Born on December 27, 1939, Amos was the son of Annabelle and John A. Amos Sr. Growing up in East Orange, New Jersey, he graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He later attended Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology. Additionally, was a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the United States Coast Guard.
While a student at Colorado State, Amos starred on the football team and was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. Continuing his football career, Amos inked a free-agent contract with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League. Because a hamstring injury did not allow him to run the 40-yard dash he was released on the second day of training camp. He went on to play with the Canton Bulldogs and Joliet Explorers of the United Football League, the Norfolk Neptunes and Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League, the Jersey City Jets and Waterbury Orbits of the Atlantic Coast Football League, and briefly with the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League.
After leaving the gridiron to become an actor, Amos’ fortunes changed dramatically in 1970 when he landed a role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, playing weatherman Gordy Howard.
Eventually, Amos landed the role of James Evans Sr. on the CBS sitcom Good Times (1974–1976), starring alongside Esther Rolle, Jimmie Walker, BernNadette Stanis, Ralph Carter, and Ja’Net DuBois. A spinoff of Norman Lear’s Maude and created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans, the sitcom was the first to showcase a Black two-parent household. During his three seasons on the show, Amos would become one of America’s most beloved TV dads portraying the hardworking, underemployed and dedicated patriarch of the Evan family who lived in the projects of Chicago.
After constant run-ins with Lear and the writers on the direction of the sitcom, which Amos and Rolle thought was becoming a “stereotypical Black minstrel show” with J.J.’s “Dynamite” catchphrase, Amos was fired from the series.
Speaking with Jet Magazine in 1976, Amos shared why his character was killed off the series in what is still considered one of the most dramatic episodes in television history.
“Norman Lear called me a month ago and told me my option (with Good Times) was not being picked up,” Amos said. “That’s the same as being fired. Sure, I want to do my thing in films, but not at the expense of my job.”
In 1977, Amos earned an Emmy nod for playing Toby, the older version of Kunta Kinte, in Alex Haley’s critically acclaimed mini-series Roots.
Amos also had starring roles as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on NBC’s West Wing, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, All About the Andersons, Two and a Half Men, and The Ranch. He even made an appearance as Alderman Davis on ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience episode of Good Times in 2019.
His final television appearance came in Suits: L.A., where for the first time in his career he played himself.
In film, he had roles in Let’s Do It Again, Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America and its 2021 sequel Coming 2 America, Die Hard 2, The Beastmaster, Lock Up and Me Tyme. He was also producing with his son an upcoming documentary about his life, titled America’s Dad at the time of his death.
During one of his last interviews, Amos noted that his success caught him by surprise, “The truth of it is, when I started acting, I never thought I would live this long, much less be an actor,” Amos told TV Line. “I’ve had a blessed career, and I attribute that to my faith in God and the fact that I was raised right. I had the chance to portray a father in a situational comedy that so many Black fathers and men of all races could identify with and appreciate.
We at EBONY extend our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of John Amos.
