John Amos death: Star of Good Times, Roots and Coming to America, dies at 84

Staff Writers
Reuters
US TV actor John Amos has died at the age of 84, his family has confirmed. (AP PHOTO)
US TV actor John Amos has died at the age of 84, his family has confirmed. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

John Amos, the US football player turned actor who was acclaimed for his roles on the TV shows Good Times and Roots and in the film Coming To America, has died aged 84, his son says.

Amos died on August 21, but his son Kelly Christopher Amos only disclosed the news on Tuesday.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” his son said in a statement.

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“He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold ... and he was loved the world over.”

Amos played the dad, James Evans, for 61 episodes of the sitcom Good Times in the mid-1970s and also the older Kunta Kinte in the TV miniseries Roots, based on the 1976 novel about slavery by Alex Haley.

He also played the TV weatherman Gordy Howard in The Mary Tyler Moore Show in the same decade.

The actor played Cleo McDowell in Coming to America.

Amos also had a brief professional football career in the 1960s.

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