Trigger Warning: This article contains mention of death.
John Amos, who created an imprint in the world of acting by starring in multiple projects including Good Times, revealed in 2020 that he was fired from the beloved show after featuring in its three seasons.
Good Times was produced by Norman Lear and it premiered in 1974 on CBS. The show’s premise was around a poor Black family’s life who lived in the housing projects of Chicago. Amos conversed with Vlad TV in 2020 and recalled being let go from the show.
During his interview, he told the outlet about the difficulty he had with the sitcom’s writers during his time on the show. The actor told the publication about feeling like he knew more than the writers about what a Black family show be and how a Black father would be like.
He added, “None of whom were Black and their perception of what a Black family would be and Black father would be was totally different from mine.”
The legendary star further talked about having some emotionally charged conversations with Lear, after which the writers became a bit open to taking notes and suggestions on how to make the show relatable and honest. The late actor also confessed that his delivery of those notes was not always perfect.
Amos shared with the publication, “I wasn’t very tactful in my complaints about the script or script points.” He also talked about not being a “diplomatic” person which would often end in him saying “Well, let’s go outside,” and those Hollywood writers were not used to that.
This ended up at a stage where the writers had enough of working with Amos and this resulted in him losing his job ahead of the show’s season four. This in a way shows, how important of a role proper representation plays, which has been a consistent problem in Hollywood.
But even after this Amos and Lear’s working relationship did not end as they worked together in three more pilots and established a good dynamic between them. They came together decades later in 2019 for Live In Front Of The Studio Audience: All In The Family and Good Times.
Apart from Amos, the Good Times show also starred Esther Rolle, Johnny Brown, Janet Jackson, Jimmie ‘JJ’ Walker, Ralph Carter, Ja’net DuBois, Bern Nadette Stanis, and many more.
Along with his extensive filmography, Amos’s role as James Evans Sr. in Good Times will always be remembered and cherished by everyone as he lit up the screens every time he appeared on it. He passed away on August 21. 2024 in Los Angeles of natural causes. This tragic news was shared by his son, Kelly Christopher ‘K.C’ Amos in a statement to People magazine.
