Best known for his starring roles in the 70s sitcom Good Times and the 1977 drama miniseries Roots, John Amos leaves behind a rich filmography and TV legacy. John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries Roots, has died aged 84. He died 21 August of natural causes in Los Angeles.
Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death yesterday. Amos’ first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970-73. As the show’s only Black character, he played straight man to bombastic anchor Ted Baxter.
His big break came when he was cast as James Evans Sr. on Good Times, which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. It ran from 1974-79 on CBS.
“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021. Such was the show's impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, the Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics. “Many fans consider him their TV father,” his son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement.
“He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life.
He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero.” Amos starred as Jame.
