We had all encountered him on screen without necessarily knowing his name… An eternal supporting role in cinema and television, the African-American actor John Amos died on August 21, 2024, at the age of 84… but his son only announced it on Tuesday October 1, in a press release relayed by the Hollywood Reporter.
“He was a man with a heart of gold and he was loved by the world,” Kelly Christopher Amos said, adding that many fans considered the deceased “their TV dad.” “He had a good life. He was my father, my best friend and my hero.”
A rich and diverse career
Spanning more than five decades, John Amos’ career ‘exploded’ after he left the sitcom Good times (1974-79), one of the first series featuring an African-American family, criticizing its writers for highlighting stereotypes.
On television, we could then see him in the mini-series on slavery Rootswhich earned him an Emmy nomination, but also in At the White House, The ranch, My Uncle Percy Or Suits: LA (2024), in which he played himself.
Our “Actors” file
In the cinema, he played in some blockbusters like A prince in New York (1988), High Security (1989) or 58 Minutes to Live (1990). His last appearance dates back to 2023 with the film The Last Riflemanwith Pierce Brosnan.