John Amos

John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times. His other well known roles were as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying Captain Meissner in Lock Up and Major Grant in Die Hard 2 (1990). His other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of the Mayor of Washington DC Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. In film, he played numerous supporting roles in movies such as The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), and Coming 2 America (2021).

Early life John Allen Amos Jr. was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 27, 1939. He was the son of John A. Amos Sr., an auto mechanic, and Annabelle Amos. Amos grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He attended Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology; he played for both schools' football teams. Unable to run the 40-yard dash because of a pulled hamstring, he was released on the second day of training camp. He played for various teams during his career, the Canton Bulldogs (UFL 1964),

Acting career

Amos became first known in 1971 when he appeared with Anson Williams in a commercial for McDonald's. That same year, he had a small part in the cult film Vanishing Point, playing a radio engineer alongside Cleavon Little.

Amos' first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970 until 1973. After the death of Betty White in 2021, Amos and Joyce Bulifant (who played Marie Slaughter) were the last surviving cast members of the show, excluding child actors.

Good Times Amos is best known for his portrayal of James Evans Sr., the husband of Florida Evans, on the American sitcom Good Times (1974–1976). He had previously appeared three times on the sitcom Maude as Florida's husband Henry, who had a different history than James. (On Maude, Florida and Henry lived in Harlem in New York City where he was a fireman and she got work as a maid. On Good Times, Florida and James lived in a housing project in Chicago where he worked odd jobs, and she was a housewife.) Although cast as a hardworking middle-aged father of three, Amos was 34 when the show began production in January 1974; he was only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son, Jimmie Walker, and 19 years younger than his screen wife, Esther Rolle. Like Rolle, Amos wanted to portray a positive image of an African-American family struggling against the odds in a poor neighborhood, but he expressed dissatisfaction after he saw the premise slighted by a lower level of comedy on Good Times.

During his tenure on the sitcom, Amos openly clashed with the writers of the show, pointing to the scripts' lack of authenticity in portraying the African-American experience. He notably criticized what he felt was too much of an emphasis on Jimmie Walker's character J.J. and a lesser regard for the other two Evans children. He also criticized J.J.'s stereotypical buffoonish personality. This led to his dismissal by executive producer Norman Lear at the end of season 3 in 1976. In a 2017 interview, Amos said that the sitcom's writers did not understand African Americans. He told them, "That just doesn't happen in the community. We don't think that way. We don't act that way. We don't let our children do that." His character was killed off by the writers, leading to a memorable scene in which his screen wife, Rolle, screamed, “Damn! Damn! Damn!”

Films, music, and other TV roles

In 1977, Amos starred in the ABC-TV Miniseries Roots, In 1980, he starred in the television film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story. Amos played an Archie Bunker-style character in the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser, In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character Ed on Two and a Half Men,

Amos wrote and produced Halley's Comet, a critically acclaimed one-man play that he performed around the world. Amos performed in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and later at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Amos was featured in Disney's The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent in his first starring film role, and also starred as Kansas City Mack in Let's Do It Again (1975) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. His other film appearances include Vanishing Point (1971), The President's Plane Is Missing (1973),

In 2021, Amos starred in Because of Charley, as the patriarch of an estranged step-family riding out Hurricane Charley, the hurricane which tore through Florida in 2004. Also in 2021, he had a role in the Coming to America sequel, Coming 2 America.

Suits LA, the television show in which he made his final acting appearance, paid posthumous tribute to him with an episode entitled "Good Times," in which the characters Ted and Rick attempt to get him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Ted observes, "John Amos was the Sidney Poitier of television. He broke new ground for Black America and he was a father figure for all of America."

Personal life

Amos was a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the United States Coast Guard. He was married twice. His first marriage, from 1965 to 1975, was to artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson. The couple had two children: Shannon Amos, a writer-producer and the founder of Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, and Grammy-nominated director K.C. Amos. Acrimonious disagreements between Shannon and K.C. Amos over the care given to their parents were documented by The Hollywood Reporter in 2023.

Amos' second marriage, in 1978–79, was to actress Lillian Lehman. He lived for many years in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey. In 2018, he moved to Westcliffe, Colorado, southwest of Pueblo. Amos left Colorado that same year, taking up residency in Los Angeles. His death was not announced until October 1, 2024. His daughter, Shannon, was unaware that he had died until his death was reported by the media. His body was cremated nine days after his death.

In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1971 Vanishing Point Super Soul's Engineer Uncredited Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song Biker Credited as Johnny Amos 1973 The World's Greatest Athlete Coach Sam Archer 1975 Let's Do It Again MacArthur "Kansas City Mack" Clutch 1980 Touched by Love Tony 1982 The Beastmaster Seth 1983 Dance of the Dwarfs Esteban 1985 American Flyers Dr. Conrad 1988 Coming to America Cleo McDowell 1989 Lock Up Captain Meissner 1990 Two Evil Eyes Detective Legrand Segment: "The Black Cat" Die Hard 2 Major Grant 1991 Ricochet Reverend Styles Without a Pass Blue Berry 1993 Mac Nat Night Trap Captain Hodges 1995 For Better or Worse Gray Hologram Man Wes Strickland 1998 The Players Club Officer Freeman 2001 All Over Again Coach Zeller 2003 The Watermelon Heist Old Man Amos 2004 My Baby's Daddy Uncle Virgil Countdown Admiral Melory 2005 Shadowboxing Hill 2006 Dr. Dolittle 3 Jud Jones 2007 Ascension Day Henry 2010 Lean Like a Cholo "Slick" 2011 Stills of the Movement: The Civil Rights Photojournalism of Flip Schulke The Narrator 2012 Zombie Hamlet Edgar Mortimer Madea's Witness Protection Pastor Nelson 2014 Act of Faith Brady 2015 Bad Asses on the Bayou Earl Mercy for Angels God Tamales and Gumbo The Patron 2016 Hauntsville Mr. Kimball 2019 Uncut Gems Himself 2021 Coming 2 America Cleo McDowell Because of Charley Grandpa 2021Christmas in Miami Chief Host 2022 Me Time Gil 2023 The Last Rifleman Lincoln Adams

Television Year Title Role Notes 1970 The Bill Cosby Show 1st Salesman as Johnny AmosEpisode: "Swann's Way" 1970–1977 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Weatherman Gordon "Gordy" Howard 13 episodes 1971 The Funny Side Minority Husband 6 episodes 1971–1972 Love, American Style Bell Captain 2 episodes 1972 The New Dick Van Dyke Show Mark Cooper Episode: "The Harry Award" 1973 Sanford and Son Luther Episode: "A Visit from Lena Horne" 1973–1974 Maude Henry Evans Recurring role, 3 episodes 1974 The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Himself 1 episode 1974–1976 Good Times James Evans Sr. 61 episodes 1976 Police Story Sergeant Walt Kyles 1 episode 1976–1977 Future Cop Officer Bill Bundy 7 episodes 1977 Roots Older Kunta Kinte 3 episodes 1979 Mr. Dugan Representative Dooley Unaired pilot 1980 Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson TV miniseries 1981 Here's Boomer Charlie Foster Episode: "Boomer Goes for the Gold" 1982 Insight Josh Cameron Episode: "Hang Tight, Willy Bill" 1983 The Love Boat Duke Taylor Episode: "The Zinging Valentine/The Very Temporary Secretary/Final Score" 1984 The A-Team Reverend Taylor Episode: "Pure-Dee Poison" Trapper John, M.D. Inspector Roland Hackett Episode: "The Fred Connection" Hardcastle and McCormick Albie Meadows Episode: "The Homecoming: Part 2" 1984–1985 Hunter Captain Dolan 13 episodes 1986 One Life to Live Bill Moore 2 episodes 1987 Murder, She Wrote "Doc" Penrose Episode: "Death Takes a Dive" Stingray Roy Jeffries Episode: "Blood Money" You Are the Jury Sergeant Harold Borman Episode: "The State of Oregon vs. Stanley Manning" 1988 Beauty and the Beast Farrell Episode: "The Alchemist" Bonanza: The Next Generation Mr. Mack TV movie The Cosby Show Dr. Herbert Episode: "The Physical" 1989 Gideon Oliver Carl Manning Episode: "Tongs" 1994 704 Hauser Ernie Cumberbatch 6 episodes 1994–1995 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Fred Wilkes 3 episodes 1995–1997 In the House Coach Sam Wilson 12 episodes 1995 Touched by an Angel Sheriff James Mackey Episode: "The Hero" 1997 Martin Sergeant Strawn Episode: "Daddy Dearest" Walker, Texas Ranger Pastor Roscoe Jones Episode: "Sons of Thunder" 1998 King of the Hill Glenn Johnson VoiceEpisode: "Traffic Jam" 1999–2004 The West Wing Admiral Percy Fitzwallace 22 episodes 2000 Something to Sing About Reverend Washington TV movie The Outer Limits Peter "Yas" Yastrzemski Episode: "Zig Zag" Disappearing Acts Mr. Swift TV movie 2000–2001 The District Mayor Ethan Baker 10 episodes 2002 American Masters Dr. Bledsoe Episode: "Ralph Ellison: An American Journey" 2003–2004 All About the Andersons Joe Anderson 16 episodes 2006 Voodoo Moon "Dutch" TV movie 2006–2008 Men in Trees "Buzz" Washington 27 episodes 2007 Psych Uncle Burton Guster Episode: "Meat Is Murder, But Murder Is Also Murder" 2008 My Name Is Earl Joe Episode: "Stole an RV" 2010 Two and a Half Men Ed 3 episodes Royal Pains Harrison Phillips Episode: "Big Whoop" 30 Rock Himself Episode: "Let's Stay Together" Lie to Me Jim Weaver Episode: "Smoked" 2012 NYC 22 Pappy Science Episode: "Ransom" 2016–2017 The Ranch Ed Bishop 4 episodes2019 Ballers Deacon Eller 2 episodes Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell War Episode: "The Poor Horsemen of the Apocalypse" Live in Front of a Studio Audience Fred Davis Episode: "'All in the Family' and 'Good Times'" 2020 The Last O.G. Uncle D Episode: "Family Feud" 2022 The Righteous Gemstones Buddy Lissons Episode: "I Will Tell of All Your Deeds" 2025 Suits LA Himself Episode: "Seven Days a Week and Twice on Sunday" (Final acting appearance)