The cast of Good Times is participating in the 2015 Tom Joyner Family Reunion. Leading the cast, as he did on the show, is actor John Amos, who played James Evans on the classic show.
“Thelma, Willona, Jimmy, Ralph and even Johnny Brown, who played Buffalo But are reuniting for the Family Reunion,” Amos says. Though Brown has lost weight, Amos says he doesn’t mind still being referred to by his character’s name “as long as the checks go to Johnny Brown.”
Amos has great memories of his time on the show, but acknowledges that he was killed off because he disagreed with the direction of Good Times in its last few seasons.
“The show went seven years and my character was killed off, ” Amos says. “It was differences between myself and the writers. I felt like it was too much emphasis was put on JJ’s chicken hat and not my other two children. There was no mention of their attempts to become professionals and I felt a good deal of humor and comedy could’ve been gotten out of that as opposed to the chicken hat with ‘Dy-No Mite” every three pages.”
Legendary producer Norman Lear gave Amos the news personally via a phone call.
“I could have been a lot more diplomatic, I could have been a lot more mature, but I was not,” says Amos. “So I couldn’t be something I wasn’t. I responded the best way I could which was not to respond.” Six months later, Amos was offered the role of Kunta Kinte for the seminal TV mini-series Roots, so things worked out for him regardless.
As for who was the favorite of his TV kids, Amos says he only has one daughter on real life and only one daughter on TV.
“I would have to say my baby girl, Thelma,” he says.
But one important thing – will he wear his trademark brown corduroy pants to the Family Reunion?
“If I could get in them, I would,” he laughs.
The cast, including Jimmie Walker, Ja’Net DuBois, Ralph Carter, Bernadette Stanis, and of course, Amos, will be signing autographs, be part of a Q&A session and more.
Click HERE for travel info, tickets and information on the 2015 Family Reunion.
