Why John Amos Was Cast In Another Norman Lear Sitcom After Being Fired From Good Times

When John Amos was fired from the the hit '70s show "Good Times," it appeared as though his relationship with prolific sitcom creator Norman Lear was over. According to Amos, a rift opened over the way Black characters were being portrayed. "When the show first started, we had no African-American writers on the show, and some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character and, frankly, for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say, 'Uh-uh, we can't do this, we can't do that,'" Amos, who died in 2024 aged 84, explained during a 2017 appearance on "Sway in the Morning."

So why did Lear cast Amos in "704 Hauser," his '90s show about a Black family that moves into the house where Archie Bunker from "All in the Family" used to live? According to Lear, even though they fell out over the direction of "Good Times," they stayed friends away from the industry. Speaking to The Roanoke Times in 1994, Lear said: "We had a time where I was a pain in his ass and his in mine. And we elected to conclude the relationship, creatively, at that time, and we maintained a strong personal relationship since."

That personal relationship left the door open for Amos to return to Lear's world for "704 Hauser," which sadly didn't take off with viewers. Only five of the six episodes that CBS ordered were aired before the network pulled the plug. The cancellation had nothing to do with the working relationship between Amos and Lear, which was much improved. "We don't have those fights on '704 Hauser,'" Amos told Entertainment Weekly at the time. "Lear is more willing to listen nowadays. He's mellowed. We've both mellowed. We actually enjoy working together."

"704 Hauser" wasn't the only project that John Amos and Norman Lear collaborated on following the actor's dismissal from "Good Times" over his clashes with the writers. The pair actually worked together on as many as three different pilots after Amos was asked not to return as James Evans ahead of "Good Times" Season 4, and even though they weren't picked up, it goes to show that Amos and Lear well and truly buried that hatchet.

Amos was proud of "704 Hauser," as he revealed during an interview with the Television Academy. "It was a courageous show, because Norman was showing a young Black conservative," he said, adding, "He's always been able to go against the mainstream thinking." Sadly, it didn't turn out to be the successful comeback they hoped for, but they at least got to collaborate one more time in 2019 for a special titled "Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times."

Lear died in 2023 at the age of 101, and Amos was quick to pay tribute to his former friend and colleague, telling People how glad he was that they got together to do the reunion show a few years before Lear's passing. "It was wonderful. I was tearful because all the old wounds had been healed," Amos said. "Ultimately we were friends, and it was a tumultuous relationship, which is what I loved about it. There was conflict in it. But there was also harmony at times when we worked together."