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 A native of New Jersey and son of a mechanic, African-American John Amos has relied on his imposing build, eruptive nature and strong, forceful looks to obtain acting jobs, and a serious desire for better roles to earn a satisfying place in the annals of film and TV. He has found it a constant uphill battle to further himself in an industry that tends to diminish an actor's talents with severe and/or demeaning stereotypes and easy pigeonholing. A tough, often hot-headed guy with a somewhat tender side, John would succeed far better on stage than on film and TV...with one extremely noteworthy exceptions.Born on December 27, 1939, John was first employed as an advertising copywriter, a social worker at New York's Vera Institute of Justice, and an American and Canadian semi-professional football player before receiving his calling as an actor. A stand-up comic on the Greenwich Village circuit, the work eventually took him West and, ultimately, led to his hiring as a staff writer on Leslie Uggams' musical variety show in 1969. Making his legit stage debut in a 1971 L.A. production of the comedy "Norman, Is That You?", John went on to earn a Los Angeles Drama Critics nomination for "Best Actor". As such, he formed his own theater company and produced "Norman, Is That You?" on tour.The following year he returned to New York to take his first Broadway bow in "Tough To Get Help". By this time he had secured secondary work on the classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) as Gordy the weatherman. His character remained on the periphery, however, and he left the show after three discouraging seasons. On the bright side, he won the recurring role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of maid Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) on Norman Lear's Maude (1972) starring Bea Arthur. The two characters were spun-off into their own popular series as the parental leads in Good Times (1974).Good Times (1974), a family sitcom that took place in a Chicago ghetto high-rise, initially prided itself as being the first network series ever to be created by African-Americans. But subsequent episodes were taken over by others and John was increasingly disgruntled by the lack of quality of the scripts and the direction Lear was taking the show. Once focused on the importance of family values, it was shifting more and more toward the silly antics of Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who was becoming a runaway hit on the show as the aimless, egotistical, jive-talking teenage son JJ. John began frequently clashing with the higher-ups and, by 1976, was released from the series, with his character being killed in an off-camera car accident while finding employment out of state.Amos rebounded quickly when he won the Emmy-nominated role of the adult Kunte Kinte in the ground-breaking epic mini-series Roots (1977), one of the most powerful and reverential TV features ever to hit television. It was THE TV role of his career, but he found other quality roles for other black actors extremely difficult to come by. He tried his best to avoid the dim-headed lugs and crime-motivated characters that came his way. Along with a few parts (the mini-movie Willa (1979) and the films The Beastmaster (1982) and Coming to America (1988)), he had to endure the mediocre (guest spots on The Love Boat (1977), "The A-Team", "Murder, She Wrote" "One Life to Live"). John also toiled through a number of action-themed films that focused more on grit and testosterone than talent.He found one answer to this acting dilemma on the proscenium stage. In 1985, the play "Split Second" earned him the NAACP Award as Best Actor. He also received fine reviews in a Berkshire Theater festival production of "The Boys Next Door", a tour of O'Neill's towering play "The Emperor Jones", and in a Detroit production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...and The Boys". In addition, John directed two well-received productions, "Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" and "Twelve Angry Men", in the Bahamas. He took on Shakespeare as Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare and earned strong notices in the late August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences" at the Capital Repertory Company in Albany, New York. Overseas he received plaudits for his appearance in a heralded production of "The Life and Death of a Buffalo Soldier" at the Bristol's Old Vic in England. Capping his theatrical career was the 1990 inaugural of his one-man show "Halley's Comet", an amusing and humanistic American journey into the life of an 87-year-old who recalls, among other things, World War II, the golden age of radio, the early civil rights movement, and the sighting of the Comet when he was 11. He wrote and has frequently directed the show, which continues to play into the 2007-2008 season.In recent years, John has enjoyed recurring parts on "The West Wing" and "The District", and is more recently appearing in the offbeat series Men in Trees (2006) starring Anne Heche. John Amos has two children by his former wife Noel Amos and two children. Son K.C. Amos director, writer, producer, editor and daughter Shannon Amos a director, writer and producer. Amos has one grand child,a grand-daughter, Quiera Williams.
