John Amos, who died at the age of 84, turned from a former American football player into a sought-after actor. He received recognition already in the 70s of the last century, when he acted in the TV series Good Times and the miniseries Kořeny.
The actor died on August 21 at his home in Los Angeles, his son Kelly Christopher Amos announced. “He was endlessly kind and had a heart of gold. Everyone loved him,” he said.
The New Jersey native majored in sociology. Already at school, John Amos boxed, among other things, and played American football professionally in the 1960s. He even signed a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, but the coach did not see enough potential in him.
Amos then made a name for himself on television, first with the role of weather anchor Gordy on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Fame was subsequently brought to him by appearing in more than six dozen episodes of the TV sitcom Good Times, where he portrayed a father. According to Reuters, during filming he pushed for the central black family to feel as authentic as possible and criticized the screenwriters for using racial stereotypes.
“When the show started, there wasn’t a single black person among the writers. This led to us having to tell them several times: we can’t do this, we don’t think like this, we would never say it like this,” described in an interview, the actor who was eventually fired from the series and the screenwriters attributed a fatal car accident to his character.
According to the AP, it was one of the first sitcoms to feature an all-black family. “At the time, it was probably the most faithful representation of the life of an African-American family that you could see on television,” the actor declared more conciliatoryly in 2021. Also for that reason, singer Alicia Keys later referred to the series Good Times and specifically Amos’s character in her songs. rapper Rick Ross or hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan.
John Amos and Eddie Murphy in the film Road to America. | Photo: Paramount Pictures
Czech viewers may remember Amos as the representative of the adult Kunta Kinte in the 1977 slavery miniseries Kořeny. The African native is kidnapped by slavers in his youth and taken to the USA. Amos took over the role from LeVar Burton. He portrayed the main character as a proud man who stubbornly defies his captors and will never accept his fate.
The miniseries was based on the book of the same name by Alex Haley and earned Amos a nomination for a Television Emmy Award. “I knew that this role would change my life. After so many misunderstandings and stereotypical characters, I took it as satisfaction and reward for all the hardships,” Amos later wrote in his autobiography.
Roots surpassed all expectations and became one of the most watched TV shows of its time. “I have traveled to Africa before, but after the series Roots, I started going there as often as possible,” the actor said many years later.
The next generation of viewers got to know John Amos thanks to his comedic role as a sleazy father in the 1988 movie Road to America. In it, he plays the owner of a fast food chain who tries his best to marry off his daughter. When he discovers that one of his employees, played by Eddie Murphy, is actually an African prince, he becomes ecstatic. “He’s rich,” she assures her daughter. “You did it, you hit the jackpot!” He repeated the role in the 2021 sequel.
John Amos in a photo from 2012. | Photo: Reuters
In addition, John Amos acted in the series The West Wing, which takes place in the environment of American politics, where he portrayed Admiral Fitzwallace, or in the action film Deathtrap 2 with Bruce Willis. In it he played Major Grant.
His most recent notable roles included Ed in Two and a Half Men. But he also briefly performed on New York’s Broadway. The comedy called Tough to Get Help was liked by the audience after its premiere in the 70s, they rewarded it with a standing ovation. “At that time, the success of the play was decided by the critics, and they tore it down,” the actor explained, explaining why the theater pulled the play after only one performance. In the new millennium, John Amos got a role on Broadway in the drama Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson.
