The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / John Amos, The Dad On "Good Times" & Star Of Roots, Dies At 84

**Posted by RadioActive** October 1, 2024 2:58 pm

He was one of the first actors to appear in a show that tried to depict a functioning and normal - if poor - Black American family. John Amos made that a key requisite for playing the father in the Norman Lear classic "Good Times." (He would later be written out of the series after the clownish character of J.J., played by Jimmie "Dynomite" Walker, began to dominate the show and it lost its original focus.)

He also appeared in the seminal miniseries "Roots," playing the key role of Kunta Kinte, the adult version of an African slave. (Levar Burton became a star as the younger character.)

Some may also remember him in a very different role - Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Amos was 84.

John Amos, patriarch on ‘Good Times’ and an Emmy nominee for the blockbuster ‘Roots,’ dies at 84

**Posted by Capricasix** October 1, 2024 3:10 pm

It’s been a rough few days for the entertainment world - first Maggie Smith, then Kris Kristofferson, now John Amos.

I didn’t watch Good Times during its first run (I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it as I was younger than 10 years old), but a few years ago I watched the whole series through on Antenna TV.

A very minor role for him, but I remember when he played the father of one of Will’s girlfriends on Fresh Prince.

**Posted by Radiowiz** October 1, 2024 4:05 pm

So...nobody's living to be 100 anymore? Crazy...

**Posted by RadioActive** October 1, 2024 4:25 pm

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter just made it if that means anything

**Posted by Buzzy Krumhunger** October 1, 2024 4:47 pm

John Amos passed on August 21, 2024. Hollywood Reporter posted his death notice with an October 1, 2024 date on the byline. Everyone picks it up and runs with it.
A shame there are no reporters on the Hollywood Reporter.

**Posted by RadioActive** October 1, 2024 5:04 pm

He died in August, but the official announcement and confirmation wasn't made until now. You can't report what you're not told about. And I doubt there were a lot of reporters on the John Amos death watch. That doesn't excuse it, but I don't blame news sources for going with the first word they got about it. If the family chose to keep it quiet, that was their choice.

**Posted by Buzzy Krumhunger** October 1, 2024 5:28 pm

I could’ve sworn I heard of his passing over a month ago. Good grief, did I imagine this? Swear to God I’m not a drinking man on duty ☹️

**Posted by RadioActive** October 1, 2024 5:34 pm

Maybe you recall this very bizarre story about Amos needing care and his family going to war against itself. In the end, Amos claimed he was fine and didn't want any extra help. But it tore his family apart and was the final battle of his life. Very sad way to go out knowing this was going on between his kids.

John Amos and a Family at War With Itself

**Posted by RadioActive** October 2, 2024 5:29 pm

This is just sad.

John Amos’ Daughter Shannon Says She Learned of Father’s Death in Media

**Posted by Saul** **Online!** October 2, 2024 5:56 pm

Reading this ... what strikes me as sad is peoples' intimate, personal lives being so public...
And celebrities aside ...
It amazes me when people on social media open up there about how they feel about their jobs or their employer, how they're coping or not coping with depression, and whatever other personal disappointments they have. It's not that I don't care about Facebook and other social media 'friends' - a handful of whom I consider real friends - I wish everyone abundant happiness and joy. But I wonder about this need some seem to have to open up to the world, or at least to a whole lot of people who somehow, even vaguely might or might not know them. And of course a potential myriad of inintended consequences.
The link to Amos' daughter's story somehow got me thinking about this...

Last edited by Saul (October 2, 2024 6:06 pm)