Jimmie Walker on the cast of "Good Times"

Die; no might.

Jimmie Walker can eat a bag of dicks. He’s very good friends with Ann Coulter.

Damn he's ugly.

I saw him do stand-up years ago at Caroline's in NYC. I walked out he was so horrible.

He has nothing to say about me???

Jimmie has always struck me as having a gay vibe, for some reason.

Why is DL suddenly obsessed with “Good Times”?

OP, you are aware that he's a psycho freak, yes?

Any man who uses "ie" instead of "y" at the end of his name is gay. i.e. Lennie, Bobbie, Jimmie and so forth.

If he were gay, he'd be JAMES Walker.

He's 71 now. Never been married and never had any children. He and Ann Coulter are just friends. He's conservative and supports Trump.

R9 His real name is James Carter Walker, Jr.

John and Esther were told the show would be about them and the kids would be supporting players. I don't blame them for hating what it became. I never thought it was funny.

It was a great show but very much of its time.

Didn't he mouth off about being "the only" black actor to not get a part in ROOTS?

[quote]Didn't he mouth off about being "the only" black actor to not get a part in ROOTS?

Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that he's a terrible actor.

It was better before JJ became the focus.

Good Times is getting a reboot.

They make reference to Roots on Good Times in a strange meta moment. I don't remember exactly, but someone on the show references "Kunta Kinte" and Florida "Now he making mo' money then all of us." Kind of vague, but John Amos played Kunta (older Kunta) and obviously he'd played her husband on Good Times previously.

Is he still hangin’ in a chow line?

The reboot will be about a family led by two Asian lesbians.

R20 They are transgender Asian lesbians......OUCH!

NOT a pretty face. I have seen 100s of turtle head turds prettier than him.

[quote]Any man who uses "ie" instead of "y" at the end of his name is gay. i.e. Lennie, Bobbie, Jimmie and so forth.

Damn right.

FF R22

No sympathy. His shenanigans led to John's and Esther's departures and likely caused Ralph to become demotivated.

That is one rude ugly SO B.

he's right

Well smell him, it doesn't stop him from showing up at the autograph shows and making money. They were all together this past year at CHILLER in New Jersey.

Slap him, Wilona

Slap him, JANBOT!

I love these "He's ugly" posts like his career was based on his looks.

ANYWAY

I find it fascinating that they never spoke out of character. How does that even happen? He's also right about that Bernadette Stanis calendar. I still hear men talking about how beautiful she was/is.

I stopped watching 'Good Times' when he became the breakout star, just like I stopped watching 'Happy Days' when it became 'The Fonzie Show'.

[quote]My favorite part is when he mentions seeing these people at autograph shows —

If he sees Esther at autograph shows, it must be because he's drunk. She's been dead for twenty years.

he's ugly.

He's on a local commercial nonstop. All he says is dynamite in his unique delivery over and over again. He looks like he has some memory or dementia issues honestly. It's a cringe-worthy commercial. l.p.

Why was John Amos fired?

Jimmie and John both have BDF

There's nothing unusual about what he said. He doesn't say he, Rolle and Amos only spoke when in character. He said the only time they spoke was when they were on the set and never outside of work. Big deal. That's the way it is with most people who work with each other. There's no fucking way actors working that closely could not have spoken to each other during their work hours outside of the times they were performing. Anyone who has ever had a job of any type can look back and say that they never spoke to the vast majority of the people they've worked with outside of work hours, did not have their home or cell phone numbers, and didn't even know where they lived.

And as for his relationship with the others, there have been more sets that could be counted where actors had no desire for any sort of relationship outside of work for various reasons. At times it's because they honestly don't like each other, or their private lives and/or personalities simply go in very different directions.

It's obvious he's just talking about how so many viewers automatically assume that all actors who work together and appear to like each other on the show or in movies must automatically be very close personal friends. And that's because a large percentage of the viewing public are cretins.

Later in the video he talks about when Lear and Amos let him have it over his suggestion that Stannis do a pin-up poster. So obviously he and Amos spoke outside of the times they were performing in front of the cameras.

R36 John got fired because he was extremely vocal in his dislike of Jimmie's adolescent behavior, which altered the mission, focus, and mood of the show for the worse.

Jimmie should have been cast as a Sweathog instead of an Evans child.

If he’s reduced to autograph shows it’s because he wasn’t smart with his money. He was everywhere in the 70s and should’ve made quite a bit of money.

He should’ve invested it more wisely if that is the case.

r38 is Ann Coulter.

[Quote]He doesn't like Amos at all.

That's sad, because John spoke favorably about him.

the only good thing on the show was Ester Rolle.

If he's a right wing Ann Coulter lover I would imagine that's a big reason the performing gigs have dried up for him. These days that's the wrong business to be in if you're a right winger who is too stupid to keep your personal beliefs quiet.

[quote]I love these "He's ugly" posts like his career was based on his looks.

Although if I remember correctly, JJ actually had a number of beautiful dates on the show. He was kind of written as a lady killer.

[quote]If he’s reduced to autograph shows it’s because he wasn’t smart with his money.

He's got to have some money because he lives in Lloyd Harbor in a waterfront mansion. It's considered the fanciest part of the area where I live.

