos brought dignity, grace, and honesty to his roles. I remember him as ‘Gordy The Weatherman’ at WJM when we were just starting as a TV weather guy in 1974 and seeing him as a role model. And when he quit ‘Good Times’, people respected him for his stand.”
AI Rocker
Loni Love paid tribute to Amos, too, who she worked with on the 2015 film ‘Bad Asses on the Bayou’.
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