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EW looks at the scratchin' and survivin' done by the Evans family and their friends since the classic series left the air.
In the 1970s, it was still relatively rare for a network to center a sitcom on a Black family. But after the success of All in the Family, creator Norman Lear was in a position to get just about any project he wanted greenlit. One of them was Good Times, which followed the Evans family as they navigated life in a Chicago public housing project.
After six seasons of family comedy and drama — not to mention the cultural phenomenon that was Jimmie Walker's J.J. Evans — Good Times came to a close, leaving behind a legacy of 133 episodes that continue to find new audiences today.
Many of the cast members went on to enjoy continued success — one, in particular, became a global pop superstar — while others took quieter career paths. Entertainment Weekly is looking back at what they've all been up to over the years.
01 of 09
Esther Rolle (Florida Evans)
Esther Rolle played Florida Evans, the matriarch of the Evans family and one of the most formidable TV moms in primetime history. Blending a winning smile, a rapier-like wit, and a no-nonsense attitude, she kept her three children — and the family as a whole — in line.
Rolle got her start on the stage, earning enough praise for the 1972 musical Don't Play Us Cheap that she reprised the role in the subsequent film adaptation. Though her screen career officially began as far back as Michael Roemer's classic Nothing but a Man (1964), it wasn't until the early '70s that the offers really began rolling in.
After spending 45 episodes as Florida on Maude, Rolle's character was spun off into Good Times. She remained on the show until a standoff with Norman Lear led her to leave after her contract expired at the end of season 4. After sitting out the fifth season, however, she returned for the show's sixth and final season.
Throughout the '80s, Rolle made guest appearances on shows including Flamingo Road and Murder, She Wrote while appearing in high-profile films such as The Mighty Quinn (1989) and Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Her lone attempt at another full-time series came in 1990 with the sitcom Singer & Sons, but it was canceled after just four episodes.
Late in her career, the Florida native landed notable big-screen roles in John Singleton's Rosewood (1997) and Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta (1998), alongside Alfre Woodard.
Rolle died from complications of diabetes in 1998 at the age of 78. Her family later donated more than 100 of her personal items to the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale, including the Emmy she won for the 1978 TV movie Summer of My German Soldier.
02 of 09
John Amos (James Evans)
John Amos played James Evans, the patriarch of the Evans family and the character whose offscreen death led to one of television's most unforgettable moments: Florida's anguished cry of, “Damn! DAMN!! DAMN!!!”
Though his temper could flare at the drop of a hat — sometimes surprisingly intensely for a sitcom — James' love for his family was never in question.
Amos spent the mid-1960s trying to make it as a professional football player, bouncing from one opportunity to the next. After signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1967, head coach Hank Stram told him, “Son, you are not a football player. You are a young man who happens to be playing football. But I have a feeling that you might have another calling.”
Amos soon turned his sights toward acting. His first major role came in 1970, when he was hired to play weatherman Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He followed that with appearances on Love, American Style, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, and Sanford and Son, as well as a starring role in the Disney film The World's Greatest Athlete (1973).
Amos first played James Evans in a trio of Maude episodes, setting the character up for Good Times. He remained on the hit spinoff until the end of season 3, when his frequent criticisms of the show's creative direction — particularly its increasing emphasis on J.J.'s broad comedy — ultimately led Norman Lear to fire him. Although his first role afterward was the short-lived Future Cop, his next — playing the older Kunta Kinte in Roots — cemented his place in television history.
Beyond Roots, Amos' post-Good Times roles were remarkably diverse. He was famously the proprietor of McDowell's — it's not McDonald's! — in Coming to America (1988) and went up against John McClane in Die Hard 2 (1990). Elsewhere, he appeared in The Beastmaster (1982), Ricochet (1991), The Players Club (1998), and Madea's Witness Protection (2012), not to mention playing himself in Uncut Gems (2019).
The New Jersey native never stopped working on the small screen. He had a recurring role on Hunter, starred in the short-lived All in the Family spinoff 704 Hauser, then went on to recur on In the House, The West Wing (as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace), The District, All About the Andersons, and Men in Trees.
