John Amos, star of 'Good Times', 'Roots' and 'Coming to America', dies aged 84

John Amos, 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 aged 84.

He died 21 August of natural causes in Los Angeles. Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death yesterday.

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.

His big break came when he was cast as James Evans Sr. on Good Times, which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. 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.

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. 

“Many fans consider him their TV father,” his son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement. “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. He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero.”

Amos starred as James Evans Sr for three seasons before his character was killed off in the two-part 1976 season four premiere. He was written off the show after he publicly criticized the stereotypical storylines of his TV son JJ, played by Jimmie Walker. 

Amos quickly bounced back when he landed 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 US. 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.” 

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 Coming 2 America; Die Hard 2; and Uncut Gems with Adam Sandler.  

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on 27 December 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.

Amos 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.

On top of a varied and celebrated career on the big screen, Amos was a frequent guest star on shows like The West Wing, 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.

He is survived by daughter Shannon and son Kelly Christopher. They were from his first marriage to Noel Mickelson, whom he met in college. His second marriage to actor Lillian Lehman also ended in divorce.