His own path: John Amos (1940-2024) | MZS

John Amos was a pioneer in more ways than one. A tall, broad-shouldered man with a broad chest, a winning smile and an arsenal of “You've got to be kidding me” looks, he stood out in TV ensembles for four decades, from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Good Times” and “Roots” in the 1970s to “Two and a Half Men,” “The West Wing” to the more recent “The Ranch” and “Suits” (as himself!). Amos chose his roles carefully and advocated for worthwhile roles for black actors, not only in terms of positive role models, but also in terms of imaginative and vivid writing (he was not averse to playing villains, appearing in Die slowly”) a particularly intimidating 2”). He was not averse to denouncing what he saw as negative trends and harmful policies in the entertainment industry. It took work, but he remained true to his principles. He went his own way.

When Amos started on television in the 1960s, there were very few black actors in recurring roles on major series. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, he came to television as a writer after an early career as an athlete. He was a football player at Colorado State University, where he earned a degree in sociology and also boxed. He then played for three pre-NFL leagues before signing an offseason contract to work out with the Kansas City Chiefs, essentially a tryout. Coach Hank Stram cut him from the team, but was so impressed by a poem Amos had written called “The Turk” that he told him, “Son, you’re not a football player. You are a young man who happens to play football. But I feel like you might have a different calling.”

That other calling initially seemed to be writing. Amos got a job in the writers' room on “The Leslie Uggams Show” (1969–70), which was known not only as the first variety series with a black woman in the lead role, but also as the first variety show with the ensemble cast and most of the guests were also black . Two of Amos' writing colleagues were Lorenzo Music and Dave Davis, who were then helping to develop The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and they said they always enjoyed watching him perform sketches for guest performers and wondered, whether he would be interested in trying out for a role in the new show. Amos was eventually cast as Gordy, the network weatherman, at a time when black men employed by local American television stations tended to limit themselves to sports. “That was a testament to the sensitivity of (creator) Jim Brooks and (co-producer) Allan Burns,” Amos told Vulture in 2014. “They didn’t pander to the lowest common denominator in terms of stereotypes or cheap humor. In fact, they were so skilled as writers that they had Cloris Leachman – her character Phyllis – assume I was a sportswriter because I was a fairly tall man and black. And those were the only faces prominently seen on the television screen at the time. So they played against it.”

In 1974, Amos landed the role with which he would forever be identified: James Evans Sr., the family patriarch in “Good Times,” a rare sitcom about a black working-class family struggling to survive in a difficult economy. Good Times was a project by Norman Lear, probably the most powerful and influential sitcom creator of the 1970s. It was a spin-off of a spin-off: Florida Evans, the wife of James Evans and co-star Esther Rolle's character, was the title character's maid in “Maude,” which in turn was a spin-off of “All in the Family.” was. “Good Times” quickly established its own identity. It was a warm but edgy, dramatizing portrayal of urban social problems that were only addressed in comedic arguments in the other Lear shows.

Amos was proud of the series, which was innovative, critically acclaimed and a huge ratings success. The problem was that a minor character, a clown, became a crowd favorite – the Evans' eldest son, JJ (Jimmie Walker), who strutted into rooms with flamboyant ingenuity and had a catchphrase: “Dyno-“MYYYTE!” Audiences loved him and the writers began developing more and more episodes around him, and soon it seemed like “Good Times” was turning into “The JJ Show.”

“We addressed issues that no one touches on today, such as seniors being forced to eat pet food for financial reasons,” Amos said. “JJ is shot by a gang member. You can't open the newspaper today without seeing a topic we covered 40 years ago. I knew I was in a blessed situation. And besides, I had the burden of being the first black father of an entire family, and I took that responsibility seriously.” So he started complaining to Lear and other producers about the show's failure to fulfill its mission of telling meaningful stories story gave up by targeting viewers who just wanted to see JJ goofy.

“That led to their dissatisfaction with my dissatisfaction,” Amos told PBS's “American Masters,” “which ultimately led to me being eliminated from the show.” And so James Evans died, leaving Florida a widow. Audiences never learned the cause, although fans of the series remember Rolle's heartbreaking reaction when Florida learned of her husband's death, shouting, “Damn! Damn!” Damned! Damned!”

“A lot of people are of the opinion or have the false impression that I quit,” Amos continued. “I didn’t leave the show. During a break, I was fired and told that my services would no longer be needed while the show continued because I had become a “nuisance.” And I admit that my objections to the scripts and their flow, the way the characters were described and developed, were not to my liking. And I wasn't exactly the most diplomatic guy back then. In fact, I said it several times, and I even said to Norman, 'I don't blame you.' I would have fired myself too.'” Lear and Amos remained friends, however, and when Lear created another spin-off of All in 1994 in the Family,” titled “704 Hauser,” about a black family who buys Archie’s old house, he hired Amos to play the main character, Ernie Cumberbatch.

Amos continued to act on television and in films for five decades, including playing the older Kunta Kinte in the original Roots, and he continued to write his own plays, including the one-man play Haley's Comet. He was married twice, to artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson and then to actress Lillian Lehman, a theater professor emeritus and graduate of California State University, Northridge.

Amos died on August 21, but the news wasn't made public until three months later, and Amos' daughter Shannon said she didn't learn of her father's death until Amos' son KC made the announcement. Last year there were allegations of elder abuse after Shannon Amos filed a lawsuit against KC, but it was dropped due to a lack of evidence. Shannon said in an Instagram post: “We are devastated and have many questions about how this happened 45 days ago, after learning about it through the media like many of you did.” This should be a time of honor and celebration of his life, but we struggle to cope with the wave of emotions and uncertainties that his death brings. Still, there is a semblance of peace knowing my father is finally free.”