John Amos, veteran actor of “Roots” and “Good Times,” has died at age 84

Actor John Amos, whose long career included a variety of iconic roles in works such as “Roots,” “Good Times” and “The West Wing,” died last month, his family said Tuesday.

He was 84 years old when he died of natural causes on August 21 in Los Angeles.

The actor's agent, Belinda Foster, confirmed news of his death to the Associated Press on Tuesday but gave no further details.

“It is with deep sadness that I inform you that my father has made the transition,” son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement to Variety. “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 as an actor on television and film.”

Between 1974 and 1976, Amos played stoic father James Evans in 61 episodes of “Good Times,” the Norman Lear sitcom about a hard-working family trying to stay afloat in a Chicago housing project.

Amos then played Toby in the groundbreaking 1977 TV miniseries Roots, starring alongside some of the greatest black actors of that generation, such as Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett Jr. and Leslie Uggams.

Generation film fans

His television career was revived in 1999 when he was cast in the acclaimed White House drama “The West Wing,” where he starred as Admiral Percy “Fitz” Fitzwallace for five seasons.

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