The actor's final role was an episode of Suits LA. He died of congestive heart failure in 2024 at the age of 84.
03 of 09
Jimmie Walker (J.J. Evans)
As J.J., Jimmie Walker was the breakout star of Good Times, making a huge impression with his floppy denim hat, lanky physique, and, most of all, his signature catchphrase: “Dyn-o-mite!”
As a result of his success on the series, Walker quickly became a television staple, appearing on a 1977 Bob Hope TV special and in five episodes of The Love Boat (each time as a different character), as well as the films Let's Do It Again (1975), Rabbit Test (1978), and The Concorde … Airport '79 (1979). He also has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo in Airplane! (1980), where he appears outside the cockpit changing the plane's windshield wipers.
After the end of Good Times, Walker booked guest spots on The White Shadow and Cagney & Lacey before attempting to find another long-running hit. First came a starring role in the ABC sitcom At Ease (1983), followed a few years later by another sitcom, Bustin' Loose. Both lasted just a single season.
The New York native has continued to work steadily in stand-up comedy. Over the years, he has guest-starred on The Larry Sanders Show, Blossom, Everybody Hates Chris, and Scrubs, among many other television appearances.
04 of 09
Ja’Net DuBois (Willona Woods)
As Willona, Florida's best friend and the neighborhood's resident gossip, Ja'Net DuBois was best remembered for her character's snappy wit, always arriving with a perfectly timed punchline.
DuBois began her acting career on Broadway, appearing in A Raisin in the Sun alongside Louis Gossett Jr. before joining the cast of Golden Boy, where she worked with future Good Times costar Johnny Brown, as well as Sammy Davis Jr. and Lola Falana.
She first made the jump to the screen in the film A Man Called Adam (1966). A run of guest spots and supporting film roles ultimately led her to Good Times, where Willona's role expanded considerably during the fifth season after Esther Rolle left the series and John Amos had already been written out.
DuBois famously cowrote and sang the theme song for The Jeffersons and later briefly pursued a recording career, releasing two albums: 1980's Queen of the Highway and a self-titled LP in 1983.
For the most part, however, DuBois continued acting, spending the '80s and early '90s appearing on episodes of The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, A Different World, and Beverly Hills, 90210, including a particularly memorable performance in Keenen Ivory Wayans' I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).
During the '80s, she also ran the Ja'Net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences on Long Island and popped up in the video for Janet Jackson's "Control," playing—who else?—her mother.
The Philadelphia native later found success as a voice actor on Eddie Murphy's stop-motion series The PJs and starred in two TV movies as Burt Reynolds' assistant in his Hard Time franchise. In later years, she appeared on Everybody Loves Raymond, Crossing Jordan, and Cold Case.
DuBois died in her sleep of cardiac arrest in 2020 at the age of 74. She was survived by three of her four children; her son Raj died in 1987.
05 of 09
Ralph Carter (Michael Evans)
Ralph Carter played Michael, the youngest child and most politically active member of the Evans family, regularly standing up for his rights and doing so at a volume that, for better or worse, never failed to get him noticed.
Carter’s volume, of course, was nothing new. He got his start as a child actor on Broadway, securing a breakout, Tony-nominated role in the musical Raisin, based on A Raisin in the Sun. He also utilized his success on Good Times to release an album, Young and In Love.
Following Good Times, Carter largely stepped away from on-camera acting, though he returned to the stage in the mid-2000s as part of the Classical Theatre of Harlem's revival of Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death.
06 of 09
Bern Nadette Stanis (Thelma Evans)
Bern Nadette Stanis played Thelma, the Evans family's only daughter and the apple of her parents' eye, thanks in no small part to the fact that she got into far less trouble than her brothers.
Although Good Times was Stanis' first on-camera role, she trained at Juilliard's School of Drama. She was also a former Miss Brooklyn and the first runner-up in the Miss New York State pageant.