I know they don't mean a whole lot, but the celeb net worth sites claim he only has a net worth of $800 thousand. If he's living in a waterfront mansion then he bought it and paid for it in full back when he was making much more money than he's making now. I'd love to know what his property taxes are and if he's able to pay them easily or not.

[quote]Jimmie should have been cast as a Sweathog instead of an Evans child.

Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs would have killed as J.J. He would have given the character much more dignity.

Amos and Rilke didn’t like him. Why should he like them back? Walkers schtick wore thin sometimes, but he brought some much needed levity to the show about a family living in the ghetto. One of the writers has said Walker clearly didn’t respect Amos and Rolle and they deserved it. I wouldn’t be so open to respect if my fellow actors wouldn’t give me the time of day off set.

The show DID tackle a lot of important social issues for blacks and was very much of its time. On Family Ties Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter were smart enough just shut up and continue working when it became the Michael J Fox show. Not the biggest fan of Walker but he should get some slack. The character was a buffoon but was popular. The writers just wrote to that. There were other characters on the show who gave it balance.

Amos and Rolle^^^

Jimmie Walker might very well be gay. George Jefferson-Sherman Helmsley was as queer as a thirteen dollar bill. But you never would have guessed. Now Ralph Carter seemed GAY. Especially in the last two season of the show when he wasn't a little kid any more. He sounded a bit queeny.

Goddamn right, r49 .

[quote]Walkers schtick wore thin sometimes,

"Sometimes"?!

It's like saying rain is wet, sometimes.

And I could see LHJ actually being a lady killer. Walker, not so much.

I always got Ralph Carter and Haywood Nelson confused.

It's obvious from the Walker interview at OP and the Amos interview at R43 they have two very different recollections of the same event(s). Not unusual at all. I will say Amos has reconciled to whatever happened on that set (probably because his career post GT was a lot more successful) and moved on with his life and career, whereas Walker is bitter.

Very interesting to listen to both interviews.

This is the difference: Ralph Carter is GAY and Haywood Nelson is STRAIGHT.

R50

Hi, Ann Coulter!

R54 Walker could be funny sometimes. He was better in small doses. He didn’t act the idiot the entire series. After Rolle left the character evolved. I don’t remember him saying dynomite one time after Amos was killed off.

Wonder what he thought when in living color made that video about him parodying Mama said knock you out. One of the funniest music videos that they ever did

R61 That's pretty funny!

Maybe, r60, but it was too late by the time the lead actors had both departed.

Not if he was born before 1950, R9.

There was always a rumor about John Amos being gay, even though he's married with kids. Hot man.

He was very good to Letterman when Letterman was starting out. Letterman never forgot it..

R47 he must have bought his house years ago when he was pulling in a big salary.

I thought that was awful about him trying to pimp out Bernnadette Stanis for a pin-up poster. He still doesn’t get it all these years later. As if there needed to be another reason to think he’s an odious toad.

It’s telling that none of the other cast members liked him.

Although Esther Rolle notoriously had no sense of humor whatsoever. How and why she worked as a comedic actress is beyond me. Bea Arthur didn’t really think much of her either.

[quote] If he’s reduced to autograph shows it’s because he wasn’t smart with his money. He was everywhere in the 70s and should’ve made quite a bit of money. He should’ve invested it more wisely if that is the case.

Al ot of actors do autograph shows because they enjoy it. I've met plenty who are proud of their work and love having fans tell them they appreciate it. It's a profitable weekend and a huge ego boost.

Esther worked as a comic actress because she was funny, r68 .

I love Bea, but she didn't care much for Bettt White, either, so her opinions about Esther don't hold much sway.

R65, that was a Datalounge rumor, in other words a wish.

Jimmie Walker was a stand up comic when he was hired as an actor. Stand-ups being ugly, fat, too ethnic, whatever is common.

From everything I've seen, heard, and read about comics, a large percentage of them are not the nicest people you'd want to meet when they're not performing. Some say that most comics choose that type of work because of serious mental and personality issues.

[quote]Why is DL suddenly obsessed with “Good Times”?

Imagine if Rita Coolidge had guest-starred on an episode?

I agree about comics. Most of them have managed to squeeze five minutes of laughs out of their otherwise neurotic, miserable lives.

R50: Cracker please. He wasn't an actor and he REFUSED to take acting lessons, lessons from top teachers paid for by Norman himself. Of course professional and fully trained actors like Amos and Rolle are going to have a problem with that, in addition to his obvious unwilling-ness in interacting with them. How much you making to promote his ass on here?

He got started on the Chitlin Circuit by reciting bits from other peoples comedy albums. I saw him do stand up about 17 years ago and it was very average, but I did pay for a $5 autograph I still have.

This happens all the time. The audience takes a liking to a supporting player and the supporting player becomes THE show and the main leads resent the supporting player for it. And in most cases it's nothing that the supporting player has done, other than read a bit of dialogue or do a bit of business that clicks with the audience.

I watched the interview and found him charming. He probably inflated his contributions a little bit in some places, but a lot of stuff gets jumbled with time. He was right about that calendar.

[quote]The audience takes a liking to a supporting player and the supporting player becomes THE show and the main leads resent the supporting player for it.

Welcome to DL, Jaleel White.

Jimmie Walker was a mediocre standup comedian who got very, very lucky.

David Letterman is the most loyal person in show business.

