Was John Amos fired from Good Times? The truth behind his character’s exit – Hollywood Life

John Amos died of natural causes on August 21 in Los Angeles, his representative confirmed on Tuesday. He was 84.

“With a career spanning five decades, Amos leaves behind a legacy of groundbreaking work in both television and film, along with his commitment to positive representation of African Americans in the media,” the statement said.

The late actor is best known for his role as James Evans Sr good times, In it he portrayed a hard-working father who strives to provide for his family in a challenging environment. However, his character was written out in season 4 and died in a car accident.

Here’s everything you need to know about how this decision came about.

Was John Amos fired? Good times?

Good times achieved high ratings and was praised for making television history as one of the first sitcoms to feature an all-black cast Norman Lear‘S The Jeffersons (1975-85). Both Amos and Esther Rolewho played his wife Florida Evans, felt that the black members of the production still needed to make progress. They pressured Lear to allow them to change the scripts, which had largely been written by white authors.

Chronicles the problems and hardships of a black working-class family living in the Chicago projects, Good times (1974-79), which aired on CBS, never shied away from the harsh realities of life in public housing. The show tackled issues such as racial bigotry, drug abuse, and poverty while maintaining a sense of humor.

Despite its critical success, Amos felt the show leaned too heavily into comedy. At one point, while reminiscing about his roots with a childhood friend, his character James recalls that he was so poor that while other kids had patches on their clothes, he had “patches on my patch!”

“I had a way of expressing my differences with the script that was not acceptable to the creative staff,” Amos explained.

Amos’ openness, which was initially welcomed, eventually led to his dismissal in 1976 because he was considered a “disruptive element,” as he mentioned in an interview with the SiriusXM show Sway in the morning. He is from season 4 and his character died in a car accident.

“I wasn’t the most diplomatic guy back then, and [the show’s producers] “I was tired of her life being threatened because of jokes,” he continued. “So they said, ‘You want something, why don’t we kill him?’ We can move on with our lives!’ That taught me a lesson: I wasn’t as important to the show or Norman Lear’s plans as I thought.”