John Amos is best known for playing ‘James Evans, Sr.’ on the TV show ‘Good Times’ (1974-79). He first appeared in various commercials before making his debut as ‘Gordy Howard’ on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show’ from 1970 to 1973. In 1971, he made his film debut with the blaxploitation film ‘Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song’ directed by ‘Melvin Van Peebles.’ In 1973, he played the role of ‘Coach Sam Archer' in the comedy film ‘The World's Greatest Athlete.’
His major breakthrough came in 1973, when he appeared as ‘James Evans, Sr.’ on the TV show ‘Maude.’ After the show ended in 1974, John was invited on the television sitcom ‘Good Times,’ where he played the role of ‘James Evans, Sr.’ He remained on the show for 61 episodes and finally left it in 1976 after several clashes with the writers of the show. Right after parting ways with ‘Good Times,’ John Amos became a part of the crime-drama television series ‘Future Cop.’ He played the character of ‘Officer Bill Bundy’ on the show.
He played another ground-breaking character of ‘Kunta Kinte’ in the TV show called ‘Roots’ in 1977. This character earned John his first ‘Emmy Award’ nomination. John then appeared in the 1980 miniseries 'Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story.’ The series received a lukewarm response from the critics. The same year, he starred in the Gus Trikonis-directed drama film ‘Touched by Love.’
John Amos went on to make appearances in several TV shows, such as ‘Here's Boomer’ (1981), ‘Insight’ (1982), ‘The Love Boat’ (1983), ‘Hunter’ (1984-85), ‘One Life to Live’ (1986), ‘Murder, She Wrote’ (1987), ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1988), and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (1994-97).
In 1999, John Amos appeared in the serial political drama ‘The West Wing’ where he played the role of ’Admiral Percy Fitzwallace.’ He remained a part of the show till 2004. The year 2006 saw the release of the television horror film 'Voodoo Moon’ where he played the character of ‘Dutch.’ The same year, he appeared in the fantasy-comedy film ‘Dr. Dolittle 3’ directed by ‘Rich Thorne.’
After ‘Dr. Dolittle 3,’ John Amos was seen in movies like ‘Ascension Day’ (2007), ‘Lean Like a Cholo’ (2010), ‘Madea's Witness Protection’ (2012), and ‘Bad Asses on the Bayou’ (2015). In 2019, Amos played a cameo in the crime-thriller film ‘Uncut Gems.’ In 2021, he was seen in the comedy-drama film ‘Because of Charley,’ where he played the role of ‘Grandpa.’
John Amos is all set to appear in the upcoming comedy film ‘Block Party.’ He will also be seen in an upcoming action film ‘Devotion.’