And I know for a fact that he has ended up taking care of(financially) several of the people wo gave him a hand up when he was starting out when they run into financial difficulties. I am not saying that Jimmie has difficulties, I am only stating that Dave never ever left him behind once HE became the bigger star.

Wow. Does Walker have anything good to say about anyone at all on the show?

John Amos was only seven years older than Walker, who played his son. Rolle was 19 years older than Amos.

A few years ago, I saw another interview with Walker, where he was much more blunt. I got the feeling that, when they weren't in front of the camera, Walker would rather spend time in his dressing room than interact with his costars.

Maybe 20 years ago, there was a "Behind the Music" type show about Good Times. During her talking head segment, Janet DuBois gave her take on the conflict about the JJ character becoming so prominent on the show. She said that it was a cultural issue, that "in the black community, the father does not rise above the son."

Esther Rolle left the show because the JJ character was too obnoxious. She told the producers she'd return only if the JJ character matured. In Rolle's absence, the writers did make the JJ character more responsible, so she came back for the final season.

We could make of list of them R78.

Christine Baranksi

Henry WInkler

Marla Gibbs

Jackee

Blair, Tootie, and Natalie from Season 1 of Facts of Life

Delta Burke

The list goes on and on...

[quote] Rolle was 19 years older than Amos.

Isabel Sanford was 21 years older than Sherman Hemsley.

R75 cunt. I’m just stating the facts and the reality of the tv business. I’m not Walker and not affiliated in any way with him. Walker wasn’t perfect on the show God knows but if the three kids would’ve been ALL the same it would’ve gotten pretty boring. There’s a lotta woulda shoulda coulda threads on dL. Sure it could’ve been better without Walker acting the way he did sometimes, but we are not talking CW network level bottom of the barrel shit here.

[quote]Esther Rolle left the show because the JJ character was too obnoxious.

She was very specific before the show even started that she wanted to show the black family as a whole family (including the family). There also had to be a religious implication to it (that's why the Jesus picture on the wall).

I think she was at odds even before the show started because I think Norman Lear wanted it to be a poor black family in the projects and she wanted to be the black Maude.

Considering he is a Trump supporter and a Republican for decades, I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth

R84: Fine, you're a fangurl for him. Have fun with it. You're still wrong about the show and everything I (and others) have typed is totally accurate. You need to learn to deal with it, dear.

[quote]Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs would have killed as J.J. He would have given the character much more dignity.

Yes, that’s why he went on to have such a blockbuster career after Kotter — because he could do anything!

Decades ago there was a short lived show where comedians would gather in a restaurant and talk about comedy and eat. Jimmie was on an episode and the entire time all he did was eat the food in front of him. I think he said maybe two words about ketchup but otherwise contributed nothing. It was very odd.

If his net worth is really only 800k (and I've seen it listed as low as 500k) then he must either owe a ton of money on his house and have little equity, or he must be cash poor with no investment income, and have a sizeable equity in the house.

"He says Ralph Carter "gave up" and phoned it in sometime in the middle of the series."

But that booty never phoned it in!

"David Letterman is the most loyal person in show business.

And I know for a fact that he has ended up taking care of(financially) several of the people wo gave him a hand up when he was starting out when they run into financial difficulties. I am not saying that Jimmie has difficulties, I am only stating that Dave never ever left him behind once HE became the bigger star."

This would explain why the unfunniest comedian ever, George Miller, was on his show so often. The crowd never laughed at any of his jokes and George always looked very uncomfortable doing his routine.

I had to look this George Miller up as I'd never heard of him before, and I see he died 16 years ago.

R84 learn to read bitch. From my first post I said I’m not the biggest Walker fan. He can be asshole for sure. The show would not have been as popular without him. This is a fact. Sure his character was an idiot, but not totally unfunny. That’s what the public liked. It was what it was. The show would’ve benefited more from an all black writers. However CBS laughed all the way to the bank with Walker on the show. All true.

Didn't he used to be thin?

I bet John Amos, even at his advanced age, could still throw a mean big-dicked fuck.

Yes. That is correct R92. Any comic who had given Dave a job writing when he was a starving Comedy Store newbie in the 70s was always booked 2-3 times per year regardless of their popularity or performance. It was not a matter of giving them a little money, it was so they could use "straight from Late Night with David Letterman" or "From The Late Show with David Letterman" when promoting gigs around the country.

His friendship with the great John Witherspoon is legion. "Spoon" named his first son after Dave.

There may not be an odder duck than DL in all of show biz, and many people mistake his weirdness for arrogance or misanthropy, but he is has held on to his midwestern values all these years, and he is one of a kind.

Isn't John Amos married to some white soap opera twink?

I remember seeing Jimmy trotted out on the conservative jewish Dennis Prager show. Dennis was so pleased he had a pet conservative black guy to show off.

Haywood Nelson had such cute round bubble butt on him. And the way his jeans clung to it.

Heaven.

Ralph sings!

I don't understand his criticism of Ralph Carter. First of all, Ralph was a kid who went through adolescence over the course of the show. (Walker, on the other hand, was 27 and playing a 16-year-old.) Throughout the series, I don't remember any point where Ralph appeared to be "phoning it in". He was given less to do as the focus on Walker increased. And after the James character was gone, there went the major source of conflict for the Michael character.