Stanis spent much of her subsequent career making guest appearances on series including What's Happening Now!!, The Cosby Show, The Wayans Bros., The Parent 'Hood, and Girlfriends.
In later years, she carved out a second career as a nonfiction author focusing on life and relationship advice. She eventually landed her highest-profile acting role in decades on BET's The Family Business and now stars in its spinoff, The Family Business: New Orleans.
07 of 09
Johnny Brown (Nathan Bookman)
As Nathan Bookman, superintendent of the Evanses' apartment building, Johnny Brown spent much of his time suffering the verbal slings and arrows fired by the other characters, usually because of his own incompetence.
Although he didn't make his debut until late in the second season, he quickly became a fan favorite and appeared regularly for the remainder of the series.
A successful stand-up comedian with Broadway experience, Brown made his film debut in A Man Called Adam (1966) before appearing in Neil Simon's The Out-of-Towners (1970). His first major break came that same year, when he joined the cast of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
From there, he made guest appearances on Night Gallery, Maude, The Rookies, and the Dom DeLuise sitcom Lotsa Luck — not to mention a trifecta of live-action Saturday morning shows: The Ghost Busters, The Lost Saucer, and Monster Squad.
Brown spent the remainder of his career balancing occasional film roles with one-off television guest appearances, building a formidable résumé that included Archie Bunker's Place, The Jeffersons, Punky Brewster, Moonlighting, Martin, Family Matters, Touched by an Angel, and Everybody Hates Chris.
Brown died of cardiac arrest in 2022 at the age of 84.
08 of 09
Janet Jackson (Penny Gordon Woods)
Although Janet Jackson had appeared alongside her famous siblings on their variety series, The Jacksons, she didn't truly launch her acting career until landing the role of Penny, an abused child introduced in Good Times' fifth season who is eventually adopted by Willona.
Jackson continued acting for a short time afterward, landing a recurring role on Diff'rent Strokes and a major role in Fame's fourth season. But it was her music career that ultimately took precedence — and defined her legacy.
Although she quickly found her footing on the R&B charts, it wasn't until her third album, 1986's Control, that she achieved her true pop breakthrough, launching a string of top-10 hits. It marked the beginning of a remarkable run of platinum albums and No. 1 singles, including "Miss You Much," "That's the Way Love Goes," and "All for You."
The Indiana native has won five Grammy Awards and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for "Again," which she cowrote for John Singleton's Poetic Justice (1993). The film also marked Jackson's return to screen acting, this time in a leading role opposite Tupac Shakur and Regina King.
She has acted only sparingly in the years since. She starred opposite Eddie Murphy in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) and later appeared in a string of Tyler Perry films: Why Did I Get Married? (2007), Why Did I Get Married Too? (2010), and For Colored Girls (2010).
Jackson's most recent studio album is 2015's Unbreakable. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
The music legend has one child, born in 2017.
09 of 09
Ben Powers (Keith Anderson)
Although Ben Powers only appeared in the final season, he made a major impression as Keith, a college football star who is introduced, sweeps Thelma off her feet, proposes, injures his knee at their wedding, and subsequently loses his shot at an NFL contract — all within the four-part season 6 premiere.
(Don't worry: The series famously gave nearly every major character a happy ending, including Keith, whose knee is miraculously healed, setting him up for another shot at the NFL.)
Powers got his start as a stand-up comic, putting those talents to use as a cast member of the 1977 revival of Laugh-In, where he worked alongside a pre-Mork & Mindy Robin Williams.
After Good Times ended, Powers shifted into guest-star mode, appearing on series including Gimme a Break!, The Greatest American Hero, and Laverne & Shirley. He also appeared in a pair of Cheech and Chong films — Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980) and Things Are Tough All Over (1982) — as well as the Burt Reynolds comedy The Man Who Loved Women (1983).
Following his recurring role as Moochie on Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, Powers largely stepped away from acting. He died of liver cancer in 2015 at the age of 64.
Where can I watch Good Times?
Good Times is currently available to stream on Peacock.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
