John Amos, 83, Appears Thin in Wheelchair in New Video - Son Stays by His Side While He Lives on Isolated Ranch

• "Good Times" favorite John Amos is now 83 years old, and the "Coming to America" star has recently appeared in pictures looking thin in a wheelchair.
• The "Me Time" star has a son who he frequently travels with. The duo sings, spends quality father-son time together, and works on business ventures.
• Though Amos moves around in a wheelchair because of mobility issues, he is always seen smiling and happy nonetheless.

John Amos, born December 27, 1939, started as an advertising copywriter, then got employed as a social worker and eventually became an American and Canadian semi-professional football player before becoming an actor. In 1974, Amos became a part of history when he was set to play the lovable James Evans, Sr. in "Good Times," which boasted as the first-ever network series to be created by African-Americans.

The family sitcom, filmed at a Chicago ghetto high-rise, and was dedicated to having a centralized focus on the importance of family values but soon began shifting toward J.J. Evans' "silly antics." Following this subsequent shift, Amos was disappointed with the show's direction and would frequently clash with higher-ups because of script changes he wanted to make. Amos was fired from the show in 1976, and his character was killed in an off-camera car accident.

Only a year after his exit from "Good Times," Amos won an Emmy for his outstanding portrayal of Kunta Kinte in the revolutionary mini-series "Roots." In addition to "Good Times," Amos' role in "Roots" essentially spearheaded his success in the entertainment industry, and the "Die Hard 2" talent went on to star in several noteworthy productions.

The Hollywood talent has since starred in iconic roles, such as Mr. McDowell in the famous classic "Coming to America" franchise, Maj. Grant in "Die Hard 2", Seth in "The Beastmaster," Super Soul's Engineer in "Vanishing Point," and a biker in "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," to name a few. The A-lister has also been featured in many critically acclaimed stage plays produced by theatre legends like August Wilson, Athol Fugard, and Joseph Papp.

John traveled to Jamaica in 2022 with his almost identical son, K.C. Amos, 52. The father and son were accompanied by the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport, Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, to an open sporting facility located in Discovery Bay and Browns Town.

John and K.C. ventured to Jamaica to spearhead an initiative to showcase the island's budding young talent. During the trip, John made a brief stop to talk to an audience about the potential mini-series he and K.C. plan to shoot in Jamaica.

The trip's entire purpose was to raise awareness of the possibility of people from Jamaica making money while contributing meaningfully to the arts. At the public briefing, John relayed the following message:

"I think [that] through the arts, we can show the young people how they can make a contribution, how they can find meaningful and gainful employment and express themselves artistically. I hope all the young people that are here today should carry the word back to other young people so that they can become involved because the future is theirs. Anything they want to accomplish, they can accomplish because of all the efforts that have been made on their behalf by those who have gone in front."

How Does He Look Now?

On April 11, 2023, John posted a video of his visit to Kansas City while hanging out with the Harlem Globetrotters. The video is part of John's biographic documentary, "America's Dad," directed by K.C. In the video, John is seated in a wheelchair, surrounded by the basketball team, as one team member passes him a spinning basketball to hold on his finger.

Amos' frame appears quite frail and small, indicating some weight loss. The wheelchair's foot pedals prop his blue sweatpant-covered legs up while a happy and smiling Amos awaits to be passed a spinning basketball from a player to his right. In the comment section of the video, Amos' fans remark on how "old" the actor has appeared to have gotten, with most forgetting that he is, in fact, now 83 years old:

K.C. is the spitting image of his father, and the pair practically do everything together. John constantly shares creative TikToks that K.C. makes of the dynamic duo doing various adventurous activities together.

In another Instagram video shared to the "Lock Up" star's page, John is dancing with his daughter, Shannon Amos, to Luther Vandross' timeless classic "Dance with My Father." The father endearingly reminds fans how important it is to spend time with your loved ones who are still around with a caption that reads:

"If you're still blessed to have your Dad, we challenge you to #DanceWithYourFather."

Commentators marveled at the bond between the father and daughter, reiterated his apparent aging, and reminisced about the iconic productions John has starred in. In the video, John and Shannon walk outside and dance together on the grass. John uses his cane in his right hand as he walks down the porch steps while his daughter guides him down, holding his left hand.