Bio:
A native of New Jersey and son of a mechanic, African-American John Amos has relied on his imposing build, eruptive nature and strong, forceful looks to obtain acting jobs, and a serious desire for better roles to earn a satisfying place in the annals of film and TV. He has found it a constant uphill battle to further himself in an industry that tends to diminish an actor's talents with severe and/or demeaning stereotypes and easy pigeonholing. A tough, often hot-headed guy with a somewhat tender side, John would succeed far better on stage than on film and TV...with one extremely noteworthy exceptions.Born on December 27, 1939, John was first employed as an advertising copywriter, a social worker at New York's Vera Institute of Justice, and an American and Canadian semi-professional football player before receiving his calling as an actor. A stand-up comic on the Greenwich Village circuit, the work eventually took him West and, ultimately, led to his hiring as a staff writer on Leslie Uggams' musical variety show in 1969. Making his legit stage debut in a 1971 L.A. production of the comedy "Norman, Is That You?", John went on to earn a Los Angeles Drama Critics nomination for "Best Actor". As such, he formed his own theater company and produced "Norman, Is That You?" on tour.The following year he returned to New York to take his first Broadway bow in "Tough To Get Help". By this time he had secured secondary work on the classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970) as Gordy the weatherman. His character remained on the periphery, however, and he left the show after three discouraging seasons. On the bright side, he won the recurring role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of maid Florida Evans (played by Esther Rolle) on Norman Lear's Maude (1972) starring Bea Arthur. The two characters were spun-off into their own popular series as the parental leads in Good Times (1974).Good Times (1974), a family sitcom that took place in a Chicago ghetto high-rise, initially prided itself as being the first network series ever to be created by African-Americans. But subsequent episodes were taken over by others and John was increasingly disgruntled by the lack of quality of the scripts and the direction Lear was taking the show. Once focused on the importance of family values, it was shifting more and more toward the silly antics of Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who was becoming a runaway hit on the show as the aimless, egotistical, jive-talking teenage son JJ. John began frequently clashing with the higher-ups and, by 1976, was released from the series, with his character being killed in an off-camera car accident while finding employment out of state.Amos rebounded quickly when he won the Emmy-nominated role of the adult Kunte Kinte in the ground-breaking epic mini-series Roots (1977), one of the most powerful and reverential TV features ever to hit television. It was THE TV role of his career, but he found other quality roles for other black actors extremely difficult to come by. He tried his best to avoid the dim-headed lugs and crime-motivated characters that came his way. Along with a few parts (the mini-movie Willa (1979) and the films The Beastmaster (1982) and Coming to America (1988)), he had to endure the mediocre (guest spots on The Love Boat (1977), "The A-Team", "Murder, She Wrote" "One Life to Live"). John also toiled through a number of action-themed films that focused more on grit and testosterone than talent.He found one answer to this acting dilemma on the proscenium stage. In 1985, the play "Split Second" earned him the NAACP Award as Best Actor. He also received fine reviews in a Berkshire Theater festival production of "The Boys Next Door", a tour of O'Neill's towering play "The Emperor Jones", and in a Detroit production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold...and The Boys". In addition, John directed two well-received productions, "Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" and "Twelve Angry Men", in the Bahamas. He took on Shakespeare as Sir Toby Belch in "Twelfth Night" at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare and earned strong notices in the late August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences" at the Capital Repertory Company in Albany, New York. Overseas he received plaudits for his appearance in a heralded production of "The Life and Death of a Buffalo Soldier" at the Bristol's Old Vic in England. Capping his theatrical career was the 1990 inaugural of his one-man show "Halley's Comet", an amusing and humanistic American journey into the life of an 87-year-old who recalls, among other things, World War II, the golden age of radio, the early civil rights movement, and the sighting of the Comet when he was 11. He wrote and has frequently directed the show, which continues to play into the 2007-2008 season.In recent years, John has enjoyed recurring parts on "The West Wing" and "The District", and is more recently appearing in the offbeat series Men in Trees (2006) starring Anne Heche. John Amos has two children by his former wife Noel Amos and two children. Son K.C. Amos director, writer, producer, editor and daughter Shannon Amos a director, writer and producer. Amos has one grand child,a grand-daughter, Quiera Williams.
