There was no James Evans but when the Florida Evans character was on Maude, she had a fireman husband named Henry Evans, also played by Amos.The late Esther Rolle was responsible for creating James Evans. When Norman Lear first pitched "Good Times" to her, there was no James. She asked about where the father of Florida's kids were, and Lear said that he was "away." She didn't want to play Florida as a single black mother, so she told him to find another actress that could play it that way because she wouldn't. Once they wrote in James, she signed on.
I know he was cab driver too.
Didn't they end up getting married though and moved to Arizona?
On the other hand, she had them write Carl (Moses Gun) out of the series. One of her conditions for returning for season 6. She didn't believe Florida, a Christian, would be with or marry an Atheist. The Lord Giveth The Lord Taketh away.
Oh okay
Didn't know that.
And rather than bring him back - they kill him off in a car crashYou nailed it. Norman Lear's "he's away" comment was code for a black father who abandoned his family.
I think that was due to the fact that he was upset about the JJ character and wanted to leave. Having him just "away" wasn't in the character's nature and wouldn't make sense story wise. At that point, the JJ character was a big hit and they figured John was expendable if he didn't like what was going on.And rather than bring him back - they kill him off in a car crash
www.essence.com
Yep and he was supposed to have died out there. That's when she came back.
I think that was due to the fact that he was upset about the JJ character and wanted to leave. Having him just "away" wasn't in the character's nature and wouldn't make sense story wise. At that point, the JJ character was a big hit and they figured John was expendable if he didn't like what was going on.
Had this happened a few years later when the ratings were lower, they may would have chosen a different path for the character.
Throwback Thursday Interview: John Amos Reveals How Departure From 'Good Times' Went Down | Essence
“I left because I was told that I had become a ‘disruptive element,'" the actor told the Archive of American Television.
It is ironic that that Norman got his wish about a fatherless family.
Right! But not just lear, that ideal of the broken Black family is a tenet for the maintenance of white supremacy.You nailed it. Norman Lear's "he's away" comment was code for a black father who abandoned his family.
