John Amos one of the actors in the film “A Prince in New York”, died at the age of 84, according to his publicist, Belinda Foster. Throughout his career, he was also known as the family patriarch in the hit series “Good Times” and the adult Kunta Kinte in the famous original miniseries “Roots”.
Foster told CNN via telephone this Tuesday (1st), that Amos died on August 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes. She also shared a statement from Amos’ son, Kelly Christopher Amos, via email.
“It is with deep sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” the statement read. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved all over the world. Many fans consider him their TV dad. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his excellent work on television and film as an actor.”
Who was John Amos?
Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Amos found his first passion in sports after falling in love with football and playing at Colorado State University. Although he graduated with a degree in social work, he tried out with the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League.
In a video shared by the Chiefs, Amos once said he was a “little better than average high school football player.”
“All I ever wanted to do my entire life was play professional football,” Amos said in the clip. “I figured this would be the best way to escape the economic stratum we seemed to be stuck in.”
Amos would later recall that Kansas City Chiefs coach Hank Stram told him, upon interrupting the future actor from his brief time with the team, “You’re not a football player, you’re a young man who happens to be playing soccer”.
After stints as a social worker and copywriter in New York, Amos turned to acting, landing the role of meteorologist Gordon “Gordy” Howard on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” which would begin his rise in Hollywood.
Small roles on other hit 1970s television shows, including “Love American Style,” “Sanford and Son” and “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” would follow. But it was his role as Mr. James Evan, the stern father in “Good Times,” that made Amos a star.
In a 2020 interview, Amos spoke about leaving the hit series after two years following a “dispute” with white writers over how the Black family at the center of the series was being portrayed.
“I felt like I knew more about what a black family should be like and how a black father would act than our writers, none of whom were black,” Amos said at the time. “Their idea of what a black family should be and what a black father would be was totally different from mine, and mine was steeped in reality.”
Amos said that the show’s creator, Norman Lear, eventually accepted his way of thinking years later. The couple reportedly reconciled and publicly embraced during the 2019 “Good Times” live TV reunion special.
Race was brought back to the forefront when Amos played Toby, the adult version of the enslaved Kunte Kinte in the critically acclaimed 1977 miniseries “Roots,” which earned Amos an Emmy nomination.
“I knew it was a transformative role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic point of view,” he told Time magazine in 2021. “It was the culmination of all the misconceptions and stereotypical roles I had experienced and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for having suffered these indignities.”
The role on “Roots” reunited him with actress Leslie Uggams, for whom he had written on his short-lived CBS variety series in the late 1960s.
Amos has appeared in other beloved roles over the years, including that of fast food restaurant owner Cleo McDowell in Eddie Murphy’s 1988 hit comedy “A Prince in New York” and its 2021 sequel.
Last year, Amos became embroiled in interpersonal family problems following allegations of elder abuse and speculation that he was experiencing health problems brought on by family members.
“To all my fans, I want you to know that I’m okay,” Amos said at the time. “I’m not in the ICU and I’ve never fought for my life.”
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This content was originally published in John Amos, actor from “A Prince in New York”, dies at 84 in the USA on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