He doesn't have a single good thing to say about anyone. A few years back when most of the cast reunited at some autograph-signing events, lots of autograph seekers posted videos of youtube. The other cast members all seemed to get along well, and they were trying to be inclusive towards Walker, but he seemed standoffish. He's a difficult person. He might have some personality disorder.

R102 I think after Amos got dismissed, there was the sense of phoning it in among cast members. Only Janet Dubois imo got even better after Amos and especially Rolle leaving. Some of the episodes were awful the season Rolle was gone. When Rolle returned it improved somewhat and became more topical again.

[quote]we are not talking CW network level bottom of the barrel shit here.

Well, not when the show still had two recognizable lead actors who were popular from their time on Maude, r84, but once that became permanently fractured and the result was The J J Show, "CW" is a pretty good way of describing it.

Any criticism against Ralph Carter is harsh. As stated above, he was just a kid when the show started and he actually did a good job. Part of the problem was that they made him the mouthpiece for all things black and his babbling of black unemployment stats was what killed his character. He's the only character on the show that could have been removed and nobody would have missed him. And that's not his fault because his character was poorly written.

I imagine Jimmy Walker is bitter because his career didn't turn out better. When you look at Sherman Helmsley and Isabelle Sanford being swept off All In the Family and into their own very successful show AND then Marla Gibbs being swept off to her own show (yes, her sitcom was crap because of the writing not because she wasn't funny). When you look at Bea Arthur making, what two appearances on All In The Family and getting her own show. When you see Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams doing one appearance on Happy Days and then getting their own show. And then to top it off, on his very own show, Janet Jackson and Gary Coleman going on to be hugely popular after the show. All of that has to make a person slightly bitter.

[quote] He's a difficult person. He might have some personality disorder.

He is best friends with Ann Coulter, that should say it all

If he bought that house in Lloyd Harbor when Good Times was running, I bet it was paid off long ago. We used to smoke pot at the end of his private road back when we were in high school. Sandy beach. Great view. The house is on a massive lot with at least 500 ft. of frontage. It was only recently I read he lived there. And now I can't remember where. Also I have no idea if he still owns it. But if he does . . . definitely a good investment.

[quote] the only good thing on the show was Ester Rolle.

But they had to fire her because she kept smashing the punch bowls.

Wow I never knew John Amos was nineteen years younger than Esther Rolle! And JJ was only 7 years younger than John Amos.

Haywood Nelson shows Ralph Carter how it is done.

He is a terrible actor and even as a young kid I found his character ridiculous. So many of these shows from the 70s are unwatchable now.

[quote]Haywood Nelson shows Ralph Carter how it is done.

Haywood Nelson can kiss my black ass. Good Times bought me out of my Broadway musical "Raisin" so that I could be in Good Times. Don't even go there, bitch.

R105 yes, but those other actors you mentioned didn't turn the shows they were on into shambling wrecks. They did what they were supposed to do, didn't derail the shows they were on, and weren't braying jackasses who played to the lowest common denominator in order to steal the most attention in every scene.

R33 writes,

[quote]If he sees Esther at autograph shows, it must be because he's drunk. She's been dead for twenty years.

And, yet, in a way she is more alive than him.

[quote]They did what they were supposed to do, didn't derail the shows they were on, and weren't braying jackasses who played to the lowest common denominator in order to steal the most attention in every scene.

Jimmy Walker did what he was supposed to do. If the producers didn't want that, they could have sent JJ away to live with Aunt Frieda in Harlem and he would have made weekly phone calls like Suzanne Somers had to do when she got out of her place. I don't blame Jimmy Walker. It must have also been difficult because when John and Esther left the show, his character had to prop up the show. Willona could only run in and out of their apartment making wisecracks so many times before it became unrealistic. Why was old Willona hanging around with a bunch of teenagers? When Florida left, that left nothing for Willona to do. So the JJ character had to step up and continue the show.

R115 of course that line of reasoning ignores the fact that they left the show because of him. It didn't have to turn out the way it did.

[quote]of course that line of reasoning ignores the fact that they left the show because of him.

And if Esther and John mattered to the producers, they would have stayed on the show and JJ would be calling from Harlem. The fact was that Jimmy was bringing in the viewers. His stupid shtick was popular back then. T-shirts, lunchboxes, etc. He created a buzzword that entered the cultural lexicon. The producers weren't going to kill that cash cow.

When you think about it, it's interesting that when Esther left, top billing went to Ja'Net. They could have easily rearranged the billing to put Jimmy, who became head of the Evans household, in first position and perhaps given Ja'Net the "and" placement at the end. And when Esther returned and went back into first position with Jimmy in second, she could have kept her special placement at the end. But then, with Florida away, Willona essentially became the only mature adult and, in the producers' eyes, the de facto star of the show. (It's hard to imagine that that set well with Jimmy either.)

I'll never forget how much my father hated "Good Times." He worked two jobs at the time to support us and said that the last thing he wanted to do when he got home was watch a show about another black family struggling through hard times. (Like James Evans, he passed when we were young; I was 10 when we lost him.)

Esther Rolle said Bern'Nadette Stanis was the daughter she never had, and the two stayed close for decades until Esther died.

