This TV Father Demanded Dignity Over Jokes
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2023
⏱️ 2 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It was over. Really over. One of America’s favorite TV dads was officially killed off the show without warning! While fans were shocked by his sudden death, what happened behind the scenes was even more outrageous.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It was over, really over. |
| 0:06.1 | One of America's favorite TV dads was officially killed off the show without warning. |
| 0:12.7 | While fans were shocked by his sudden death, what happened behind the scene was even more |
| 0:18.4 | outrageous. |
| 0:20.1 | This is Two Minute Black History, what you didn't learn in school. |
| 0:30.0 | In the beginning, good times actor John Amos enjoyed bringing the Evans Family Patriarch |
| 0:39.6 | James to life on television. |
| 0:42.4 | But when the show's creators turned black families into a joke, he flipped out, and when |
| 0:48.0 | he refused to coon, producers retaliated. |
| 0:53.3 | Eight writers of the show kept a constant emphasis on JJ's stereotypical portrayal of a young |
| 1:00.6 | black man, but Amos took a stand. |
| 1:04.3 | He wanted more emphasis on the true nature of the black family. |
| 1:08.2 | But when he refused to play along with these scripts, Shukin and Jaden, he received the |
| 1:13.4 | shock of his life. |
| 1:15.7 | Joe producers, including creator Norman Lear, weren't happy with Amos' defiance, and fired |
| 1:23.0 | him from the cast. |
| 1:25.3 | His character was killed off the show in a rushed, hurtful plotline that left both cast |
| 1:31.1 | members and viewers stunned. |
| 1:33.3 | Amos got the last laugh though. |
| 1:36.3 | The black community continues to admire the dignity proudly displayed by walking away |
| 1:41.3 | from a project only invested in embarrassing characters of black people. |
| 1:47.6 | Amos refused to allow white writers to portray black families as one-dimensional clowns, |
... |
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