Ballers is an American sports comedy-drama series created by Stephen Levinson that aired for five seasons on HBO from June 21, 2015, to October 13, 2019. It stars Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as the financial manager of other NFL players.
26-620: Several of the athletes in the series are fictional. However, multiple real life athletes make appearances as themselves. Additionally, actor John Amos played a retired fictional player. Amos had a brief stint with the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s. Athletes who made appearances include: The series premiered in the U.S. on HBO on June 21, 2015, in Canada on June 21, 2015 on HBO Canada , in India on June 22, 2015 on HBO Defined , in
52-481: A social worker with a degree in sociology . John Amos Jr. played on the university's football team . After college, he was a Golden Gloves boxing champion. In 1964, Amos signed a free agent contract with the Denver Broncos ( AFL 1964 ), Unable to run the 40-yard dash because of a pulled hamstring , he was released on the second day of training camp. He played for various sides during his career,
78-547: A game-changer, but it scores points with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who brings charm and depth to the NFL version of Entourage ." On Metacritic , the season has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes season 2 has a rating of 70% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.65/10. On Metacritic, the season has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes,
104-424: A hardworking middle-aged father of three, Amos was 34 when the show began production in 1973; he was only eight years older than the actor who played his oldest son, Jimmie Walker , and 19 years younger than his screen wife, Esther Rolle . Like Rolle, Amos wanted to portray a positive image of an African-American family struggling against the odds in a poor neighborhood, but he expressed dissatisfaction after he saw
130-403: A man who is trying to play football." Amos became first known in 1971 when he appeared with Anson Williams in a commercial for McDonald's . That same year, he had a small part in the cult film Vanishing Point , playing a radio engineer alongside Cleavon Little . Amos' first major TV role was as Gordy Howard , the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, from 1970 until 1973. After
156-511: A role in the movie Madea's Witness Protection , as Jake's father. He appeared in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre 's 1994 video for " Natural Born Killaz ". In 2009, he released We Were Hippies , an album of original country songs by Gene and Eric Cash. In 2021, Amos starred in Because of Charley , as the patriarch of an estranged step-family riding out with Perry Como and Hurricane Charley ,
182-531: A writer-producer and the founder of Afterglow Multimedia, LLC, and Grammy-nominated director K.C. Amos. Acrimonious disagreements between Shannon and K.C. Amos over the care given to their parents was documented by The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. Amos' second marriage, in 1978–79, was to actress Lillian Lehman . He lived for many years in Tewksbury Township, New Jersey . In 2018, he moved to Westcliffe, Colorado , southwest of Pueblo . In 2023,
208-551: The ABC-TV Miniseries Roots , as the adult Kunta Kinte , based on the book by author Alex Haley . In 1980, he starred in the television film Alcatraz: The Whole Shocking Story . Amos played an Archie Bunker -style character in the 1994 sitcom 704 Hauser , a modern spin-off of All in the Family , but it was canceled after only five episodes (in the series he played a different character than he did in
234-808: The All in the Family spin-off Maude ). He also portrayed Captain Dolan on the TV show Hunter from 1984 to 1985. He co-starred in the CBS police drama The District . Amos was a frequent guest on The West Wing , portraying Admiral Percy Fitzwallace , who serves as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for most of the show. He played Buzz Washington in the ABC series Men in Trees . Amos co-starred with Anthony Anderson in
260-590: The Canton Bulldogs ( UFL 1964 ), Joliet Chargers ( UFL 1964 ), Norfolk Neptunes ( COFL 1965 ), Wheeling Ironmen COFL 1965 , Jersey City Jets ( ACFL 1966 ), Waterbury Orbits ( ACFL 1966 ), and the Victoria Steelers ( COFL 1967 ). In 1967, Amos signed a free agent contract with the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs ( AFL 1967 ). Coach Hank Stram told him, "You're not a football player, you're
286-588: The Colorado Bureau of Investigation looked into accusations that Amos had been the victim of elder abuse . Amos left Colorado that same year, taking up residency in Los Angeles . Amos died of congestive heart failure at Centinela Hospital Medical Center in Inglewood, California on August 21, 2024, at the age of 84. His death was not announced until October 1, 2024. His daughter, Shannon,
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#1732787641499312-663: The United Kingdom on September 8, 2015 on Sky Atlantic , and in Australia on September 15, 2015 on Showcase . The second season premiered on July 17, 2016 and a third on July 23, 2017. On August 8, 2017, HBO picked up Ballers for a fourth season, which premiered on August 12, 2018. On September 6, 2018, HBO renewed the series for a fifth season. On Rotten Tomatoes , the first season has an approval rating of 81% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 6.43/10. The site's critical consensus reads, " Ballers may not be
338-632: The Dwarfs (1983), American Flyers (1985), Coming to America (1988), Lock Up (1989), Two Evil Eyes (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), and Ricochet (1991). He appeared in the 1995 film For Better or Worse and played a police officer in The Players Club (1998). He played Uncle Virgil in My Baby's Daddy (2004), and starred as Jud in Dr. Dolittle 3 (2006). In 2012, Amos had
