John Amos, the actor best known for his role as family patriarch James Evans Sr. on the sitcom “Good Times,” has died, his publicist told ABC News in a statement. He was 84.

According to publicist Belinda Foster, the actor died of natural causes on August 21 in Los Angeles.

“It is with heartfelt sadness that I share with you the passing of my father,” Amos’ son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement. “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 dad. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his excellence television work.” and film as an actor.”

Amos received an Emmy nomination for his role as the elderly Kunta Kinte in the historical miniseries “Roots.”

Born on December 27, 1939 in Newark, New Jersey, Amos first tried to make it as a professional football player. He played for Colorado State University and briefly for the Kansas City Chiefs. He also served as a member of the New Jersey National Coast Guard.

Amos is best known for playing James Evans in the Norman Lear-created series “Good Times” opposite Esther Rolle’s Florida Evans. The sitcom, which follows a black family in Chicago and tackles topics such as poverty, drug use and inner-city crime, ran for six seasons between 1974 and 1979 – although Amos was only on the series for the first half of its run.

Elsewhere on television, Amos played Gordy the weatherman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” as enslaved protagonist Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries “Roots” — which earned him an Emmy nomination — and as the recurring character Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on ‘The West Wing’.

Other small screen credits include roles in ‘Maude’, ‘Hunter’, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, ‘In the House’, ‘The District’, ‘All About the Andersons’, ‘Men in Trees’ , ‘Two and a Half Men’ and ‘The Ranch’, to name a few.

The actor also appeared in numerous films, including “Let’s Do It Again” (1975), “The Beastmaster” (1982), “Coming to America” ​​(1988), “Die Hard 2” (1990), “Madea’s Witness Protection”. (2012) and “Coming 2 America” ​​(2021). He even played himself in a small cameo in 2019’s ‘Uncut Gems’.

Amos, a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, was married twice. He is survived by his daughter Shannon and son Kelly Christopher, both of whom he shared with his first wife, Noel Mickelson.