John Amos' Family Battle Continues After His Death As Daughter Claims His Will Was Changed & Calls Brother "Sociopath"

Source: John Sciulli / Getty

The world found out this month that John Amos, best known for his roles as James Evans on the 1970s sitcom Good Times, the TV miniseries Roots, and the movie Coming to America, had passed away… in August.

Apparently, that’s also when his oldest child, daughter Shannon, found out as well. In a hearfelt social media post, she said that she found out her father died when the world did.

“I am without words…,” she said in an Instagram post. “Our family has received the heartbreaking news that my Dad, John Allen Amos, Jr., transitioned on August 21st. We are devastated and left with many questions about how this happened 45 days ago, learning about it through the media like so many of you.

This should be a time of honoring and celebrating his life, yet we are struggling to navigate the wave of emotions and uncertainties surrounding his passing. Still, there is some semblance of peace in knowing my father is finally free.

My family and I deeply appreciate the outpouring of love, calls, and texts. Please continue to hold our family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.”

The post reflected years of contention between Shannon, 58, an entertainment executive turned wellness guru, and her younger brother K.C., 54, an actor and director, over Amos’ care. Amos died at the age of 84 of congestive heart failure, per reports. K.C. was his main caretaker for the past few years. But his role was challenged by Shannon, who, among other things, had him investigated and arrested last year, as per an exhaustive Hollywood Reporter story.

But the rift between the siblings, John’s only children, appears to go back decades. In 1996, their mother, John’s first wife Noel Mickelson, became disabled after complications due to a botched hysterectomy. Though her second husband was initially her caretaker, Kelly took over in 2005 when he died. Shannon alleges that there were issues with Kelly’s care of her mother who passed away in 2016. That same year, Kelly was hospitalized for a mental health crisis, and his sister alleges he was also taking drugs. He denies it.

Shannon was also accused of elder abuse, but her father said at the time that the allegations weren’t true. In June of 2023, she set up a GoFundMe to raise $500K for what she said was K.C.’s abuse, much of it stemming from him traveling around the country with his father, posting to TikTok regularly to document their travels.

At some points, Amos was briefly hospitalized for various health issues, which led to Shannon’s call for help with legal and medical expenses to try to take over her father’s care. K.C. says they were working on a documentary, America’s Dad, and refutes any allegations that his father wasn’t well. Shannon’s GoFundMe was ultimately taken down.

All of this has come up again in the wake of Amos’ death. After finding out about it, Shannon and other members of the family posted to social media, accusing K.C. of isolating John from his family and friends. Shannon doubled down on those allegations in an interview with TMZ Thursday.

His goddaughter Amy Goudy posted on her Facebook page, questioning why family members weren’t notified by law enforcement or medical personnel.

“Over the past year, John Amos was isolated from his family and close friends by Kelly “KC” Amos, Eugene Brummet and Belinda Foster,” Goudy posted. “Despite our repeated attempts to maintain contact, KC prevented access to him, controlled and monitored his calls and severed ties with John’s daughter Shannon Amos, his brother Leslie “Syl” Franklin, his grandchildren Quiera Colston and Jhazz Williams, his business manager Paul Baldessare, his god-daughter Amy Goudy, his niece Sherri Korsun, his former accountant and other close family members, friends, and loved ones. KC portrayed an image of a close father-son relationship on social media, but the reality was far more complex.”

Shannon says that her brother, Foster and Brummet were living with Amos and Foster, who says she was Amos’ publicist, never had a contract with Amos.

Foster responded, telling People in an exclusive statement that Shannon and other family members were conveying falsehoods about John’s condition and wishes.

“I represented John Amos for over 30 years as his publicist of record,” Foster told the outlet. “The media knows this along with John’s agencies of record. Over the years we grew close to one another to the point of a familial relationship. In the last few years, he often referred to me as his ‘daughter.’ This was not a fraud by John, K.C., or myself. He was like a father to me. I deeply mourn his passing.”

She added, “Shannon’s claims that John was abused are false,” Foster continued. “K.C., Eugene and I, along with numerous others cared for him. On several occasions when Shannon claimed that he was abused, law enforcement authorities sat with John and confirmed his well-being.”

Foster also said that Shannon was not notified due to a no-contact order with Kelly, stemming from her allegations from 2023.

“As a condition of his pretrial release, K.C. is precluded from making any contact with Shannon directly or indirectly by phone, social media, or any method of communication,” she said. “At the time of his death, John was concerned that Shannon might turn his death and interment into a circus as she had done with other aspects of his life.”

Amos was cremated nine days after he passed, reports say. Shannon and other family members say that due to various insurance and other potential funds K.C. may inherit, they cannot rule out ‘foul play’ in John’s death and question whether or not the cremation was done hastily to prevent additional investigation.

Foster says that John was evaluated and found to be in sound mind earlier this year.

“I should note that John had interviews with People Magazine, Variety Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, and acted in Suits LA all recently in 2024. Medical authorities have interviewed him in the last year and found him to be mentally sound. For the sake of preserving John’s well-earned reputation as a superb actor and a community activist, we hope we can put to rest these nonsensical claims that Shannon is offering out of her own pain as a result of estrangement from her father.”

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