John Amos
Encyclopedia
John Amos is an American actor and former football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player. His television work includes roles in The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...

, Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

, the miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...

 Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...

, and a recurring role in The West Wing. 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
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...

 and NAACP Image Award.

Early life and sports career

Amos was born John Amos, Jr. in Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, the son of Annabelle P. and John A. Amos, Sr., who was an auto mechanic. He graduated from East Orange (NJ) High School in 1958. He enrolled at Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...

 with a degree in sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

. Amos also played on the Colorado State Rams football
Colorado State Rams football
The Colorado State Rams football program, established in 1893, represents Colorado State University and is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference under head coach Steve Fairchild...

 team. Amos was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. In 1964, he signed a free agent contract with the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

's Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Unable to run the 40 yard dash because of a pulled hamstring, he was released on the second day of training camp. He then played with Joliet Explorers of the United Football League. In 1965 he played with the Norfolk Neptunes and Wheeling Ironmen of the Continental Football League
Continental Football League
The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...

. In 1966 he played with the Jersey City Jets and Waterbury Orbits of the Atlantic Coast Football League. In 1967, he had signed a free agent contract with the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

's Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...

. Coach Hank Stram
Hank Stram
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...

 told John "you're not a football player, you're a man who is trying to play football." John approached Coach Stram with a poem he wrote about the mythical creature that passed the door of all players who are cut from the team. He read it to the team and received a standing ovation from all the players and coaches. Amos said Coach Stram pushed him in the direction of writing after he was released from training camp. He returned to the Continental League where he played that year with the Victoria Steelers.

Acting career

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.
James Evans, Sr.
James Evans Sr. was a supporting character portrayed by TV actor John Amos in the 1970s American sitcom Good Times, from the first season in 1974, until the end of the third season in 1976....

 the sporadically-employed husband of Florida Evans
Florida Evans
Florida Evans Dixon was the fictional supporting character on the sitcom Maude and the lead character in its spin-off, Good Times. She was the hard-working mother of the Evans family...

 appearing three times on the sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

 Maude
Maude (TV series)
Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...

 before continuing the role in 61 episodes of Good Times from 1974 to 1976. While playing a chronically unemployed 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
Jimmie Walker
James Carter "Jimmie" Walker is an American actor and stand-up comedian, known for portraying J. J. Evans on the television series Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979...

) and nearly 19 years younger than his screen wife (Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...

). Amos, much like series' co-star Rolle, wanted to portray a positive image of an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 family, struggling against the odds in the ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...

 of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, but saw the premise slighted by lighter comedy, and expressed dissatisfaction. Unhappy with the scripts and tension with producers, he was fired from the show after the third season. His character James Evans died in a car accident in the first episode of the fourth season, and the series continued for two-and-a-half more seasons without him. Norman Lear
Norman Lear
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude...

 said Amos had become a disruption and Amos agrees saying he wasn't very diplomatic about the direction of the show. Amos disagreed about the writers staying with J.J.'s phrases, funny walk and "pigeon hats". His other screen children, Thelma, wanted to be a surgeon and Michael a Supreme Court Justice. Amos could see the comedy that could be generated from that but the writers wanted to stay with the J.J. bits.

Other television roles

He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the television show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 police drama The District
The District
The District is a television police drama which aired on CBS from October 7, 2000 to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s Police Department .-Premise:...

 and appeared in Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...

 as the older Kunta Kinte.

Amos played the role of an Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...

-style character for the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser
704 Hauser
704 Hauser is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from April to May 1994. A spin-off of All in the Family , the series is built around the concept of an African American family, the Cumberbatches, moving into the former Queens home of Archie Bunker years after Bunker had sold the house...

 which was a modern spin-off of All In The Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

, but this series was cancelled after only six episodes. He was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace
Percy Fitzwallace
Admiral Percy "Fitz" Fitzwallace, played by John Amos, is a fictional character on the television series The West Wing. In the universe of the show, he is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff....

. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 series, Men in Trees
Men in Trees
Men in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships...

. Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...

 in the TV series All About the Andersons
All About the Andersons
All About the Andersons is a situation comedy that originally aired on The WB Television Network from September 12, 2003 to February 12, 2004. It lasted one season before being canceled.-Premise:...

 in 2003. In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character, Ed, on Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...

.

He has guest-starred on a number of other television programs including The A-Team
The A-Team
The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a "crime they didn't commit". The A-Team was created by...

, The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...

, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...