364-618: The House , Martin as Sgt. Hamilton Strawn (Tommy's father), Touched by an Angel , Psych , Sanford and Son , My Name Is Earl , Lie to Me , and Murder, She Wrote . He also appeared as a spokesman for the Cochran Firm (a national personal injury law firm). Amos wrote and produced Halley's Comet , a critically acclaimed one-man play that he performed around the world. Amos performed in August Wilson 's Gem of
390-800: The Ocean on Broadway and later at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey . Amos was featured in Disney 's The World's Greatest Athlete (1973) with Tim Conway and Jan-Michael Vincent in his first starring film role, and also starred as Kansas City Mack in Let's Do It Again (1975) with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier . His other film appearances include Vanishing Point (1971), The President's Plane Is Missing (1973), Touched by Love (1980), The Beastmaster (1982), Dance of
416-514: The complete series box set was released on DVD the same day. In the United States, the series was added on August 15, 2023 on Netflix . For the second season, see "Ballers: Season Two Ratings" . TV Series Finale . October 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020 . Retrieved September 27, 2016 . For the third season, see "Ballers: Season Three Ratings" . TV Series Finale . October 29, 2019. Archived from
442-527: The death of Betty White in 2021, Amos and Joyce Bulifant (who played Marie Slaughter) were the last surviving semi-regular cast members of the show, excluding child actors. Amos is best known for his portrayal of James Evans Sr. , the husband of Florida Evans , on the American sitcom Good Times (1974–1976). He had previously appeared in the same role three times on the sitcom Maude before continuing it in 61 episodes of Good Times . Although cast as
468-432: The end of season 3 in 1976. In a 2017 interview, Amos said that the sitcom's writers did not understand African-Americans. He told them, "That just doesn't happen in the community. We don't think that way. We don't act that way. We don't let our children do that." His character was killed off by the writers, leading to a memorable scene in which his screen wife, Rolle, screamed, “Damn! Damn! Damn!” In 1977, Amos starred in
494-648: The hurricane which tore through Florida in 2004. Also in 2021, he had a role in the Coming to America sequel, Coming 2 America . Amos was a veteran of the 50th Armored Division of the New Jersey National Guard and Honorary Master Chief of the United States Coast Guard . He was married twice. His first marriage, from 1965 to 1975, was to artist and equestrian Noel Mickelson. The couple had two children: Shannon Amos,
520-533: The original on November 15, 2020 . Retrieved September 26, 2017 . For the fourth season, see "Ballers: Season Four Ratings" . TV Series Finale . October 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020 . Retrieved October 9, 2018 . For the fifth season, see "Ballers: Season Five Ratings" . TV Series Finale . October 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020 . Retrieved October 15, 2019 . John Amos John Allen Amos Jr. (December 27, 1939 – August 21, 2024)
546-596: The premise slighted by a lower level of comedy on Good Times. During his tenure on the sitcom, Amos openly clashed with the writers of the show, pointing to the scripts' lack of authenticity in portraying the African-American experience. He notably criticized what he felt was too much of an emphasis on Jimmie Walker's character J.J. and a lesser regard for the other two Evans children. He also criticized J.J.'s stereotypical buffoonish personality. This led to his dismissal by executive producer Norman Lear at
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#1732787641499572-534: The short-lived TV series All About the Andersons in 2003. In 2010, Amos also appeared as recurring character Ed on Two and a Half Men , and in 2016 as another recurring character, also (coincidentally) named Ed, on the Netflix sitcom The Ranch . He guest-starred in a number of other television shows, including Police Story , The A-Team , The Cosby Show , The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , In
598-430: The third season has a rating of 67%, based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The series has been released on Blu-ray and DVD; season 1 on June 14, 2016, Season 2 on January 31, 2017, Season 3 on April 3, 2018, and Season 4 on January 29, 2019. Season 5's DVD and manufacture on demand Blu-ray was released on January 28, 2020 by Warner Home Entertainment and Warner Archive Collection respectively. In addition,
624-482: Was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the adult Kunta Kinte in the landmark miniseries Roots and for portraying James Evans Sr. on the CBS television series Good Times . His other television work includes The Mary Tyler Moore Show , a recurring role as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on The West Wing , and the role of the Mayor of Washington DC Ethan Baker in the series The District . Amos
650-701: Was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and an NAACP Image Award . In film, he played numerous supporting roles in movies such as The Beastmaster (1982), Coming to America (1988), Lock Up (1989), Die Hard 2 (1990), and Coming 2 America (2021). Amos was born in Newark, New Jersey on December 27, 1939, the son of Annabelle and John A. Amos Sr., an auto mechanic. John Jr. grew up in East Orange , New Jersey, and graduated from East Orange High School in 1958. He enrolled at Long Beach City College and graduated from Colorado State University becoming
676-400: Was unaware that he had died until it was reported by the media. His remains were cremated nine days after his death. In addition to receiving an Emmy nomination for Roots , Amos was nominated for a CableACE Award , an NAACP Image Award , and a DVD Exclusive Award. He won three TV Land Awards for his roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Good Times , and Roots . In 2020, Amos
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