John Amos

JOHN AMOS, New Jersey native, is an American actor, director, writer and former football player.

John's career begins from an incident with American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Coach Hank Stram told John, "You're not a football player. You're a man who is trying to play football."

Stand-up comedy on the Greenwich Village circuit, leads him to staff writing on Leslie Uggams' 1969 musical variety show. Making his legit stage debut in a 1971 Los Angeles production of the comedy "Norman, Is That You?," John earns an LA Drama Critics nomination for Best Actor, later forming his own theater company and producing "Norman, Is That You?" on tour.

Returning to New York to take his first Broadway bow in "Tough To Get Help," John secures secondary work on the classic "Mary Tyler Moore" (1970) as ‘Gordy' the weatherman, then wins a coveted recurring role of the sporadically-unemployed husband of maid ‘Florida Evans' (played by Esther Rolle) on Norman Lear's "Maude" (1972) starring Bea Arthur; characters spin-off into their own popular series as the parental leads in "Good Times" (1974), the first network series ever to be created by African-Americans is a family sitcom that takes place in a Chicago ghetto high-rise.

Now a TV pioneer, John's next project, one of the most powerful and reverential TV features ever to hit television: the ground-breaking epic mini-series "Roots"(1977). John wins the Emmy®-nominated role as the adult ‘Kunta Kinte.'

After enduring roles that focus more on grit and testosterone, John finds the answer to his acting dilemma on the proscenium stage. In 1985, the play "Split Second" earns him the NAACP Award as Best Actor.

Capping his theatrical career is the 1990 inaugural of his one-man show "Halley's Comet," a remarkably hilarious and moving one man show around the globe. For the last 19 years, John Amos, master story teller continuously performs.

John enjoys recurring parts on "The West Wing" and "The District," along with the offbeat series "Men in Trees" (2006).

While his credits are too numerous to mention in total, Mr. Amos' accomplished works span past 40 years on stage, Broadway, film and television; including but not limited to strong notice in the late August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences" at the Capital Repertory Company in Albany, New York.

Receiving nominations for a Primetime Emmy® Award and an NAACP Image Award winner as Best Actor and critical accolades and ovations at England's prestigious Bristol Old Vic, John devotes a great deal of is time to his Foundation, which provides positive alternatives to young people through its nautical and maritime programs.

© 2012 Lionsgate