John Amos

John Allen Amos Jr. was born on December 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, where he graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He attended Long Beach City College before earning a degree in sociology from Colorado State University, playing football at both institutions. He later worked as a social worker in New York City. Amos died on August 21, 2024.

Before pursuing acting, Amos attempted a professional football career. He signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League in 1964 but was released during training camp after a pulled hamstring prevented him from completing the 40-yard dash. He subsequently played for several teams across multiple leagues, including the Canton Bulldogs, Joliet Chargers, Norfolk Neptunes, Wheeling Ironmen, Jersey City Jets, Waterbury Orbits, and Victoria Steelers. In 1967, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL, where coach Hank Stram told him, "You're not a football player, you're a man who is trying to play football."

Amos transitioned into acting and first gained wider recognition in 1971 through a McDonald's commercial alongside Anson Williams and a small part in the cult film Vanishing Point, in which he played a radio engineer opposite Cleavon Little. His first major television role came on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where he played weatherman Gordy Howard from 1970 to 1973. He went on to appear in the sitcom Maude, playing James Evans Sr. on three occasions before carrying that role into the CBS series Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1976. Amos appeared in 61 episodes of Good Times and was 34 years old when the show began production in January 1974, only eight years older than Jimmie Walker, who played his eldest son, and 19 years younger than Esther Rolle, who played his screen wife. He clashed openly with the show's writers over what he viewed as a lack of authenticity in depicting African American life and an overemphasis on Walker's character J.J. at the expense of the other Evans children. His disputes with executive producer Norman Lear led to his dismissal at the end of the third season in 1976, and his character was written out of the series.

In 1977, Amos took on one of his most celebrated roles, portraying the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark ABC miniseries Roots, based on Alex Haley's book. He became a recurring presence on The West Wing as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and co-starred in the CBS police drama The District as the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Ethan Baker. Additional television credits include Hunter, All About the Andersons, Two and a Half Men, The Ranch, and guest appearances on shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Cosby Show, The A-Team, Sanford and Son, Psych, and Murder, She Wrote. Amos was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award for his television work.

His film career included a starring role in Disney's The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) alongside Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent, and a role as Kansas City Mack in Let's Do It Again (1975) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. He appeared in The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), Lock Up (1989), in which he played Captain Meissner, and Die Hard 2 (1990), in which he portrayed Major Grant. He reprised his role from Coming to America in the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America. Amos also wrote and produced Halley's Comet, a one-man play he performed internationally.

On Broadway, Amos was active between 1972 and 1982. He starred in Tough to Get Help and appeared in "MASTER HAROLD"…and the boys. He also performed in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean on Broadway and subsequently at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Outside of his entertainment career, Amos served in the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and held the title of Honorary Master Chief of the United States Coast Guard. He was married twice, first to artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson from 1965 to 1975. Together they had two children: Shannon Amos, a writer-producer and founder of Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, and Grammy-nominated director K.C. Amos. His final acting appearance was in the television series Suits LA, which paid posthumous tribute to him with an episode entitled "Good Times."