Why did John Amos leave Good Times? Inside veteran star's departure from the hit show

The news of Good Times fame John Amos’ death was conveyed on Tuesday by his son Kelly Christopher Amos. According to The New York Times, John’s publicist Belinda Foster further confirmed the news, saying the 84-year-old actor passed away on August 21.

Kelly Christopher said in a statement, as reported by Variety:

"It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned."

He praised his late father as a person with "a heart of gold", adding many fans of the 1970s sitcom saw John as their "TV father". KC added:

"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 rose to fame as James Evans Sr. — the patriarch of the Evans family on CBS network’s Good Times. Despite being a groundbreaking sitcom to represent Black role models others can look up to, John and his co-star Esther Rolle unabashedly critiqued the writing for its mockish inflection.

The rising clash of ideologies with the show's executive producer Norman Lear ultimately cost John Amos his role in the show. He was compelled to leave Good Times in 1976, after only three seasons.

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John Amos previously addressed the conflict on the Good Times set

John Amos openly expressed his disapproval with how the Good Times writers executed a flawed and derisive depiction of a Black family. The actor was especially upset with an inaccurate stereotype reflected in James' eldest son J.J. Evans' (played by Jimmie Walker) lines on the show.

John said show-writers added the expression "Dyn-o-mite!" in Jimmie’s script in almost every episode.

Both John and Esther, who played James’ wife Floria on the show, felt that the show overtly focused on sketching J.J. in a buffoonish light.

To them, it was similar to how white actors indulged in deliberate comic portrayal of racial stereotypes of Black people in the early 19th century.

John Amos and Esther felt the negative representation of J.J.'s character took away from what could have been a more inspirational essence for the Black audience.

John found issues with the portrayal of James Evans’ two other children, Thelma (played by Bern Nadette Stanis) and Michael (played by Ralph Carter) as well.

Michael aspired to be a Supreme Court Justice on the show while his sister Thelma wanted to become a surgeon. In an interview with the Archive of American Television in 2014, John Amos said:

"The differences I had with the producers of the show, I felt that there was too much emphasis being put on J.J. and his chicken hat saying 'Dyn-o-mite!' every third page, when just as much emphasis and mileage could have been gotten out of my other two children and the concomitant jokes and humor that could have come out of that."

John Amos had eventually felt the show-writers were somewhat indifferent to his insights into the life of a Black man that he acquired from real life experiences. The unresolved conflict drove him to finally leave Good Times. He told the outlet:

"I left because I was told that my services were no longer needed because I had become a 'disruptive element.' In other words, I didn't have the diplomacy that I think I've cultivated over the last 10 or 15 years."

John mocked that the creative staff could not accept him being vocal about the inaccuracies in the script, adding:

"I mean, the writers got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes."

Nonetheless, John Amos went on to further flourish as an actor in other projects throughout the rest of his career. He achieved an Emmy nomination for his role as an adult Kunta Kinte — the protagonist of the 1977 miniseries Roots.