John Amos
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| John Amos | |
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 Amos at the Coast Guard Activity in New York, July 2000 |
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| Born | December 27, 1939 Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Occupation | Actor, Athlete |
| Years active | 1970 - present |
| Spouse(s) | Elisabete De Sousa-Amos |
John Amos (born December 27, 1939) is an Emmy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning American actor and former football player. He is best known for his TV roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Good Times, his Emmy-nominated turn in the miniseries Roots, 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.
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Early life
Amos was born John Amos, Jr. in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Annabelle P. and John A. Amos, Sr., who was an auto mechanic.[1] He attended Colorado State University.[2] Amos was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. In 1967, he had a tryout with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs (he was released in training camp, though he did play semi-pro football).
Career
Good Times
Amos is perhaps best known for playing the characters of Gordy Howard, the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970 until 1973 and James Evans, Sr. ,the role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of Florida Evans, first appearing three times on the sitcom Maude, and then recreated the role in 63 episodes of Good Times from 1974 to 1976. Ironically, although he played the part of the chronically unemployed father of three on the show, in reality Amos is only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son:Jimmie Walker, and nearly 20 years younger than his screen wife, Esther Rolle. Amos, much like series' co-star Esther 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 lighter comedy, and expressed his dissatisfaction. Unhappy with the scripts and tension with the producers, he was fired from the show after the third season. Many critics contend that the series "jumped the shark" at that time, and that it was never the same again.
Other television roles
Amos was part of the Emmy award winning cast on the miniseries Roots playing the adult Kunta Kinte in 1977. He also portrayed Captain Dolan on television show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District, and has guest-starred on a number of other television programs including The Cosby Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, The A-Team, and Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strong (Tommy's Dad). He was a frequent guest on The West Wing, portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is currently playing a pilot in a remote Alaskan town, Buzz Washington, in the ABC series, Men in Trees. He also appeared in a Season 1 episode of "Touched by An Angel," although he was credited as Jon (not John) Amos. Most recently, he guest starred on USA Network's original drama/comedy Psych. Amos also costarred with Anthony Anderson in a TV series called All About the Andersons in 2003.
Film roles
Amos has had roles in several films, such as Coming to America, Vanishing Point, The Beastmaster and Die Hard 2. He also starred in Let's Do It Again (1975) as Kansas City Mack with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier. Amos was also featured in the movie The World's Greatest Athlete with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent. He was also in Ice Cube's and Dr. Dre's video for Natural Born Killaz and played a police officer in The Players Club. Amos also played Prison Capt. Meissner, co-starring with Sylvester Stallone in the 1989 movie Lock Up.
Amos is currently represented by Hollywood agent Preeth Kumar Sangavaram, who also manages the careers of Arsenio Hall and Eriq La Salle, both of whom appeared with Amos in the 1988 comedy Coming to America.
Personal life
Amos is married to Elisabete De Sousa-Amos.[3]
He is a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard.[4]
Quotes
"There are three stages to an actor's career: who is John Amos, get me John Amos, and get me a young John Amos!"
References
External links
- John Amos (I) at the Internet Movie Database
- John Amos at the Internet Broadway Database
- John Amos at Allmovie
- John Amos at TV.com
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Amos, John |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Amos, John Jr. |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor, Athlete |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 27, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
