John Amos, star of Good Times, Roots, dies at 84

John Amos, the popular TV dad best known for his roles in “ Good times And rootsHe died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles on August 21. His son Kelly Christopher Amos confirmed the news in a statement shared with diversity. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved around the world. Many fans consider him to be their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding work in television and film,” he said. “He was my father, my best friend and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support during this time.” Amos was 84.

Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1939, Amos had a brief football career before landing his first major acting role as affable weatherman Gordy Howard The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He appeared in about a dozen episodes from 1970 until the series ended in 1977. During this time he also appeared in other series such as Maud And The New Dick Van Dyke Showa few films among them vanishing point And The Baadasssss song by Sweet Sweetbackand an acquaintance McDonald's commercial with Anson Williams, who he says helped him put his children through college, per The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1974, Amos got his real break when he was asked to audition for the role of James Evans Sr., the patriarch of a family of three children, on a new CBS show. Good timesA Norman Lear-developed spin-off by Maud, which itself was a spin-off of Everything in the familywas the first sitcom ever to feature a black family. Amos starred in the series for three seasons before ideological differences over some of the show's more stereotypical storylines forced the writers to kill off his character in 1976 Interview 2014 Speaking to the TV Academy Foundation, Amos said he and Lear had “a number of differences.” Amos felt that too much emphasis was placed on one of his fictional sons, JJ, who wore a “chicken hat” and said “Dy-no-mite!” every third page,” while the show could do more with the other two children, “one of whom aspired to be a Supreme Court justice… and the other… who aspired to be a surgeon.”

“But I wasn't the most diplomatic guy back then, and they were tired of their lives being threatened over jokes,” he admitted. “It taught me a lesson – I wasn’t as important to the show or Norman Lear’s plans as I thought.”

However, it didn't stop him. A year after his Good times After the character was killed off, Amos was again asked to play the older version of Kunta Kinte in the acclaimed miniseries roots. “It was exactly what I needed,” the actor said of the role in the same 2014 interview. “It tasted bad Good times out of my mouth… roots was a justification. There was a tremendous sense of satisfaction.”

Amos continued to have a great career at almost 100 film and television appearances together. Other notable roles included Fred Wilkes The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirAdmiral Percy Fitzwallace in The West WingDeacon Eller in Ballerand Buddy Lissons in The Righteous Gems. Recently he and his son produced a documentary about his life entitled America's father.

In his interview, the Television Academy Foundation asked Amos how he would like to be remembered. His answer: “As a guy who made people laugh, who made people think a little bit, and who didn't present himself as a philosopher – a guy who had a wonderful ride through life (.) As someone who people enjoyed watching and enjoying being in their homes.”