Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author from
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...
. He is the founder of the
Famous Amos
Famous Amos is a brand of cookies founded in Los Angeles in 1975 by Wally Amos, a former talent agent with William Morris Agency.
History
Wally Amos, Wallace "Wally" Amos was born in Tallahassee, Florida, United States, on July 1, 1936. In 19 ...
chocolate-chip cookie, the Cookie Kahuna, and Aunt Della's Cookies gourmet cookie brands, and he was the host of the adult reading program, ''
Learn to Read''.
Early life and education
Amos was born to Wallace & Ruby Amos.
He was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, until he was 12 years old.
When his parents divorced, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
with his aunt, where he enrolled at the Food Trades Vocational High School. He showed his interest in cooking at a young age. It was from his aunt Della Bryant, who would bake cookies for him, that Amos later developed his
chocolate chip cookie
A chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that features chocolate chips or chocolate morsels as its distinguishing ingredient. Chocolate chip cookies originated in the United States around 1938, when Ruth Graves Wakefield chopped up a Nes ...
recipe.
Amos improved on his aunt Della's recipe, which was already uncommon because it included several ingredients not generally associated with chocolate chip cookies.
Shortly before graduation, Amos dropped out of high school to join the United States Air Force. He served at
Hickam Air Force Base
Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint ...
in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1954 until 1957. He earned his
high school equivalency diploma before being honorably discharged from the military.
Career
Returning to New York City, Amos went to
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
to become a secretary, and after graduating, took a mailroom clerk job with the
William Morris Agency
The William Morris Agency (WMA) was a Hollywood-based talent agency. It represented some of the best known 20th-century entertainers in film, television, and music. During its 109-year tenure it came to be regarded as the "first great talent ag ...
.
Eventually, he became the agency's first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
talent agent. He signed
Simon & Garfunkel and headed the agency's
rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
department. Amos attracted clients by sending them chocolate chip cookies along with an invitation to visit him. He represented musicians such as
Diana Ross & the Supremes
The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
,
Sam Cooke, and
Marvin Gaye.
![Wally-amos-at-mark-victor-hansen-mega-marketing-seminar (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Wally-amos-at-mark-victor-hansen-mega-marketing-seminar_%281%29.jpg)
In 1975, a friend suggested to Amos that he set up a store to sell his cookies, and in March of that year, the first Famous Amos cookie store opened in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. He started the business with the help of a $25,000 loan from
Marvin Gaye and
Helen Reddy. The company began to expand, and eventually, Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies could be found on
supermarket shelves across the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. He became such a known figure culturally that he appeared as himself in the ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...
'' episode "Latka's Cookies", in 1981. Thanks in part to the success of his cookie company, he was hired to deliver speeches. He has written 10 books, many of which have a
self-help theme, including ''The Cookie Never Crumbles'' and ''The Power in You''.
In 1979, Amos' long-time friend and publicist John Rosica introduced him to Literacy Volunteers of America. Amos has advocated
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...
and helped thousands of adults learn to read. In 1987, he also hosted a television series designed to teach others how to read, entitled ''
Learn to Read'', produced by
Kentucky Educational Television
Kentucky Educational Television (KET) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is operated by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, an agency of the Kentucky state governm ...
and
WXYZ-TV
WXYZ-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside independent station WMYD (channel 20). Both stations share studios at Broadcast House on ...
.
Due to financial troubles, Amos was forced to sell the Famous Amos Company, and because the name "Famous Amos" was
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...
ed by his former company, he had to use The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company as his new company's name. A Famous Amos distributor at the time, Lou Avignone, heard Amos on a local radio talk show and, inspired by Amos' story of his early business success with Famous Amos and his spirit, contacted Amos with the idea for starting a new business. In 1994, the two became partners and subsequently launched Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins. The company focused on fat-free, nutritious muffins at that time. Uncle Noname became Uncle Wally's Muffin Company in 1999. The muffins are sold in more than 3,500 stores nationwide.
In 2014, an article in
''Fortune'' magazine lauded "The cookie comeback of 'Famous' Wally Amos" as Amos bought back his handmade cookies under a new name The Cookie Kahuna. These cookies were marketed in a store in Hawaii, where Amos was based. They come in the flavors original chocolate chip, chocolate chip with pecans and butterscotch with macadamia nuts.
In 2019, Amos was called "the King of cookies" by NBC affiliate
KSNV-TV
KSNV (channel 3) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside dual CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate KVCW (channel 33). Both stations share studios on Foremaster Lan ...
in Las Vegas.
In 2020, Content Media Group released a documentary on the life of Wally Amos, ''The Great Cookie Comeback: reBaking Wally Amos''. The film was directed by
Jeff MacIntyre.
Personal life
![The Reverend Shawn Amos performing at Ramblin' Roots](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/The_Reverend_Shawn_Amos_performing_at_Ramblin%27_Roots.jpg)
On July 1, 1979, Amos married Christine (Harris) Amos, who later helped him design the early merchandise and packaging for Famous Amos cookies. Wally Amos has 4 children: Michael Amos, Gregory Amos, Sarah Amos, and musician
Shawn Amos
Shawn Ellis Amos (born September 13, 1967) is an American songwriter, author, blues singer, record producer and digital marketing entrepreneur.
Amos is best known as blues singer and harmonica player, “The Reverend Shawn Amos.” He has relea ...
.
Amos had lived in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
from 1977 until 2018.
[ http://johnmcalley.com/assets/pdfs/feature-writing/FamousAmos.Spirit.Web.pdf] Amos currently resides in
Columbia, South Carolina, where he is working on Aunt Della's Cookies.
Publications
Authored
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Contributions
Books
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Audio books
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Filmography
References
External links
Famous Amos CookiesUncle Wally's
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, Wally
1936 births
20th-century African-American people
21st-century African-American people
African-American businesspeople
African-American non-fiction writers
Businesspeople from Florida
Businesspeople from New York (state)
Businesspeople from New York City
American food company founders
American non-fiction writers
American self-help writers
Living people
United States Air Force airmen
Writers from New York City
Writers from Tallahassee, Florida