John Amos Dead: Beloved ‘Good Times’ Actor Dies at 84 of Natural Causes, Son Shares Statement

John Amos, the actor known for portraying patriarch James Evans Sr. on Good Times, has died. He was 84.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” his son Kelly Christopher “KC”Amos said in a statement obtained by Variety on Tuesday, October 1. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold … and he was loved the world over. Many fans consider him their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life … most recently in Suits LA playing himself and our documentary about his life journey as an actor, ‘America’s Dad.’ He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero. Thank you for your prayers and support at this time.”

John passed away on August 21 in Los Angeles of natural causes. In addition to starring in Good Times from 1974 to 1976, he also acted in Roots and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

John’s exit from Good Times ultimately came after he realized that producers’ “perception or their idea of what a Black family would be and what a Black father would be was totally different from mine, and mine was steeped in reality,” he told VladTV in a 2020 interview.

“I had a way of voicing my differences against the script that weren’t acceptable to the creative staff,” the Ballers actor explained. “I mean, the writers got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes.”

In particular, John voiced his frustrations with the storyline of Good Times character J.J. Evans. The show was developed by Norman Lear, who died at age 101 in December 2023.

“We had a number of differences,” he said in an interview with the TV Academy Foundation in 2014. “I felt too much emphasis was being put on J.J. in his chicken hat, saying ‘Dy-no-mite!’ every third page. I felt just as much emphasis and mileage could have been gotten out of my other two children, one of whom aspired to become a Supreme Court justice, played by Ralph Carter, and the other, BernNadette Stanis, who aspired to become a surgeon.”

“But I wasn’t the most diplomatic guy in those days, and [the show’s producers] got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes,” John continued. “So they said, ‘Tell you what, why don’t we kill him off? We can get on with our lives!’ That taught me a lesson — I wasn’t as important as I thought I was to the show or to Norman Lear’s plans.”

About Roots, John said, “It was just what I needed. It took the bad taste of Good Times out of my mouth – not that Good Times had been all bad, but the circumstances under which I left and the acrimony between Norman Lear and myself … I realize that a lot of it I brought on myself. I was not the easiest guy in the world to get along with, or to direct,” he said. “I challenged any and everybody.”