Die Hard 2 and Roots star John Amos dies
John Amos, best known for his roles in the 1977 miniseries Roots and Die Hard 2, has died at the age of 84.
He died on 21 August of natural causes according to a statement from his publicist Belinda Foster, but the news was only released on Tuesday.
Amos also played James Evans Sr on Good Times which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families.
“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.
Among Amos’ film credits were Let’s Do It Again with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, Coming To America with Eddie Murphy and Die Hard 2.
Such was the impact of Good Times that musicians Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, and the Wu-Tang Clan all name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics.
“Many fans consider him their TV father,” his son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement.
“He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor.
“My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life. He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero.”
The original cast of Roots – Sandy Duncan, from left, John Amos, Ben Vereen, Louis Gossett Jr., Leslie Uggams, Georg Stanford Brown and Lynne Moody. Pic: Amy Sussman/Invision/AP
Amos was fired from Good Times after becoming critical of the show’s white writing staff creating storylines that he felt were inauthentic to the Black characters.
“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things. It’s anathema to Black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind’,” he told Time magazine.
Pic: AP Photo/Nick Ut
“And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.”
Amos’ character was killed in a car accident.
His co-star Jimmie Walker said of the row: “If the decision had been up to me, I would have preferred that John stay and the show remain more of an ensemble.
“Nobody wanted me up front all the time, including me.”
Amos was born on 27 December 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, and was the son of a mechanic.
He graduated from Colorado State University with a sociology degree and played on the school’s football team.
Before pursuing acting, he moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with defendants at the Brooklyn House of Detention.
He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues.
Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white people in the African country.
The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of thousands of white farmers.
Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless while a montage of videos was played, and he later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the videos] I’ve never seen”.
The lights had been dimmed in the room as videos were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.
South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.
The videos include one of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.
Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers. “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety,” the US president said. “Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”
Alluding to people in the videos, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”
Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump in the Oval Office today
The US president then displayed printed copies of articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.
He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”
South African leader rejects allegations
Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.
“And in many cases or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.
“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying. Even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”
Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”
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Mr Ramaphosa said there was crime in South Africa, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”
Mr Trump has cancelled aid, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are unfounded.
Experts in South Africa say there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.
Universal has opened a new theme park to rival Disney World in Florida.
NBCUniversal owner Comcast, which also owns Sky News, is rewriting the Orlando travel itinerary with its $7bn Epic Universe.
The 750-acre park features five worlds themed around movie and game franchises NBCUniversal owns or licenses.
These include Super Nintendo World, complete with a Mario Kart ride, and the immersive Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic.
Pic: Reuters
Fans pose for pictures in Super Nintendo World. Pic: Reuters
How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Celestial Park and Dark Universe complete the park.
The project is the first major theme park to open in the US in more than 20 years and marks Comcast’s largest investment in Universal attractions since it gained control of the business in 2011.
People riding the Dragon’s Racers Rally rollercoaster. Pic: Reuters
Comcast president Mike Cavanaugh said: “This is the one part of the media ecosystem that is not vulnerable to screen-shifting. It’s still beloved as a thing to do with friends and family.
“It would be silly not to be stepping on the gas.”
The sprawling park covers 750 acres. Pic: Reuters
Epic Universe could attract 9.5 million visitors and bring in more than $1.3bn in revenue in 2026, analyst Craig Moffett has predicted.
Another new Universal theme park is also in the pipeline, with the company set to open its first European resort in 2031.
More from Sky News:
New Princess Kate waxwork unveiled
Sesame Street finds new home
The park will be in Bedfordshire and is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The UK government has said it will bring in an estimated £50bn to the British economy and create around 28,000 jobs.
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