From Good Times To Bad: Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Good Times?

A Strong Father Figure

On Good Times, patriarch James Evans often found himself unemployed, but when he did have work he held two jobs at once, primarily doing manual labor. Much to Florida’s discontent, James sometimes hustled money by playing pool. Like Esther Rolle, actor John Amos—who played James Evans—also had issues with the direction the show was taking. Apparently Amos had multiple disagreements with producer Norman Lear, who by the third season told Amos that his contract with not going to be renewed.

Amos told Jet in 1976, “That’s the same as being fired. Sure, I want to do my thing in films, but not at the expense of my job.” Many people at the time assumed that Amos left the show to pursue more serious acting roles, but his ideological disagreements with Lear were the real reason. As a result, James Evans was killed off the show, having died in a car accident at the start of the fourth season.