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John Amos
Known for: ActingJohn 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 "Coming 2 America" (2021). Prior to acting, he played on the Colorado State Rams football team and in 1964, he signed a free agent contract with the American Football League's Denver Broncos and in 1967 signed a free agent contract with the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Both of these contracts did not land him a spot on the teams and played a final season in the Continental Football League with the Victoria Steelers before pursuing acting.
Filmography 37
Die Hard 2
as Major Grant 
Coming to America
as Cleo McDowell 
Roots
as Older Kunta Kinte 
Ricochet
as Reverend Styles 
Coming 2 America
as Cleo McDowell 
Lock Up
as Captain Meissner 
All About the Andersons
as Joe Anderson 
The Beastmaster
as Seth 
Dr. Dolittle 3
as Jud 
Two Evil Eyes
as Det. Legrand 
The Last Rifleman
as Lincoln Jefferson Adams 
Madea's Witness Protection
as Pastor Nelson 
Bad Asses on the Bayou
as Earl 
Future Cop
as Bill Bundy 
Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story
as Bumpy Johnson 
Night Trap
as Capt. Hodges 
Let's Do It Again
as Kansas City Mack 
American Flyers
as Dr. Conrad 
The World's Greatest Athlete
as Coach Sam Archer 
Disappearing Acts
as Mr. Swift 
Voodoo Moon
as Dutch 
My Baby's Daddy
as Uncle Virgil 
For Better or Worse
as Gray 
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
as Biker 
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as (archive footage) 
Block Party
as Dennis 
Zombie Hamlet
as Edgar Mortimer 
Hologram Man
as Wes Strickland 
The Rockford Files: Shoot-Out at the Golden Pagoda
as Booker Hutch 
The Truth About Santa Claus
as Bob 
Act of Faith
as Mr. Brady 
Tamales and Gumbo
as The Patron 
American Lowrider
as Slick 
Christmas Belles
as Pop Pop 
The Watermelon Heist
as Old Man Amos