Here in 1992 Esther appears on the Joan Rivers daytime show, and Esther confesses she accepted the invite, so she can get a free trip on NYC to see her TV daughter (Bern'Nadette) in a play. And who should surprise her on the show? Bern'Nadette!

Go 11:26 into video at link

As a child, I thought the later Michael/Ralph was attractive, despite his militancy. I didn’t realize he had been a singer. I really like this song he did.

The blame rests squarely with Jimmie Walker and his narcissistic stand-up comic impulses. There's always one guy in every group who will show is ass for a cheap laugh, and the one one Good Times instigated major negatives changes. The producers smelled another Fonzie Mania and didn't rein him back, as they should have. The result was just as embarrassing as it was on Happy Days, both for the cast, and for the mindless audience members who fueled such childish and simplistic presentations.

Everyone should have known better, not just John and Esther.

Honestly, Ralph Carter is the main reason I watched the show. I kinda had a crush on him (I was 4 years younger).

I never cared one bit about those stupid kids. They were just set dressing to me, like the couch. At least the couch had a reason for being on the set.

R107 if the House has over 500 ft of frontage shouldn't the value of the house in that neighborhood be over $1M? If it is his net worth should be over $1M, unless he has taken a lot of equity out of the house.

I actually went on Zillow and looked at Lloyd Harbor real estate. Not impressed, have to say. Ocean front properties are 1-2 million, but the area itself is on the bay, so the views are nice but not spectacular.

Ralph Carter is openly gay, isn't he? I hope he's not in the closet in his 50s.

According to IMDB, he basically did nothing but this TV show.

Didn't Florida leave the show by joining her second husband in AZ (not sure Florida would have remarried that quickly). How did they explain his absence when she came back? I am pretty sure he was not in that final season.

Yeah, how are they going to explain John Amos when he was killed off of the original Good Times? Well, maybe they won't have to worry. The kickstarter was started almost three years ago and so far has only 8-9k raised out of 1million.

"How did they explain his absence when she came back? I am pretty sure he was not in that final season."

I seem to recall that she came back without him because he died. Poor Florida, widowed once again.

"Good Times" really was a piece of shit. The only good thing about it was John Amos. He was the best actor and the best looking male on that show.

Over 100 posts and no mention of Thelma's fine ass husband, Keith?

My goodness, but Bernadette is stunning in r119's clip.

They were an attractive couple.

R119 man, Joan Rivers was a million times better on that daytime show than she was on the late night Fox talk show. Much more relaxed and natural. Fox executives really fucked that whole deal up.

It's beyond me how anyone can think of Esther Rolle as a "comedic actress". She was horrible, and completely unfunny.

Hey Bea, welcome to DL!

Right, r135 . She was so horrible that they spun her off, gave her a fat contract deal, and made her the lead of the new show with top billing.

I didn't considerer Thelma's husband Keith "fine ass." I thought he looked pretty goofy.

I thought "Good Times" had an ending that was such a crock. After all the years of "scratching and SUR-viving" they all end up nicely off. Keith (who had previously suffered what looked like a career ending knee injury) is back being a football player, and he and the pregnant Thelma move to an expensive apartment, taking Florida with them. Willona gets promoted to "head buyer" at the never seen boutique where she works, so she and her rotten little adopted daughter Penny (she wants to be a STAR) can move to an expensive apartment. J.J. creates a comic book character called "Dy-no-woman" and sells it to a publisher and he goes on to get an expensive bachelor "pad." Michael is in college, presumably on a scholarship, and is getting his own nice place off campus. As fate would have it ,it turns out the building Keith and Thelma and Florida they're moving into is the exact same one Wilona and Penny will also live in and is right upstairs from Willona's! The show ends as "Florida & Wilona laugh and cheer at this wonderful news and end the series with a hug." Oh PUKE. It would have been so much more meaningful and interesting if the last show had the characters still dealing with hardships but still determined to make better lives for themselves. Instead it turned out to be pure sap.

R138 it was written at the time that the ending was a sort of gift to the viewers who had stuck with the show and were rooting for the characters.

To do otherwise would have been more realistic, but it would have been too depressing and certainly unrewarding for the majority of fans who cared about whether or not the characters would be okay.

The year Esther Rolle quit Good Times, she went off and did a TV Movie "Summer of my Green Solider" and wound up winning the Emmy Award for her performance

See below

R82, Delta Burke doesn't belong on your list.

"To do otherwise would have been more realistic, but it would have been too depressing and certainly unrewarding for the majority of fans who cared about whether or not the characters would be okay."

i thought the ending sold out. That was a major theme of "Good Times", this family trying to do the best they can in trying circumstances. To wrap everything up in a "happily ever after" package trivialized it. I remember one scene when John Amos was still on the show. He and Florida were talking about their situation and she says something like "I don't know how we're gonna make it." And James says "same as we always do...somehow." I thought the show should have ended on that same kind of note.

Heywood Nelson and Ralph Carter could have had an ass-off, but Heywood’s booty was a bit more bubbly and buoyant.

Been Powers (Keith) had a nice ass too

*Ben

R142 nevertheless, that ending was chosen to make the majority of loyal viewers happy, at least that's how it was reported at the time .

I think the "loyal viewers" of "Good Times" must not have had much depth if all they wanted was a soppy happy ending.

The happy ending could have worked if they had built up to it, perhaps with an arc than spanned several episodes. Instead, life was crappy all the way to the last episode, when suddenly everyone's wildest dreams came true...all at the same time.

