Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
OverviewAI-generated
John Amos, born on 27 December 1939 in Newark, was an American television actor, film actor, stage actor and filmmaker. He served in the United States Army and was educated at Colorado State University, where he was a member of the Colorado State Rams. Amos began his career in 1970 and had two children. His work includes The Last Rifleman. He died of heart failure on 21 August 2024, in Los Angeles, Inglewood.
Synthesized by Vinony from 24 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Newark, New Jersey, USA
John Amos (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) was an American actor and retired football player. He is best known for his role as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries "Roots" and for portraying James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series "Good Times." He was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. On film, he played numerous supporting roles in movies such as…
Known for
- Suits LA — John Amos2025
- The Last Rifleman — Lincoln Jefferson Adams2023
- Block Party — Dennis2022
- Me Time — Gil2022
- Christmas in Miami — Chief Host2021
- Coming 2 America — Cleo McDowell2021
- Because of Charley — Grandpa2021
- The Truth About Santa Claus — Bob2020
- The Beastmaster Chronicles — Self2020
- Uncut Gems — Neighbor 33F2019
via TMDB
Key facts
- Born
- John Allen Amos Jr. , ( 1939-12-27 ) December 27, 1939, Newark, New Jersey , U.S.
- Died
- August 21, 2024 (2024-08-21) (aged 84), Inglewood, California , U.S.
- Alma mater
- Long Beach City College , Colorado State University ( BA )
- Occupation
- Actor
- Years active
- 1970–2024
- Known for
- Kunta Kinte (adult) – Roots James Evans Sr. – Good Times Percy Fitzwallace – The West Wing
- Spouses
- Noel J. Mickelson ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1965 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1975 ) Lillian Lehman ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1978 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1979 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- John
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Newark
- Place of death
- Inglewood
- Occupation
- stage actor
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Notable work
- The Last Rifleman
- Member of team
- Colorado State Rams
- Country for sport
- United States
- Military branch
- United States Army
- Image
- John Amos 2011.jpg
- Number of children
- 2
Show 7 more facts
- date of birth
- 1939-12-27
- Commons category
- John Amos
- start of work period
- 1970-00-00
- date of death
- 2024-08-21
- end of work period
- 2024-00-00
- cause of death
- heart failure
- manner of death
- natural causes
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times. His other well known roles were as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying Captain Meissner in Lock Up (1989) and Major Grant in Die Hard 2 (1990). His other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show, a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing, and the role of the Mayor of Washington DC Ethan Baker in the series The District. Amos was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award. In film, he played numerous supporting roles in movies such as The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), and Coming 2 America (2021).
Early life
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “John Amos” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.