John Amos, prolific actor and Army veteran from Roots, The West Wing, dead at 84
John Amos, actor, producer, activist, veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard died at the end of August at the age of 84, although it wasn’t publicly announced until October 1. His death is mired in controversy with family drama, but one thing that’s indisputable was Amos’ talent. Amos portrayed pivotal figures in key series about People of Color, such as Kunta Kinte in the Roots miniseries, James Evans Sr. in Good Times, and critically acclaimed roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Coming to America, The West Wing as a Navy Admiral and Die Hard 2. He is credited with over 120 acting roles throughout his career. Amos tried his hand at football before coming to acting. He also appeared on stage and on Broadway during his 50-plus-year career.
Amos was raised in East Orange, New Jersey,y and attended both Long Beach City College and Colorado State University, having earned a degree in sociology. He played football in college and was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. He did so well at football he played football in the UFL for the Canton Bulldogs and Joliet Explorers. Amos moved on to the Continental Football League to play for the Norfolk Neptunes and Wheeling Ironmen. He played in the Atlantic Coast Football League and finally earned a chance to play for the American Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs in 1967. His career was short-lived and he was cut by the Chiefs, returning to the Continental League to play for the Victoria Steelers.
He got his first big break on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970 as the weatherman Gordy Howard. He was on the show until 1973 and during the early 70s he appeared in a McDonald’s commercial, in Vanishing Point as a radio engineer and moved into stardom as James Evans, Sr., in the show Maude. His role as James Evans, Sr. led to being cast in the spin off of Maude named Good Times in 1974. Good Times was a big hit, and Amos played the role of a working-class father of three as the show portrayed a positive image of the African-American family. The show examined the family facing challenges in their poor neighborhood which, when the show shifted towards being more comedic, Amos objected for many reasons. He is quoted as fighting with the writers, “That just doesn’t happen in the community. We don’t think that way. We don’t act that way. We don’t let our children do that.” He left the show at the end of the third season in 1976 as he was let go by executive producer Norman Lear.
His career continuned with roles in Hunter, Police Story, The A-Team, The Cosby Show, Sanford and Son, Murder, She Wrote, The West Wing as Navy Admial Fitzwallace (Charmain of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) and many more. Most notably in Roots, the Eddie Murphy-led comedy Coming to America and its sequel Coming 2 America as Cleo McDowell and in Die Hard 2 as the treacherous Major Grant. Some of his later roles involved hit sitcoms such as Two and a Half Men, The Ranch on Netflix, and Ballers. Amos also released an album of country songs called We Were Hippies and earned an Emmy Nomination for his role in Roots. He was married twice during his life and was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2020.