They should have had some new neighbors , Cook a batch of Crystal Meth. There is an Explosion and everyone in the building Is killed. Booker's fat ass can be seen tumulting Out the window first.

Fuck Good Times. Let's talk about WHAT'S HAPPENING!

They should have hailed a limo to drive the family and Willona/Penny to the new apartment building. JJ and Michael are in the limo, too, as they will be dropped off at the art studio and airport respectively. As the limo pulls away from the projects, a mack truck slams into it, killing the entire family.

Bookman runs outside to survey the commotion and pockets some coins that he finds on the ground nearby.

Im genuinely SHOCKED that JanBot hasnt shown up. Ill take his place in the meantime. ,janet Jackson saved this show after Tootie's mom burnt her with an iron.

Well, they didn't have much depth , r147 . Otherwise they never would have elevated Jimmie's jackassery over Esther and John's dedication to quality.

If they did have the sort of depth you are referring to, it seems likely that the show would have stayed the course desired by John and Esther, and we would be talking about a qualitatively very different, and perhaps even longer-running, show today.

But that didn't happen. We got Fonzied.

[quote]janet Jackson saved this show after Tootie's mom burnt her with an iron.

In two appearances, Chip Fields delivered the best performance in all of "Good Times." She was genuinely scary.

R154- Don't forget Shirley Hemphill's appearance on Good Times was genuinely FUNNY.

R126, out and allegedly poz...

I’ve been here R152, and you are correct. The arc that introduced Penny was Emmy-worthy thanks to Janet and Ja’Net’s outstanding performances.

Adding Janet Jackson to the cast was surely a shark jumping moment. And Wilona, who had previously had no interest whatsoever in being a single parent, decides she simply MUST adopt her. It just didn't make any sense. I guess it was a desperate attempt to keep people interested in the show by adding a "cute" child character. But she wasn't that cute. And she had this cringeworthy crush on J.J. She even wants to sleep in the same bed with him! Ew, gross!

R158 sounds like a millenial who doesnt understand context.

"Adding Janet Jackson to the cast was surely a shark jumping moment. And Wilona, who had previously had no interest whatsoever in being a single parent, decides she simply MUST adopt her. It just didn't make any sense. "

Jesus, sitcoms often don't "make sense."

R149 good one!

Yeah, I wasn't going to comment on the poster above who complained that GT didn't do their research because the super wouldn't have had any power and the project would have never taken a single, childless woman...

When you write a sitcom (or a short story or a novel), you have to have a variety of characters in a variety of situations--especially in a sitcom that could easily run for years--or you will run out of material. Sometimes you have to combine real life characters into one character to make the story easier to comprehend. Bookman is not actually meant to be a super: he's meant to show what it's like to have a person have authority over someone's housing (which is a government function).

It's true to life, but not in a documentary-style.

That's all.

You're right about Wilona never wanting a child before. What was great about that story arc was that Jan'et DuBois made you believe that her character had a change of heart. She sold it. Well.

Early in the two-part episode ("The Evanses get Involved") that introduces the character of Penny, the writers foreshadow Willona's adoption of Penny. They're not subtle at all; instead, they whack you over the head with the foreshadowing. After Penny leaves the Evans' apartment, Willona is talking to Thelma and says "If I had a little girl like that, I'd (smiling) blah blah blah....but what am I talking about (looking sad and forlorn), I don't have a little girl".

He SHO' is UGLY!

"I'm here with Black Beauty, Black Pride, and the thing from the black lagoon".

I liked it much better when they were a family unit, even though James was always so angry. I found two things funny: 1- Florida's husband is never mentioned once she comes back. 2- Bookman was the wise sage. When Carl had cancer, Bookman reveals he had the same kind and beat it. When Winona wants to adopt Penny, Bookman reveals he was adopted.

Without Jimmie Walker there would've been no show.

So all those complaints Amos and Rolle have are negated by the fact, without him, they wouldn't have had anything to complain about.

As it was "Happy Days" slaughtered it in the ratings with Walker, it barely hung on.

Esther Rolle and John Amos are equivalent to the guy who wins a million dollars and then bitches about paying taxes on it.

He was a better lay than David Cassidy.

R168 you have nothing to back that assertion.

There obviously was a show without Jimmie Walker because Esther and John were brought to it from another show. The rest of the casting happened after they were on board.

Good Times was cast with those two first.

R170 many shows have started out as one way on paper, get on air and it's discovered that what looked good on paper isn't translating to the screen. Then, to keep the show on air, they write to what is working and what is sparking with the audience. In this case it happened to be Jimmie Walker. I don't think he set out to steal the show, the audience just responded to him and it drove ratings so the writers put a larger focus on JJ. Sometimes things don't go as planned.

This is very similar to what happened on Cybill with Christine Baranski and in both cases the leads of the show got upset with their co-stars when it really wasn't the co-stars fault.

And in both cases it altered the balance of the show for the worse.

Nobody asked for it to become the Christine Baranski Show. I mean, she was great, and a necessary component for the show, but FUCK. Too much is enough, already.

I understand the theory behind what you say. But the reality is that there is going with what works, and then there's pandering to the simpleton masses for a fast and dirty buck. It happened to a lesser degree on Cybill, and to a much stronger degree on Good Times. It wasn't as if Good Times was in danger of cancellation when the decision was made to allow Jimmie to run amok. People were just in a pandering frame of mind.

I was so pissed when I saw Janet Jackson on the show. I was like "Whats that fucking bitch doing on Good Times?"

The adoption or appearance of a kid out of no where was standard for family sitcoms late in their run in the 70's and 80's. I haven't seen any of the episodes for a long time, but I think Janet was fairly unobnoxious compared to other late sitcom additions.

The one that was particularly odd was Vicky on the Love Boat. It was not a family sitcom to begin with, and it was odd to have a young girl on a boat filled with adults and no other kids in adult situations acting like she was a junior cruise director.

I hated Bookman.

r174, i hated booger too.

"The adoption or appearance of a kid out of no where was standard for family sitcoms late in their run in the 70's and 80's."

Like the kid Seven in Married With Children during season 7. By season 8, he had vanished without a trace.

He disappeared as inexplicably as he appeared.

I can understand why Rolle and Amos were upset. The show evolved into something other than what the producers promised Rolle. (R119, thanks for that Joan Rivers talk show clip!) Yes, the producers were making the character too buffoonish. But...it's normal for teenaged sons to posture. Without JJ's shenanigans, would the show still have been a comedy? A show constantly throws things against the wall, and if something sticks, it's only natural that they would want to leverage it. When a character's catchphrase becomes well known, ratings increase, and sponsors can be charged more money. Even as the JJ character's star rose, the parents were still the leaders of the family and thus played substantial roles in the episodes.

I do wonder if the network considered an alternate solution: Give the JJ character a spinoff show that depicts him as a cool but struggling artist. With him gone, that would have resolved the tension on the Good Times set. However, after that, neither show would have worked. The JJ character worked best within a family dynamic, annoying his angry father. To me, the JJ character lost most of his spark when James was no longer there to be triggered by him.

The show hasn’t aged well at all.

Does anyone remember the episode where Michael and his buddy get arrested? His friends was such a raging queen. I am not sure, but I think that he was the same actor who was in the Friday the 13th franchise.

i hated all of the "extra" guests they brought on this show.

[quote]When a character's catchphrase becomes well known, ratings increase, and sponsors can be charged more money.

Well, there's no way that could ever get old or become embarrassing, or affect the quality and legacy of the show. .

[quote]But she wasn't that cute

Are you blind? Janet was adorable.

I dunno R181, but young Gary Coleman was adorable on Good Times (and The Jeffersons). He played the most obnoxious punk "five year old" I've ever seen. I somehow thought he's continue the same character when he got his own sitcom...but, alas, they made him a good guy and unwatchable.

I loved the way Esther Rolle would say "Gary."

"GahhhReeeee."

"Jesus, sitcoms often don't "make sense."

This one seemed to be intent on portraying the realism of an African American family living in the ghetto, trying to get by. But then it started veering off into crazy directions and losing touch with reality. Wilona wanting to adopt a child all of a sudden without warning. Keith's miraculous recovery from a severe knee injury, seemingly without any extensive rehab. The mysterious demise of Florida's first husband. The ridiculous happy ending. You'd expect a sitcom like "Gilligan's Island" not to make sense, but "Good Times" should have aimed higher than that.

"Are you blind? Janet was adorable."

No, I'm not blind. And she wasn't "adorable." Penny was a self absorbed, materialistic child with a cringeworthy crush on J.J. Not "adorable" at all.

I’d have burned her ass too.

The main problem with this show was there were too many white people writing the scripts.

To the jaggoff at R185, Penny was an abused little girl who clung to JJ because she saw in him a safe haven from her loony mother. There was nothing self-absorbed or materialistic about her.

Remember when JJ went to the free clinic to get tested for VD, and he got a lecture from Jay Leno, who was also there for VD?

Stomach mumps!

Gary Coleman was so cute on the Jeffersons. George was babysitting Gary when Tom Willis walked into the Jeffersons' apartment.

Tom: Who's the little man?

Gary: That's my uncle George!

[quote]Florida's husband is never mentioned once she comes back.

That was Esther's doing. She wasn't a fan of that whole story arc tp begin with, as she didn't think Florida would go off and get married so soon. When they asked her to come back, one of the conditions was that they give a brief explanation as to where she had been, and then never mention it again.

Have you bitches forgotten about my CARING PSYCHIC FAMILY?

I am reminded what Florence Henderson and Sherwood Schwartz had to tell Robert Reed constantly: It's a sitcom!. Willona could not handle an episode on her own, see the ep where she works in Gordon Jump's store. The funniest ep was where the kids bought seconds in lingerie to sell to raise money for a surprise trip for Florida. Even Esther was hilarious in this one. Some man said he wanted to come down and look at my underwear!

[quote]When Carl had cancer, Bookman reveals he had the same kind and beat it. When Winona wants to adopt Penny, Bookman reveals he was adopted.

When Michael came out as gay, Bookman reveals he corrupted Michael's morals.

"Penny was an abused little girl who clung to JJ because she saw in him a safe haven from her loony mother. There was nothing self-absorbed or materialistic about her."

