His persona as a strict but devoted father figure struck a chord with viewers, emerging as a cultural hero who is still warmly remembered today.
His exit from Good Times became widely publicized when he was let go for creative disputes with the show’s producers, whom he believed were not doing a good enough job of depicting African-American families.
In a subsequent PBS interview, he acknowledged that, as “a Black actor portraying the first Black father on TV with a complete family,” he felt a great sense of “responsibility.”
Amos claims that because of his artistic disagreements with the Good Times producers, he was sacked from the program and referred to as a “disruptive factor” by The LA Times.
Amos informed the Television Academy that he didn’t swear or do anything offensive during the phone discussion he had with Norman Lear about his termination. I’ve just ended the call.
Furthermore, he didn’t give me a call back to ask if I had any more to say. It was months and months and months before I heard from him again.”
