He was 84 years old "Die Hard" star John Amos is dead

The American actor John Amos has died at the age of 84. This was confirmed by his spokeswoman Belinda Foster on Tuesday, without giving any details.

The Hollywood world is mourning the death of US actor John Amos. On Tuesday, a spokeswoman confirmed the death of the TV star, but did not give any specific reasons. He was 84 years old.

Fans and friends are mourning him on social media. Actor and comedian Martine Lawrence wrote: "This time it's different. My condolences go out to the family of a true legend, John Amos."

In "Good Times", Amos starred as James Evans Sr. who often needed to work two jobs to support his family. The series was one of the first on U.S. television to feature a black family with two parents. "That show was the most realistic portrayal of the life of an African-American family living under those circumstances," Amos told Time magazine in 2021.

He was fired after three seasons because he criticized the show's white writing team for storylines that he felt didn't fit the black characters.

Amos quickly recovered from this career setback and landed the role of adult Kunta Kinte in the series "Roots", which was based on the novel by Alex Haley and was set during and after the time of slavery in the USA. The miniseries was a hit with critics and viewers, and Amos received one of the 37 Emmy nominations

Amos has also appeared in films such as "Drehn wir noch'n Ding" (1975) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, as King Jaffe Joffer alongside Eddie Murphy in "The Prince of Zamunda" and as Major Grant in "Die Hard 2". As a guest star, he had roles in the series "The West Wing", "Two and a Half Men" and "The Ranch".

dpa