Months after the news of veteran actor John Amos’ death back in August, he’s finally been laid to rest. But even that wasn’t without some level of unfortunate mess once again. We’ll explain.
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If you’ve been keeping up with the Amos family drama up until this point, then you know that the “Good Times” actor’s children—namely his son K.C. and daughter Shannon—have been going at each other since the news of the elder Amos’ health and allegations of elder abuse made headlines back in June 2023. Things were further exacerbated when the Amos patriarch died in August and K.C. waited two months to reveal that to the world—and his sister and the rest of the family in October.
Now, the “Roots” star has been honored one last time with not but two memorial services: one thrown by K.C. and the other by Shannon over the weekend. Both events had a lot going on, so let’s get into the break down:
K.C.’s Funeral: An Intimate L.A. Service
Per a report from PEOPLE, the homegoing service put on by K.C. was much smaller in comparison to that of his sister’s. Held in Leimert Park in Los Angeles on Thursday Nov. 22, the service was hosted by local community advocate Najee Ali and Pastor Robert Sausedo of 88th Street Temple Church. They, along with K.C. and others in attendance like actor Rodney Allen Ripley reportedly shared memories and kind words of the elder Amos with K.C. eventually getting up to speak to crowd that gathered there. Shannon was notably missing.
What’s interesting to note however is the fact that in K.C.’s speech, he alluded to more information coming out soon about his father and their family, saying in a statement per PEOPLE:
“We’re honoring my father, John Amos, in L.A. with those he loved and especially with the community that he cherished and cared about. I’m carrying out my father’s wishes, and there are more details coming soon as to the real truth.”
Shannon’s Funeral: A Star-Studded Memorial
Two days later, on Saturday, Nov. 24, Shannon held her own homegoing service for her father in East Orange, New Jersey at his alma mater. The news of this service was previously publicized on Instagram nearly a month ago. As evidenced by TMZ, the event was hosted by AJ Calloway and was packed out with notable guests including Lauryn Hill, The Roots rapper Rahzel, retired NBA referee Violet Palmer and more. R&B artist Monifah, gospel singer Karen Poole, and platinum producer Tone “TL” Cross all performed selections.
The mayor of East Orange also honored Amos with a proclamation and is set to dedicate the football field of his alma mater and a street after the longtime actor, per TMZ. While the event was livestreamed, not many photos or videos were publicized following the event. However, we got a glimpse of Monifah performing “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers.
Shannon also posted highlights of the story on TikTok.
Rest in peace, John Amos.