Happy Birthday JOHN AMOS!!! An American actor who played James Evans, Sr. on the 1970s television series Good Times. His television work includes roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing. He also played the father of Will Smiths characters girlfriend, Lisa Wilkes, in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He has also appeared on Broadway and in numerous motion pictures in a career that spans four decades. He has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and NAACP Image Award. He was considered the best role model for black men with families in America. Amos is perhaps best known for playing characters Gordy Howard (the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show) from 1970 until 1973 and James Evans, Sr., the husband of Florida Evans, appearing three times on the sitcom Maude before continuing the role in 61 episodes of Good Times from 1974 to 1976. While playing an under-educated but hard-working middle-aged father of three on the show, in real life Amos was only 34 when the show began, only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son (Jimmie Walker) and 19 years younger than his screen wife (Esther Rolle). Amos, much like series co-star Rolle, wanted to portray a positive image of an African American family, struggling against the odds in the ghetto of Chicago, but saw the premise slighted by lower comedy, and expressed dissatisfaction. Amos was fired from the show after the third season ended because he had issues with Norman Lear and the writers of the show in regards to Jimmie Walkers character JJ. His character James Evans died in a car accident in the first episode of the fourth season, and the series continued for three more seasons without him. Norman Lear said Amos had become a disruption and Amos agrees, saying he wasnt very diplomatic about the direction of the show. Amos disagreed about the writers emphasizing J.J.s stereotypical buffoonishness including his catchphrases, funny walk and pigeon hats, fearing it was turning the program into a weekly minstrel show. His characters other son Michael wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice and his daughter Thelma wanted to be a surgeon. Amos could see the comedy that could be generated from that but the writers wanted to stay with the J.J. bits. He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the television show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District and appeared in the 1976 miniseries Roots, based on Alex Haleys book of the same name, as the older Kunta Kinte. In 1980, he starred in the TV film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story. Amos played an Archie Bunker-style character for the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser which was a modern spin-off of All In The Family, but this series was cancelled after only five episodes. He was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs for most of the show. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC series, Men in Trees. Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson in the TV series All About the Andersons in 2003. In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character, Ed, on Two and a Half Men. He has guest-starred on a number of other television programs including The A-Team, The Cosby Show, Two and a Half Men, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn (Tommys father), Touched by an Angel, Psych, My Name Is Earl, Lie to Me, and Murder, She Wrote. Amos has had roles in multiple films, such as Coming to America, Vanishing Point, The Presidents Plane is Missing, Lock Up, American Flyers, The Beastmaster and Die Hard 2. He starred in Lets Do It Again (1975) as Kansas City Mack with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. Amos was featured in Disneys The Worlds Greatest Athlete with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent. He was in Ice Cubes and Dr. Dres video for Natural Born Killaz and played a police officer in The Players Club. Amos co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in the 1989 movie Lock Up. In 1995, he appeared in the film For Better or Worse. In 2006, he played Jud in Dr. Dolittle 3. He played Uncle Virgil in My Babys Daddy. In 2012, Amos had a role in the movie Madeas Witness Protection, as Jakes father. In 2015, Amos is starring in Bad Ass 3.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 10:12:01 +0000
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