John and his two children, K.C. and Shannon, are seen in another video singing a cute family sing-along rendition of Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You." John is wearing a green shirt and seated next to his son, with a fully grayed head of hair and a wrinkled face, while he sings "I love you" to his kids.

Another video filmed by K.C. shows a comedic exchange between John and an airport staff member going back and forth about a $20 bill. John is in his wheelchair as the staff help prop him up on his cane to get into his mode of transportation. The "Coming 2 America" star jokingly debates who owes who $20 concerning another TikTok he and K.C. made a while back about getting "paid in full."

In a sit-down interview with Vulture, the now 83-year-old actor was asked where his current relationship with "Good Times'," Norman Lear, stands. Amos divulged how he has put the incident of his being fired from the sitcom classic behind him and how he chalked up his past grievances to a matter of needing to mature more.

At the time, Amos developed PTSD after his football and boxing career and did not understand the effects of the disorder; however, once he matured, he realized his errors in addressing his script grievances. Appearing on "The Ricky Smiley Morning Show," Amos spoke about his life and where he currently resides. The A-list actor spoke about where he is at with writing and being a part of upcoming productions:

"I just recently relocated from my home state of New Jersey to Colorado, where I went to school, and my brother's got a ranch out there, so I'm living on the ranch, getting my thoughts together to write more books and to do more performances that I really feel close to. I like the isolation. I live on about 300-some-odd acres, so I don't see too much of anything outside of creatures and animals that come out and howl at the moon at night, which is alright with me."

Caring Children

John shares two children, K.C. and Shannon Amos, with his ex-wife Noel J. Mickelson and has one granddaughter, Quiera Williams. K.C. and Shannon both followed in their dad's footsteps and work in the entertainment industry as directors, writers, and producers.

Before marrying his now ex-wife, Mickelson, Amos was married to "Night Traps'" Lillian Lehman. The marriage ended shortly after 19 months together; however, the reasons for their divorce are unclear. During the time of their marriage, Lillian explained that:

"People always approach him, and they always approach me [and] you are flattered; you say thanks, and hopefully you move on. We just laugh about it [and] with me being an actress and him being an actor, we read people easier than they usually read themselves. It's just no problem for me because of my life being geared to having a positive attitude and eliminating the negative."

Though Amos is currently single, the acting legend enjoys spending copious time with his two children. K.C. and John frequently travel together and devote significant amounts of time doing father-son activities together. In December 2022, John celebrated his birthday in Jamaica with his son.

In an Instagram video, the father-son duo is seen singing along to a Reggae song on a beach to celebrate John's birthday. John sweetly captioned the post stating that he enjoyed spending time with his son.

K.C. is the spitting image of his father, and the pair practically do everything together. John constantly shares creative TikToks that K.C. makes of the dynamic duo doing various adventurous activities together.

In one video, the father and son pose for a Reel showcasing some "Kunta Kinte" memorabilia merch. The video shows John sitting in a chair and K.C. standing next to him as the two adorn T-shirts with the print "Toby. Kunta Kinte" on the front.

As previously mentioned, John also enjoys spending time with his daughter Shannon. The father and his daughter posted an adorable video of the two of them dancing to "Dance with My Father" by Luther Vandross.

Keeping with their love of dance, K.C. also shared an endearing video of him and his dad 'getting down' and celebrating at a Gala for Spread The Cheer USA. In another post, the father and son celebrate Memorial Day with another family duet cover seated outside on a porch.

K.C. and his dad also enjoy swimming in the ocean. A video posted to K.C.'s Instagram depicts the duo in the beautiful waters of Jamaica, their favorite go-to destination. In the video, a smiling John wears a life jacket and leans on his son for support as they speak to the camera.

On their work trip to Jamaica (as discussed earlier in the article), John and K.C. talked about the project they intend to produce there. John discussed how he plans to work alongside his son to create the mini-series:

"I intend, with my son, who's an accomplished filmmaker, to contribute to your existing arts program. I think that through the arts and our combined efforts, we can have a positive impact on the future of the young people who have shown an indication that they want to be involved in the arts in Jamaica. Jamaica is very rich in its culture and its history, and I hope to be part of the effort to bring that to the world's attention."

After his last divorce from Mickelson, Amos is not in any official romantic relationship. However, the "Good Times" alum enjoys spending his days in peace on his brother's ranch with the frequent company of his children and grandchild. Fans miss seeing John on their screens and look forward to future projects in which he may be featured.