John Amos, Emmy-nominated ‘Good Times’ and ‘Roots’ actor, dies at 84

John Amos, the actor best known for playing doting father James Evans Sr. on the sitcom Good Times, has died, his publicist told ABC News. He was 84.

Amos was also known for his role as the older Kunta Kinte on the 1977 TV miniseries Roots, for which he received an Emmy nomination.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 27, 1939, Amos first tried to make it as a professional football player before he turned to acting. He is also a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and an honorary master chief of the United States Coast Guard.

Amos is best known for his role on the Norman Lear-created series Good Times opposite Esther Rolle‘s Florida Evans. The sitcom, following a Black family in Chicago and tackling subjects like poverty, drug use and inner-city crime, ran for six seasons between 1974 and 1979 — though Amos was only on the show for the first half of its run.

Elsewhere on television, Amos starred as Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show; as the adult Kunta Kinte on the landmark miniseries Roots in 1977 — which earned him an Emmy nomination; and as the recurring character Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing.

Other roles on the small screen included Maude, Hunter, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, The District, All About the Andersons, Men in Trees, Two and a Half Men and The Ranch, to name a few.

The actor appeared in numerous films, as well, including Let’s Do It Again (1975), The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990), Madea’s Witness Protection (2012) and Coming 2 America (2021). He even played himself in a small cameo in 2019’s Uncut Gems.

Amos, a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, was married twice. He is survived by his daughter, Shannon, and son K.C., both of whom he shared with his first wife, Noel Mickelson.