She didn't mind accepting the lavish gifts that her erstwhile mother bestowed upon her. And Wilona took another job in order to afford the dance lessons (or some kind of show business lessons) her little precious wanted. Little Precious wanted to be a famous STAR! And I never saw anything that suggested she "clung" to J. J. to escape her mother. She always wanted him as a boyfriend, a lover, not as a "safe haven."

As I recall Penny went from being with her abusive mother to the loving arms of Wilona in no time flat. She shows up at the Evan's apartment and tells Wilona "I'd love to stay with you!" and badda bing, badda boom, instant Mommy and Baby Girl! It really happened that fast. Her becoming part of the show came out of nowhere, like all these unneeded kid characters tended to. She dropped into Wilona's lap the same way Little Steffi dropped into the laps of Edith and Archie Bunker. And these child characters always signaled the decline of whatever show they were on. They were a total drag.

Nobody mentioned the old lady neighbor that ate dog food and nobody would touch the food she made.

[quote] Haywood Nelson had such cute round bubble butt on him. And the way his jeans clung to it.

Heywood Nelson appeared nude in a shower scene in the horror movie "Evilspeak"

Penny most certainly did cling to JJ. When JJ was about to leave to go on a date or something like that, she grabbed him and said “Please don’t go!” It was her acting more out of fear of having to go back home than her crush on him.

Hi DL!

"When JJ was about to leave to go on a date or something like that, she grabbed him and said “Please don’t go!”

She didn't want him to go out on dates because she wanted him as a boyfriend all to herself. I never got the impression her interest in J.J. had anything at all to do with her mother. Once she got mad at him and said if he didn't do something (I can't remember what it was) "we're through!" As if they were lovers. I guess in her mind they were.

There is no fucking way someone as hot as John Amos would marry Esther Rolle. I don’t care how much grey they put in his hair!

To be fair, JJ was Penny's KFC connection.

Florida was a good cook and he knew there wouldn’t be no messin around on her part when he was away.

Based on that photo at R200, she should change her name to BernaDDette.

Hard to believe anyone would argue the show would have been anywhere near as successful, if successful at all,without Jimmie Walker as JJ. He was the breakout star of the show, period, by far the most funny and memorable character, and the one which the public most responded to. The show was a sitcom (Situation COMEDY) which secondarily explored dramatic issues.

In OP's clip, Walker says that in a meeting with Norman Lear and John Amos, he suggested that they encourage Stanis to be featured in a sexy poster (perhaps like the famous Farrah Fawcett poster), and that the two men angrily rejected his idea. I think it's pretty cool that they didn't want anyone--including Walker--to pressure Stanis to objectify herself.

I always wanted to see John Amos nude. He had such a beautiful bubble ass. I imagine he'd have a huge cock too.

I just loved Walker on 'Gimme a Break'.

[quote] he suggested that they encourage Stanis to be featured in a sexy poster (perhaps like the famous Farrah Fawcett poster), and that the two men angrily rejected his idea.

He may have suggested it because there was very little representation of black women as pin-ups. The only black actress I remember getting featured on a pinup poster was Pam Grier.

[quote] When you see Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams doing one appearance on Happy Days and then getting their own show.

But that was preplanned. Garry Marshall put them on Happy Days to introduce them to the public. It wasn't a one appearance fluke, of course Garry was going to develop a show for his sitcom actress sister. Wasn't "Mork" similarly introduced on Happy Days too?

How sneaky...

So, minusing those two, what real, legitimate spin-off successes do we have? (That weren't pre-meditated...)

Yes, Garry possibly invented the concept of using his existing show to introduce new sitcoms. An episode of the popular show would be hijacked to feature the stars of the new sitcom. This "backdoor pilot" device would later become embraced by producers for "The Golden Girls".

He didn't invent it. Andy Griffith was introduced on Father Knows Best.

An unrealistic aspect of "Good Times" was how J.J. was portrayed as some kind of ladies man. He always had beautiful girlfriends even though he was bone ugly. I guess some might say his sparkling personality drew them in but I didn't think his personality was that attractive, either. He was just this,gangly. plug ugly goofball guy who said "dy-no-mite!" a lot.

I think this is as close to nude John Amos ever got onscreen.

[quote]Wasn't "Mork" similarly introduced on Happy Days too?

Yes, "Mork & Mindy" was essentially a spin-off of "Happy Days."

I think it's interesting to note that "Good Times" was essentially the grandchild of "All in the Family" given that it was a spinoff of "Maude," which was a spinoff of "Family." But once "Good Times" was created, all connections to "Maude" were completely eliminated as Florida's former employers the Findlays were never referred to, not even once. ("Maude" was also set in upstate New York whereas "Good Times" was set in Chicago.)

R217, "Maude" was set in Tuckahoe, NY in lower Westchester County, a 35 train ride to NYC - NOT upstate NY.

R214: Andy Griffith was spunoff from the Danny Thomas Show.

"Happy Days" itself was a spin-off of "Love American Style."

Several years ago, back when DL was funny, someone asked the question "What did that door in the kitchen lead to? Nobody ever touched it or referenced it." There were some very funny responses.

“You sho is ugleeeeeee!!!! Ha HAAAA!!!!!”

I thought Esther was very funny on Maude and Good Times.

But John Amos was heaven. I always fantasized about him when I was a young gay boy.

R218, you are absolutely right. Thank you for that correction.

R216, lawd!