John Amos

CrewActorProducer Dec 27 (died age 84) Newark, New Jersey, USA 1961–2025 (64 year career)

6.1 avg rating

Biography

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 "The Beastmaster" (1982), "Coming to America" (1988), "Lock Up" (1989), "Die Hard 2" (1990) and "Com…

Known For

Film

Uncut Gems

Neighbor 33F

Film

Die Hard 2

Major Grant

Film

Coming to America

Cleo McDowell

Film

Coming 2 America

Cleo McDowell

Film

Lock Up

Captain Meissner

Film

Vanishing Point

Super Soul's Engineer

Film

Me Time

Gil

Film

The Beastmaster

Seth

Filmography

Acting (108)

Movies (61)

The Last Rifleman

2023

as Lincoln Jefferson Adams

Me Time

as Gil

Block Party

as Dennis

Christmas in Miami

as Chief Host

Coming 2 America

as Cleo McDowell

Because of Charley

as Grandpa

The Beastmaster Chronicles

2020

as Self

The Truth About Santa Claus

as Bob

Uncut Gems

as Neighbor 33F

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times"

as Fred Davis

Christmas Belles

as Pop Pop

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You

as Self

Mercy for Angels

as God

Tamales and Gumbo

as The Patron

Bad Asses on the Bayou

2015

as Earl

6.0

Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration

2015

as Self / Gordy Howard (archive footage)

Act of Faith

as Mr. Brady

American Lowrider

as Slick

Madea's Witness Protection

as Pastor Nelson

Zombie Hamlet

as Edgar Mortimer

Ascension Day

as Henry

All Over Again

as Coach Zeller

Voodoo Moon

as Dutch

Dr. Dolittle 3

as Jud

Shadowboxing

as Хилл

Countdown

as Admiral Melory

My Baby's Daddy

as Uncle Virgil

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

as (archive footage)

The Watermelon Heist

as Old Man Amos

Disappearing Acts

as Mr. Swift

Something to Sing About

as Rev. Washington

The Players Club

as Freeman

The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda

as Booker Hutch

Hologram Man

as Wes Strickland

For Better or Worse

as Gray

Night Trap

as Capt. Hodges

Mac

as Nat

Ricochet

as Reverend Styles

Die Hard 2

as Major Grant

Two Evil Eyes

as Det. Legrand

Lock Up

as Captain Meissner

Coming to America

as Cleo McDowell

Bonanza: The Next Generation

as Mr. Mack

Shark's Paradise

as Taxi Driver

American Flyers

as Dr. Conrad

Dance of the Dwarfs

as Esteban

The Beastmaster

as Seth

Touched by Love

as Tony

Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story

as Bumpy Johnson

Willa

as Virgil

Cops and Robin

as Officer Bill Bundy

6.0

Future Cop

1976

as Officer Bill Bundy

5.0

Let's Do It Again

1975

as Kansas City Mack

6.9

The President's Plane Is Missing

1973

as Marine Corporal

6.2

The World's Greatest Athlete

1973

as Coach Sam Archer

5.3

Vanishing Point

1971

as Super Soul's Engineer

7.1

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

1971

as Biker

5.1

Information Processing

as Self

Devotion

as Roger

Future Cop: Cops and Robin

as Officer Bundy

John Amos: Roots of an American Legend

as Self

Television (47)

Suits LA

2025

as John Amos

6.9

The Movies That Made Us

as Self

The Last O.G.

as Uncle D

The Ranch

as Ed

Ballers

as Deacon Eller

NYC 22

as Pappy Science

Royal Pains

as Harrison Phillips

Lie to Me

as Jim Weaver

Psych

as Uncle Burton

30 Rock

as John Amos

Men in Trees

as Buzz Washington

Men in Trees

as Buzz Washington

My Name Is Earl

as Joe

Two and a Half Men

as Ed

All About the Andersons

as Joe Anderson

The District

as Ethan Baker

The West Wing

as Percy Fitzwallace

King of the Hill

as Glen Johnson (voice)

The Chris Rock Show

as Self

The Outer Limits

as Peter 'Yas' Yastrzemski

In the House

Touched by an Angel

as Sheriff James Mackey

7.2

704 Hauser

1994

as Ernie Cumberbatch

Walker, Texas Ranger

1993

as Pastor Roscoe Jones

6.9

Martin

1992

as Sgt. Strawn

7.6

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

as Fred Wilkes

Murder, She Wrote

as Doc Penrose

The Cosby Show

as Dr. Herbert

Hunter

as Capt. Dolan (uncredited)

7.1

The A-Team

1983

as Rev. Taylor

7.5

Hardcastle and McCormick

as Albie Meadows

Here's Boomer

Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story

as Bumpy Johnson

The Love Boat

as Duke Taylor

Roots

as Kunta Kinte

Future Cop

as Bill Bundy

Dinah!

as Self

Good Times

as James Evans Sr.

Police Story

as Walt Kyles

Sanford and Son

The New Dick Van Dyke Show

1971

as Mark Cooper

4.5

The Funny Side

1971

as Minority Husband

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

as Gordy Howard

Love, American Style

as Bell Captain

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

as Self

7.4

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

as Self

6.2

The Mike Douglas Show

1961

as Self

5.4

Crew (2)

Movies (1)

Althea

2014

Executive Producer

7.0

Television (1)

Suits LA

2025

In Memory Of

6.9