}); In the midst of it all, their love would produce a child (me). Amos, who is also known for his work in Die Hard 2 and The West Wing, is set to reprise his role alongside Eddie Murphy in next years long-awaited comedy sequel to 1988s Coming to America. He also guest starred on an episode of Psych as West Wing co-star Dul Hill's uncle. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ John Amos was only 34-year-old when he earned the role as the middle-aged father of family, James Evans, on the first African American sitcom with two parents and a functioning family. }); Amos was the face of the patriarch James Sr a veteran of the Korean war who despite his commitment to provide for his family, only ends up finding odd jobs because of his lack of education. The Cast of 'Hanging with Mr. Cooper:' Where Are They Now? The no-nonsense and responsible Thelma, who was also a terrible cook, was played by BernNadette Stanis, who went on to author five books: 'Situations 101: Relationships', 'The Good, The Bad & The Ugly'; 'For Men Only'; 'Situations 101: Finances'; and 'The Last Night'. I had suffered those indignities in real life integrating those two schools, of being told that I was a physical anomaly, Amos says. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital He was nominated for a Emmy in 1977 for his role on the critically acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning ABC-TV miniseries Roots. But while the show would air for an additional three years without Amos, his career would hardly stop there. In a chat with Vulture, he said being the first Black father of a complete family on television meant he shouldered a huge responsibility. John felt the show would have gotten a great deal of mileage out of Thelma and Michael's aspirations to become a Supreme Court justice and surgeon. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. The source of his revenue is his appearance on hit Television shows like Good Times. From 1974 to 1976, John Amos touched millions of lives as the iconic patriarch James Evans, Sr., on Good Times until he was unceremoniously dumped from the cast midway through its run. In 2017, Amos released his first children's book, A World Without Color, a children's tale of a young boy living in the gray, mundane town of Bleakersville before it comes to be inhabited by characters who bring color to it. Too Old Blues (Season 1, Episode 1 Feb 8, 1974) This episode was filmed after the pilot but aired as the series premiere. | Photo: Getty Images. }); He is that character and he exudes that, and you in turn are obligated to give it back to him the same way., Amos isnt in Coming 2 America for long, but he commands a pivotal scene in which he advises Prince Akeem (Murphy) on his future. One of his is Shannon, who is an entrepreneur. John was 34 when "Good Times" began production in 1973. Working with Eddie Murphy: I cant describe it to you. When asked if those feelings led to his being kicked out of the show, John said Lear categorized him as a "disruptive element" when he called him to inform him about his sacking. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { }); lip-syncing to a song while having a nice time together. }); Amos has been married two times. pg.acq.push(function() { And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.. Everything changed that day. Other series which John has either appeared in supporting or guest roles include CBS's The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The District, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, and Maude. He portrayed the character of Percy Fitzwallace in the critically acclaimed show The West Wing. I grew up watching John do this role, so for the three years that I think he played this role, he was really a role model, he told Entertainment Tonight. Amos appeared in pilots for some of Lear's later shows, including 1994's 704 Hauser Street, again playing a hardworking patriarch who moves into the house previously inhabited by All in the Family's Archie Bunker. The show had six seasons on CBS from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. His clashes with the writers often marred John's time on the show. took the time to honor his father on Father's Day and described John as his hero. The series soldiered on for three more seasons with Amos, but his presence was always missed. } ); John has been married twice in his lifetime. He had the opportunity to address institutional grievancesbut he never had to raise his voice or become demonstrative in his feelings to the point that it became so one-sided. On May 5, he also shared a picture that showed him posing with the cast of "The Last O.G." It was brought to the fore on November 30, 2020, when Shannon shared several images of herself and her daughter as she celebrated the latter's 29th birthday. On-screen, he was married to Florida Evansplayed by Esther Rolleand they had three grown children: J.J.; Thelma; and Michael. Each and every working experience that I had as a young man and then later in my life served me in good stead as an actor, because they all gave me hands-on experience.. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms. His second marriage was to actress Lillian Lehman. John Amos was only 34-year-old when he earned the role as the middle-aged father of family, James Evans, on the first African American sitcom with two parents and a functioning family. But the film was no ordinary Sandler flick: it was Uncut Gems, the Safdie Brothers chaotic and abrasive thriller which has already taken on the status of cult classic in some circles. After reading an then becoming impressed with a poem which he had written about a mythical figure which crossed the door of all of the players who were cut; Stram would have him read the poem aloud to the rest of the players during one training camp practice session, to loud applause and a standing ovation. Their perception or their idea of what a Black family would be and what a Black father would be was totally different from mine, and mine was steeped in reality., Stating creative differences withthe shows writers and producers, Amos said of his 1976 departure: I left because I was told that my services were no longer needed because I had become a disruptive element. In other words, I didnt have the diplomacy that I think Ive cultivated over the last 10 or 15 years. On Father's Day, she shared several pictures of him and wished him a Happy Father's Day. The Evans' oldest child, JJ, with his goofball ladies man persona and a flair for art was made iconic by Walker and then, of course, there is the catchphrase: 'Dy-no-mite!' One of the pictures Shannon shared showed John posing with her daughter and his granddaughter, Quiera Williams. She also expressed love towards him. ga('ads.send', { Over the years, he's also been deemed the ideal Black father, with his take-no-mess persona. Its anathema to Black society. He also received fine reviews in a Berkshire Theater festival production of "The Boys Next Door", a tour of O'Neill's towering play "The Emperor Jones", and in a Detroit production of Athol Fugard's "Master Haroldand The Boys". } Instead, the writers focused more on the obvious and comedic Jimmie Walker, which John was not proud of. In an article, K.C. John Amos, who starred in the original 1970s sitcom, made a cameo in ABC's updated restaging of a classic Good Times episode By Benjamin VanHoose Published on December 19, 2019 09:20 AM },false) Youre there. They then appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear it. Fired from Good times is one of the best things that could ever happen to John Amos.. After three seasons of struggling with executive producer Norman Lear and the white writers of the CBS sitcom about stereotypical Black Man portraits and dialogue the show has dragged on, especially when it comes to Starring Jimmie Walker, Amos' contract to play patriarch James Evans was not renewed at the . The experience made him excited to be involved in the franchise in any capacity going forward. When he said, beat that with a stick, it was like tossing a gauntlet: are you going to continue with this charade of inequities, or not?, In 2018, Amos got a call from his team about appearing in a new Adam Sandler movie. The actor and his kids have portrayed their bond via several posts on their social media. We adhere to structured guidelines for sourcing information and linking to other resources, including Despite what happened on Good Times, Amos and one of the show's executive producers, the legendaryNorman Lear, would go on to resolve their differences and work together again creatively, something Amos attributes to "maturing" in how he expressed his beliefs. However, he noticed that the writers were losing focus on his other two kids on the show, Bernadette Stanis, who portrayed Thelma, and Ralph Carter, who played Michael. One time, a Pepsi commercial nearly cost him another acting job: I broke away on my lunch hour and started drinking these 16-ounce Pepsis. ga('ads.send', { Also a former athlete who played varsity football at East Orange High School in his hometown of East Orange, NJ, and then at Long Beach (CA) City College, and at Colorado State, John found his way bouncing around for several years in tryouts with several semi pro and professional league teams, most notably, The AFL's Denver Broncos, and then the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs by 1966, where then head coach Hank Stram advised him to continue to pursue his acting career, telling him "You're not a football player, you're a man who is trying to play football". hitType: 'event', Some of his most iconic film and television roles include portraying the adult Kunta Kinte in the iconic miniseries "Roots," "Coming to America" (1988), and the famous and award-winning "The Mary Tyler Moore Show.". He is one of the greatest actors in American history and surely deserves the best. }); navigator.sendBeacon('https://www.google-analytics.com/collect', payload); The show had six seasons on CBS from February 8 . The differences I had with the producers of the show, I felt that there was too much emphasis being put on J.J. and his chicken hat saying Dynomite! every third page, when just as much emphasis and mileage could have been gotten out of my other two children and the concomitant jokes and humor that could have come out of that., In aninterviewwithVladTV, Amos alsospoke in depth about the lack of diversity onGood Times writing team and how he believed the construction of those scripts lead to an inaccurate portrayal of African-Americans. In November, the father-son duo entertained their fans singing to Johnny Nash's I Can See Clearly Now as the caption read, Always #GoodTimes Kickin it w my son @k.c.amos over the holiday.. He explained he was not jealous of Jimmie Walker but felt it was a disservice to Thelma and Michael and young people's image to say they did not matter. He captioned the video: "Spinning wheel started spinning and we forgot to only pantomimes.". On a historic night in which Donald Trump became just the third U.S. president ever to be impeached, a 1975 . On May 25, John also shared a TikTok video K.C. This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. However, at the time John and his ex-wife started dating, interracial marriage was illegal. Hence, they had to kill him off. Find out more about the iconic actor and happenings in his life since then. });