...Yet it's no secret that Esther Rolle and John Amos (who played James Evans) left the series because Jimmie Walker's character, J.J. Evans, became the focal point. After they departed, in separate seasons, rumors in the media began swirling around that the actress wasn't fond of Walker.
In an interview with
The Greenville News in 1978, Rolle set matters straight.
"I have no gripes against Jimmie Walker," she began. "I have gripes against J.J., he's an idiot."
If you've never watched an episode of
Good Times, you might consider "idiot" a harsh word to describe a character, but writers did get a little out of hand with J.J.'s phrases, attire and dance moves.
At one point, the series went from being centered around the Evans family to the outrageous adventures of J.J.
"I dislike some of the foolishness of J.J., but Jimmie Walker is an ambitious young man whom I have respect for. I wouldn't go out with him socially, but we're just not the same type [of] people."
Rolle had a lot of love for Jimmie Walker, who played her eldest son on Good Times. However, his character was another story.
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When
Good Times premiered, the character of J.J. – the Evans’ oldest of three children – was initially meant to provide some comedic relief.
But the character became increasingly popular with audiences, in part because of his slapstick antics and signature catchphrase, “Dy-no-mite!” Over time, Walker’s character took up more and more screen time.
Both Amos and Rolle disapproved of the shift. They thought the character of J.J. lacked nuance and was irresponsible, perpetuating negative racial stereotypes and taking precious screen time away from more important, serious social issues that could be explored.
In a 2015 interview with the
American Archive of Television (via
The Root), Amos explained of his disapproval,
“I felt too much emphasis was being put on J.J. and his chicken hat and saying ‘dy-no-mite’ every third page, when just as much emphasis and mileage could have been gotten out of my other two children.”
Rolle, too, was open about her disdain for the direction that J.J.’s character took. In particular, she criticized his shift into an increasingly absurd, over-the-top character across time.
“He’s 18 and he doesn’t work. He can’t read or write. He doesn’t think,” Rolle said of J.J.’s portrayal in a 1975 interview with Ebony. “The show didn’t start out to be that…Negative images have been slipped in on us through the character of the oldest child.”
John Amos originally played James Evans on CBS’ ‘Good Times.’ Why did he leave the show after three seasons?
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Good Times was one of the first TV comedies centered on a Black nuclear family. It was meant to be in a similar vein as both
Maude and
All in the Family, with Florida and James wrestling with poverty, racism, and other social ills. Together, they provided a calm anchor in the tumultuous lives of their kids -- and for audience members dealing with their own struggles in an America not too far removed from the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Amos could deftly trade punchlines with his co-stars, particularly whenever James was expressing disapproval towards the lazy JJ (played by comedian Jimmie Walker). But to viewers who had grown up only seeing white actors get to play idealized sitcom dads, James' mere existence -- coupled with the warm strength with which Amos played him -- made him feel historic.
But it was JJ -- and his frequently-yelled catchphrase, "DYN-O-MITE!" -- that seemed to generate the loudest response, and soon the show began to reorient itself around him, leaving James and Florida as exasperated straight men in what was meant to be their story. Rolle and Amos both objected to this shift, frequently. Her complaints tended to be more public, while his tended to be more hostile. ("I wasn't the most diplomatic guy in those days," he would say years later, and his bosses "got tired of having their lives threatened over jokes.") Amos was fired after the third season, and the fourth season began with the Evans family being confronted with tragedy, when an off-camera James died in a car accident while pursuing a job opportunity in Mississippi.
(Rolle quit after that season, and without either parent around to ground things, JJ suddenly seemed much less appealing; the ratings began to drop.)
From playing dads in 'Good Times' and 'Coming to America' to Kunta Kinte in 'Roots,' the actor brought warmth, humor, and integrity
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As to your question, refer to my previous comment to you.
