John Amos, who played the family patriarch in the hit 1970s sitcom Good Times and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the landmark 1977 miniseries Roothas died. He is 84 years old.
Amos' publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death on Tuesday. No other details were immediately available.
He played James Evans Sr Good Timeswhich featured one of the first black two-parent families on television. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-stars All in the Family And Jefferson Familyaired from 1974-79 on CBS.
“The show is the closest to a realistic depiction of life as an African-American family living in those circumstances,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.
Born John Allen Amos Jr. on December 27, 1939, in Newark, NJ, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in sociology and played on the school's football team.
He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. He signed a free agent contract in 1967 with the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing.
He had jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving in front of the camera.