John Amos, veteran actor of “Roots” and “Good Times,” has died at age 84

Actor John Amos, whose long career included a string of iconic roles in works such as “Roots,” “Good Times” and “The West Wing,” died in August, his family said Tuesday.

According to a statement from the actor's publicist, he was 84 years old when he died of natural causes on August 21 in Los Angeles.

“With a career spanning five decades, Amos leaves behind a legacy of groundbreaking work in both television and film and a commitment to positive representation of African Americans in the media,” the statement said.

Kelly Christopher Amos called his father “my dad, my best friend and my hero.”

“It is with deep sadness that I inform you that my father has made the transition,” the younger Amos said.

“He was a man with the kindest heart and a heart of gold… and he was loved around the world. Many fans consider him to be their TV father. He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding work as an actor on television and film.”

Before Amos hit the big screen, he played football at Colorado State and was briefly a Kansas City chief.

After falling off the corporate ladder, Amos got his big break as an actor in 1970 when he was cast as Gordy the weatherman on the popular “Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

But the role that cemented him as one of television's greatest sitcom dads came in 1974, when Amos landed the role of stoic father James Evans on Good Times.

He appeared in 61 episodes of the Norman Lear comedy about a hard-working family trying to stay afloat in a Chicago housing project.

Amos then played the adult Kunta Kinte in the groundbreaking 1977 TV miniseries Roots, in which he starred alongside some of the greatest black actors of that generation, including Ben Vereen, LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett Jr. and Leslie Uggams.

Film fans may know him best as fast food magnate Cleo McDowell in the hit 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America or as Bruce Willis's antagonist in 1990's Die Hard 2.

His television career was revived in 1999 when he was cast in the acclaimed White House drama “The West Wing,” where he starred as Admiral Percy “Fitz” Fitzwallace for five seasons.

“My father has enjoyed acting his entire life…most recently playing himself in 'Suits LA' and our documentary about his journey as an actor, 'America's Dad,'” his son said.