Tivia:
Amos was once a Golden Gloves boxing champion.Signed a free agent contract with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs but was later strongly urged by Head Coach Hank Stram to pursue his heart as a writer.Played college football at Colorado State University.Was also a social worker (he headed New York's Vera Institute of Justice) and an advertising copywriter prior to pursuing a career as an actor.Amos was cast as the Evans family's father in Good Times (1974) despite being only eight years older than Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who portrayed oldest son J.J., and nearly nineteen years younger than Esther Rolle, who played his wife, Florida. This was not unusual in African-American comedies in the 1970s produced by Norman Lear. In The Jeffersons (1975), Sherman Hemsley, who portrayed husband George, was about twenty and one half years younger than Isabel Sanford, who portrayed wife Louise.Has also written comedy material for television and performed stand-up comedy in New York City's Greenwich Village.Played professional football for the Norfolk Neptunes in the late 1960'sQuit Good Times (1974) over complaints directed at him, by fans and friends, that the show was not a pleasant portrait of African-American life and somewhat insulting. To explain his absence from the show, his character on was killed in a car accident, ensuring his choice to leave was permanent. Unknown to Amos at the time of his resignation from the Good Times cast, but he was almost immediately cast in a little show named Roots (1977).Although he played Leslie Uggams's father in Roots (1977), he is only three years her senior in real life.Father of K.C. Amos and Shannon Amos.As of January 1, 2022, he is the last adult survivor of the recurring performers on the Mary Tyler Moore show and the last survivor from his generation of actors playing parents of older children on the Norman Lear comedies of the seventies. Lisa Gerritsen, who was twelve years old when she started on MTM, is also still alive.He was inducted into the 2019-2020 Class of New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category.In 1972, he appeared with his future Good Times son, then ten year old Ralph Carter, in the Broadway comedy, Tough to Get Help. The play, that was directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Gordon of Arthur fame, closed on opening night.He was spotted observing one of the trials of mobster John Gotti.Friends with Bea Arthur and Louis Gossett Jr..Son of John Amos Sr..According to the Chinese calendar, he was born in the Year of the Rabbit.Grandfather of Quiera Williams. |
| Name: |
John Amos |
Type: |
Actor,Writer,Producer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:24:25 |
| Height: |
6' (1.83 m) |
| Biography: |
A native of New Jersey and son of a mechanic, African-American John Amos has relied on his imposing build, eruptive nature and strong, forceful looks to obtain acting jobs, and a serious desire for better roles to earn a satisfying place in the annal |
| Trivia: |
Amos was once a Golden Gloves boxing champion.Signed a free agent contract with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs but was later strongly urged by Head Coach Hank Stram to pursue his heart as a writer.Played college football at Colorado State University.Was also a social worker (he headed New York's Vera Institute of Justice) and an advertising copywriter prior to pursuing a career as an actor.Amos was cast as the Evans family's father in Good Times (1974) despite being only eight years older than Jimmie 'JJ' Walker, who portrayed oldest son J.J., and nearly nineteen years younger than Esther Rolle, who played his wife, Florida. This was not unusual in African-American comedies in the 1970s produced by Norman Lear. In The Jeffersons (1975), Sherman Hemsley, who portrayed husband George, was about twenty and one half years younger than Isabel Sanford, who portrayed wife Louise.Has also written comedy material for television and performed stand-up comedy in New York City's Greenwich Village.Played professional football for the Norfolk Neptunes in the late 1960'sQuit Good Times (1974) over complaints directed at him, by fans and friends, that the show was not a pleasant portrait of African-American life and somewhat insulting. To explain his absence from the show, his character on was killed in a car accident, ensuring his choice to leave was permanent. Unknown to Amos at the time of his resignation from the Good Times cast, but he was almost immediately cast in a little show named Roots (1977).Although he played Leslie Uggams's father in Roots (1977), he is only three years her senior in real life.Father of K.C. Amos and Shannon Amos.As of January 1, 2022, he is the last adult survivor of the recurring performers on the Mary Tyler Moore show and the last survivor from his generation of actors playing parents of older children on the Norman Lear comedies of the seventies. Lisa Gerritsen, who was twelve years old when she started on MTM, is also still alive.He was inducted into the 2019-2020 Class of New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category.In 1972, he appeared with his future Good Times son, then ten year old Ralph Carter, in the Broadway comedy, Tough to Get Help. The play, that was directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Gordon of Arthur fame, closed on opening night.He was spotted observing one of the trials of mobster John Gotti.Friends with Bea Arthur and Louis Gossett Jr..Son of John Amos Sr..According to the Chinese calendar, he was born in the Year of the Rabbit.Grandfather of Quiera Williams. |
| Trademarks: |
During the '70s, he often played characters much older than his real-life age. |
| Quotes: |
There are three stages in an actor's career: Who is John Amos? Get me John Amos. Get me a young John Amos.
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I love my work and am grateful to God to have a profession that brings joy to so many.
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They killed my character off and, as God would have it, just when they told me I would never work again I got cast in a little program called Roots (1977) and, as they would say, the rest is history. |
| Job title: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Others works: |
(1971) TV commercial: McDonalds Restaurants.
Music video: Appeared in the Dr. Dre and Ice Cube video "Natural Born Killaz".
(1989) Stage: Appeared in "Pass Is the Pass" by Richard Wesley.k NOTE: He reunited with his Good Times (1974) |
| Spouse: |
Lillian Lehman (February 12, 1978 - November 28, 1979) (divorced, 2 children)Noel Jean Mickelson (December 27, 1965 - August 1975) (divorced, 2 children)Elisabete de Sousa (divorced, 2 children) |
| Children: |
K.C. AmosShannon Amos |
| Parents: |
John Amos Sr.
Annabelle P. Amos |
| Relatives: |
Quiera Williams (Grandchild) |
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