, In the House, Martin
Martin (TV series)
Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...

 as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn (Tommy's father), Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...

, Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...

, My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...

, and Lie to Me
Lie to Me
Lie to Me is a 2009-2011 American television series.Lie to Me may also refer to:* Lie to Me , a South Korean drama series* "Lie to Me" , an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

.

Stage

Amos is the writer and producer of Halley's Comet, a critically acclaimed one-man play that he performs around the world.

Projects in development

Amos' other projects, still being developed, include Back In Shape With John Amos and T and Gangs At Sea.

Film roles

Amos has had roles in several films, such as Coming to America
Coming to America
Coming to America is a 1988 comedy film directed by John Landis. The screenplay was written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, from a story by Eddie Murphy, who also stars in the film. Murphy plays an African prince, who heads to the United States in hopes of finding a woman he can marry...

, Vanishing Point
Vanishing Point
Vanishing Point is a 1971 American action-road movie directed by Richard C. Sarafian; starring Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, and Dean Jagger....

, The Beastmaster
The Beastmaster (film)
The Beastmaster is 1982 fantasy film directed by Don Coscarelli that starred Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, John Amos and Rip Torn. The film was marketed with the tagline "Born with the courage of an eagle, the strength of a black tiger, and the power of a god."-Summary:The Beastmaster tells the story...

 and Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2
Die Hard 2 is a 1990 action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane...

. He also starred in Let's Do It Again
Let's Do It Again (1975 film)
Let's Do It Again is a 1975 film starring Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby and Jimmie Walker. Poitier also directed. The film is about blue-collar workers who decide to rig a boxing match to raise money for their fraternal lodge...

 (1975) as Kansas City Mack with Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...

 and Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...

. Amos was also featured in Disney's The World's Greatest Athlete
The World's Greatest Athlete
The World's Greatest Athlete is a 1973 American feature film released by the Walt Disney Company. It starred John Amos, Roscoe Lee Browne, Tim Conway, Dayle Haddon, and Jan-Michael Vincent...

 with Tim Conway
Tim Conway
Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...

 and Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent
Jan-Michael Vincent is an American actor best known for his role as helicopter pilot Stringfellow Hawke on the 1980s U.S. television series Airwolf .-Early life:...

. He was also in Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

's and Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...

's video for Natural Born Killaz
Natural Born Killaz
"Natural Born Killaz" is a single from the reunited duo of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube originally intended for the scrapped album 'Heltah Skeltah'. It is the first time the two had been on a single together since their rap group N.W.A had split up. The single was released in 1994 in the US and 1995 in the...

 and played a police officer in The Players Club
The Players Club
The Players Club is a 1998 comedy/drama thriller film from New Line Cinema starring Bernie Mac, LisaRaye, and Jamie Foxx. Ice Cube, who has a small role in the film, wrote and made his directorial debut. The movie made $5,894,607 in its opening week...

. Amos also co-starred with Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

 in the 1989 movie Lock Up
Lock Up (film)
- Plot :Frank Leone , a skilled mechanic and footballer, is a model prisoner nearing the end of his sentence in a low-security prison. One night while sleeping in his cell, guards arrive and forcibly take Leone to maximum security Gateway Prison...

. In 2006 he played Jud in Dr. Dolittle.

Awards

Amos has the distinction of winning more TV Land Awards
TV Land Awards
The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies...

 than anyone, taking home trophies for his roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...

, Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

 and the TV miniseries Roots
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...

.

Personal life

John Amos is a veteran of the 50th Armored Division
50th Armored Division (United States)
The 50th Armored Division was a division of the Army National Guard from July 1946 until 1993.-History:On 13 October 1945 the War Department published a postwar policy statement for the entire Army, calling for a 27-division Army National Guard structure with 25 infantry divisions and 2 armored...

 of the New Jersey National Guard
New Jersey National Guard
The New Jersey Army National Guard consists of over 9000 Guardsmen. The Guard is currently engaged in several worldwide and homeland missions. Units have deployed to Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Germany and Egypt...

 and Honorary Master Chief
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...

 of the U.S. Coast Guard. He is father to daughter Shannon Amos the founder of Afterglow Multimedia and son writer/director/producer K.C. Amos, and grandfather to Quiera and Jhazz.

Amos has lived in Mexico for the last decade and enjoys fishing. Amos has been a resident of Tewksbury Township, New Jersey
Tewksbury Township, New Jersey
Tewksbury Township is a Township located in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and is located within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 5,993...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK