How John Amos Changed Good Times Forever - Even After Getting Fired

John Amos has a long and storied acting legacy, which is why the "Good Times" actor's August 21, 2024, passing is so incredibly sad. He'd stayed active right up to the end of his life and even had three projects in the pipeline when he died. But fans of his work will always remember him as patriarch James Evans Sr. on the CBS sitcom "Good Times." Not only did James live a memorable life, his death was a tragically iconic moment in the show's history.  

It only happened because Amos had a huge problem with how the show's characters were being written — and wasn't shy about bringing it up to the sitcom's writing staff. The resulting tussle with series producer Norman Lear resulted in Amos being fired. Not only did he change the course of the show's trajectory, he managed to change the way his own acting career would go. While everything turned out for the best, Amos still managed to change "Good Times" forever with the strength of his conviction — long after James Evans was killed off and he moved on with his own career.

In spite of the fact that "Good Times" was a roaring ratings success, John Amos wasn't thrilled with the quality of the sitcom's writing, especially how breakout character J.J. (Jimmie "JJ" Walker) was portrayed. 

"The truth of it was when the show first started, we had no African American writers on the show, and some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say, 'Uh uh, we can't do this, we can't do that.' And they'd say, 'What do you mean we can't do this?'" Amos told Sway in the Morning in 2017. While the show was created by two Black men, Eric Monte and Mike Evans, there weren't many other African American writers on staff. Amos wasn't afraid to point out the cultural blunders in his scripts to the writing room and the show's producers, which displeased one and all.

Even worse, Amos felt that they were centering one of the Evans children over the other two. "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," he explained to the Television Academy in a 2014 interview. 

Amos continued to bring his frustration with the writing team up to them, ultimately leading to a showdown with executive producer Norman Lear. Lear fired Amos instead of addressing his concerns, choosing to get rid of James. "I wasn't the most diplomatic guy in those days, and they got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes," Amos said. "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 — that I wasn't as important as I thought I was to the show or to Norman Lear's plans."

Amos wasn't alone in being upset about the quality of the writing. Esther Rolle, too, had issues with how J.J. was being written. She lasted for one more season before her character, Florida, was written off at the end of Season 4. Rolle would later be coaxed back to the show to help bring it to its conclusion in Season 6.

There was only one option left for Norman Lear after firing John Amos, and that was killing off James Evans. That happens in the two-part Season 4 premiere, "The Big Move." Once again, the Evans family is teased with a hopeful new beginning. James landed a promising new job in Mississippi, and the family plans on moving down to join him. Their happiness is interrupted by a telegram announcing James' death in a car accident. Over a two-episode span, the children mourn but Florida doesn't seem to be able to grieve. That is, until she smashes a punchbowl on the floor and comes forth with an iconic "damn, damn, damn!" that opens the floodgates and finally allows her to mourn her loss.

Florida ends up leaving "Good Times" at the end of that very season, going to Phoenix with her new boyfriend, Carl. When she's coaxed back to Chicago during Season 6 to help Thelma (Bern Nadette Stanis) plan her wedding to Keith Anderson (Ben Powers), she ends up staying in Chicago. At the end of the series, James' dreams of prosperity for his family come true, as J.J. finally finds a successful outlet for his art, Michael (Ralph Carter) goes to college, and Keith, a pregnant Thelma, and Florida all move into a fancy apartment building when Keith gets a contract with a football team. They end up being next-door neighbors to Penny (Janet Jackson) and Willona (Ja'Net DuBois) once again.

John Amos' career definitely didn't end with "Good Times." Right after he was fired, he landed the role of an adult Kunta Kinte in the miniseries "Roots." He followed that up with film parts in "The Beastmaster," "Doctor Doolittle 3," "Maedea's Witness Protection," and "Coming to America." On the small screen, he was a regular presence in series like "Hunter," "All About the Andersons," "The West Wing," and "Men in Trees." In 2021, he notably reprised his role as fast food restaurant owner Cleo McDowell (who definitely does not own that other hamburger giant) in the sequel film "Coming 2 America."

He even had a role in the pilot for the upcoming "Suits" sequel series, "Suits L.A." With his passing, the part will be recast, but he's left a long and lasting legacy in the entertainment industry, and will forever be missed.