Entertainment John Amos, ‘Good Times’ star, dead at 84
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The Emmy nominated actor's son Kelly Christopher "K.C." Amos confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that he died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Aug. 21
By Dana Rose Falcone and Stephanie Wenger
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John Amos
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John Amos, who was best known for his roles Good Times, The Roots, and Coming to America, has died. He was 84.
The Emmy nominated actor's son Kelly Christopher "K.C." Amos confirmed in a statement to PEOPLE that he died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Aug. 21.
“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” Kelly wrote. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved the world over."
He continued: "Many fans consider him their TV father. 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 added. "Most recently in Suits LA playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, America's Dad. He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time."
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The news comes one year and three months after Amos entered the hospital due to fluid filling his lower body and causing issues with his heart. At the time, a rep for Amos said the doctors drained all of the fluid and Amos had been on the mend.
However, his daughter Shannon, claimed to TMZ that, one month earlier, she received a call from her dad claiming he’d been in unbearable pain and “fallen victim to elder abuse and financial exploitation.” She also set up a GoFundMe page aiming to aid her father’s recovery. The Good Times star disputed Shannon’s claims and said he was not a victim of any abuse.
Amos first entered the spotlight as in 1964 as a player on the Denver Broncos. He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs before leaving the NFL for the Continental League, not ready to give up on his dream even after then-Chiefs coach Hank Stram reportedly told him, “You are not a football player you are a young man who happens to be playing football.”
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By 1970, the New Jersey native made his TV debut, appearing on The Billy Cosby Show, recurring on The Tim Conway Comedy Hour and landing his breakout role as Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
After his stint on The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended in 1973, he went on star as James Evans Sr. in Good Times, the first television show to highlight a Black family. Amos fought for authentic portrayals of Black lives to be shown on screen, which ultimately led to his exit from the series in 1976.
John Amos and Esther Rolle Good TImes
CBS Photo Archive/Getty
Amos told VladTV that the producers’ “perception or their idea of what a Black family would be and what a Black father would be was totally different from mine, and mine was steeped in reality.”
That resulted in Amos being told “my services were no longer needed because I had become a ‘disruptive element.’”
“I had a way of voicing my differences against the script that weren’t acceptable to the creative staff,” he said. “I mean, the writers got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes.”
The departure didn’t stall Amos’s career. In 1977, he starred in the groundbreaking TV miniseries Roots, which earned him his only Emmy nomination. “You don’t anticipate that kind of success because that’s dreaming and that’s one thing actors can’t afford to do,” Amos told The Wrap in 2022. “We’ve got to deal in reality.”
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Amos’s TV career continued steadily throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, during which time he held roles on Hunter, 704 Hauser and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In 1988, he memorably starred in Coming to America as Cleo McDowell, the father of Prince Akeem's (Eddie Murphy) love interest and eventual life, and reprised the part in the 2021 sequel.
Amos had recurring roles on The District, The Andersons, The West Wing and Men in Trees in the 2000s and kept working right up until his death. He made a surprise appearance in the 2019 Live in Front of a Studio Audience special in which stars like Viola Davis and Tiffany Haddish recreated a 1975 of Good Times as Alderman Fred Davis, a man running for local office.
John Amos, ANDRE BRAUGHER LIVE IN FRONT OF A STUDIO AUDIENCE Good Times
Eric McCandless/ABC
In 2022, Amos most appeared in the movies Block Party and Me Time, as well as an episode of The Righteous Gemstones.
“The truth of it is, when I started acting, I never thought I would live this long, much less be an actor,” Amos told TVLine in 2022. “I’ve had a blessed career, and I attribute that to my faith in God and the fact that I was raised right. I had the chance to portray a father on a situational comedy that so many Black fathers and men of all races could identify with and appreciate.”
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