John Amos, the actor best known for his role on the sitcom, Good Times as James Evans Sr. and Kunta Kinte in the award-winning series Roots has died at 84. 

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you that my father has transitioned,” said his son, Kelly Christopher Amos. “He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved [all over] the world. Many fans consider him their TV father.” 

Amos had many roles in film and television including Coming to America (1988), Die Hard 2 (1990) and many others. Amos also received an Emmy nomination for Roots, a television series told from the perspective of Kunta Kinte, a slave abducted from his African village.

Before his acting career, Amos was a football player, signing with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs in 1964 and 1976 respectively but did not make it past training camp. 

His first acting gig was as Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970 before joining the show Good Times in 1974 as the patriarchal figure, James Evans Sr. before he was fired from the show after three seasons because of a contract dispute caused by the unfavorable portrayal of certain characters. However, Amos later told Time magazine that ”[the] show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” 

“He lived a good life,” Kelly said. “His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor.”