John Amos Biography (1939?-)

Born December 27, 1939 (some sources say 1941), in Newark, NJ; son of John A.(an auto mechanic) and Annabelle P. Amos; married Lilly Lehman (divorced); children: Shannon Patrice, K. C. (a son). Addresses: Office: Step and One Half Productions, P.O. Box 587, Califon, NJ 07830.; Contact: c/o Michael Mesnick and Assoc., 11300 Olympic Blvd., Suite 610, Los Angeles, CA 90064.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Actor
Birth Details: December 27, 1939?; Newark, New Jersey

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Appearances
Series
Gordon "Gordy" Howard, a recurring role, Mary Tyler Moore Show, CBS, 1970-1973
Minority husband, The Funny Side, NBC, 1971
Henry Evans, Maude, 1973-1974
James Evans, Good Times, CBS, 1974-1976
Officer Bill Bundy, Future Cop, ABC, 1977
Captain Dolan, Hunter, NBC, 1984-1986
Ernest "Ernie" Cumberbatch, 704 Hauser Street, CBS, 1994
Fred Wilkes, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, NBC, 1994-1995
Mayor Ethan Baker, The District, CBS, 2000-?
Also appeared in South by Southwest, PBS.
Miniseries
Kunte Kinte/Toby as an adult, Roots, ABC, 1977
Bumpy Johnson, Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story (also known as Alcatraz and Clarence Carnes), NBC, 1980
Movies
Marine corporal, The President's Plane Is Missing, 1973
Officer Bill Bundy, Future Cop, ABC, 1976
Sergeant Bundy, Cops and Robin, NBC, 1978
Virgil, Willa, CBS, 1979
Mr. Mack, Bonanza: The Next Generation (also known as Bonanza:The Movie), syndicated, 1988
Carl Manning, Tongs (also known as Gideon Oliver), ABC, 1989
The Rockford Files: Murder and Misdemeanors, CBS, 1997
Mr. Swift, Disappearing Acts, 2000
Specials
Hang Tight, Willy Bill, syndicated, 1983
Sergeant Harold Borman, You Are the Jury (also known as The State of Oregon vs. Stanley Manning), NBC, 1987
Blue Berry, Without a Pass, Showtime, 1992
The America's Awards, TNN, 1993
Pilots
Black husband, The Funny Side, NBC, 1971
Walt Jones, Keeping up with the Joneses, NBC, 1972
Charlie Travis, Two's Company, CBS, 1973
Mel Haig, Clippers, CBS, 1991
Episodic
Tim Conway Comedy Hour, CBS, 1970
"Swan's Way," Bill Cosby Show, NBC, 1970
"Love and the Hiccups," Love, American Style, ABC, 1971
Mark Cooper, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, CBS, 1972
Luther, "A Visit from Lena Horne," Sanford and Son, NBC, 1973
Walt Kyles, "Oxford Gray," Police Story, NBC, 1976
Here's Boomer, NBC, 1981
"The Final Score," The Love Boat, ABC, 1983
Reverend Johnson, "Pure-Dee Poison," The A-Team, NBC, 1984
"The Homecoming," Hardcastle & McCormick, ABC, 1984
"The Fred Connection," Trapper John, M.D., CBS, 1984

Doc Penrose, "Death Takes a Dive," Murder, She Wrote, CBS, 1987
Roy Jeffries, "Blood Money," Stingray, NBC, 1987
"The Alchemist," Beauty and the Beast, CBS, 1988
Dr. Herbert, "The Physical," The Cosby Show, NBC, 1988
James Mackey, "The Hero," Touched by an Angel, CBS, 1995
Sam, "Once Again with Feeling," In the House, UPN, 1995
Sam, "The Final Cut," In the House, UPN, 1995
Sam, "Come Back, Kid," In the House, UPN, 1996
Sam, "Bury the Hatchet," In the House, UPN, 1996
Tommy's father, "Daddy Dearest," Martin, Fox, 1997
Pastor Roscoe Jones, "Sons of Thunder," Walker, Texas Ranger, CBS,1997
Sam, "The Retreat Story," In the House, UPN, 1997
Voice of Glen Johnson, "Traffic Jam," King of the Hill (animated),Fox, 1998
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, "A Proportional Response," The West Wing, NBC, 1999
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, "Lord John Marbury," The West Wing, NBC, 2000
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, "He Shall, From Time to Time ... ," The West Wing, NBC, 2000
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet," The West Wing, NBC, 2000
Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, "What Kind of Day Has It Been?" The West Wing, NBC, 2000
Peter Yastrzemski, "Zig Zag," The Outer Limits, Showtime and syndicated, 2000
Also appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show, The Merv GriffinShow, and The Mike Douglas Show.
Film Appearances
(Uncredited) Super Soul's engineer, Vanishing Point, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1971
(As Johnny Amos) Sweet Sweetback's Baad Asssss Song, 1971
Coach Sam Archer, The World's Greatest Athlete, Buena Vista, 1972
Kansas City Mack, Let's Do It Again, Warner Bros., 1975
Tony, Touched by Love (also known as To Elvis, with Love),1979
Seth, The Beastmaster, 1982
Esteban, Dance of the Dwarfs (also known as Dance of the Dwarves and Jungle Heat), 1983
Doctor Conrad, American Flyers, Warner Bros., 1985
Cleo McDowell, Coming to America (also known as Prince in New York), Paramount, 1988
Meissner, Lock Up, TriStar, 1989
Detective Legrand (in segment "The Black Cat"), Due occhi diabolici (also known as Two Evil Eyes), Taurus Entertainment, 1990
Major Grant, Die Hard 2 (also known as Die Hard 2: Die Harder), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1990
Reverend Styles, Ricochet, 1991
Blue Berry, Without a Pass, 1991
Nat, Mac, Samuel Goldwyn, 1992
Captain Hodges, Night Trap (also known as Mardi Gras for the Devil), Prism Entertainment, 1993
The Black Cat, 1993
Wes Strickland, Hologram Man, PM Entertainment, 1995
Gray, For Better or Worse, Columbia, 1995
A Woman Like That, 1997
Freeman, The Players Club, New Line Cinema, 1998
Coach Zeller, All Over Again, Second Image Studios, 2000
Film Work
Directed and produced Grambling Takes It All Back Home.
Stage Appearances
Ben Chambers, Norman, Is That You?, Ebony Showcase Theatre, Los Angeles, 1971
The Emperor Jones, 1979
Sam, Master Harold and the Boys, Birmingham Theatre, Detroit, MI,1983
Rusty, Split Second, Mayfair Theatre, 1985
Sir Toby Belch, Twelfth Night, New York Shakespeare Festival, 1989
Earl Davis, The Past Is the Past, Billie Holiday Theatre, Brooklyn, NY, 1989-1990
Halley's Comet (a one-man play), Billie Holiday Theatre, then American Stage Company, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, both 1990
Fences, Capital Repertory Company, Albany, NY, 1990-1991
Also appeared in Tough to Get Help, Royale Theatre.
Stage Work
Forever My Darling, Grant Avenue Community Center, Plainfield, NY,1988
Directed And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little and Twelve Angry Men for Bahamian Repertory Company.
RECORDINGS
Music Videos
Appeared in Dr. Dre and Ice Cube's "Natural Born Killaz."
WRITINGS
Television Series
The Leslie Uggams Show, CBS, 1969
Screenplays
Wrote Grambling Takes It All Back Home.
Stage Play
Halley's Comet (a one-man play), Billie Holiday Theatre, Brooklyn,NY, then American Stage Company, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, both 1990

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 6, Gale Research, 1994

Periodicals

Theater Week, July 9, 1989

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