thumb|Wally Amos reading to children during Springfest at [[Naval Station Pearl Harbor, 2007]]
Wallace Amos Jr. (July 1, 1936 – August 13, 2024) was an American writer and businessman. He was the founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie, the Cookie Kahuna, and Aunt Della's Cookies gourmet cookie brands, and was the host of the adult reading program Learn to Read.
Early life
Wallace Amos Jr. was born July 1, 1936, to Wallace and 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 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 recipe.
Amos dropped out of high school to join the United States Air Force. He earned his high school equivalency diploma before being honorably discharged from the military.
Career
Returning to New York City, Amos took classes to become a secretary and took a mailroom clerk job with the William Morris Agency. and headed the agency's rock 'n' roll department. Amos attracted clients by sending them chocolate chip cookies along with an invitation to visit him. The musicians he represented included The Temptations and Marvin Gaye. He started the business with the help of a $25,000 loan from Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. and The Power in You.
In 1979, Amos's long-time friend and publicist John Rosica introduced him to Literacy Volunteers of America. Amos advocated literacy 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 and WXYZ-TV.
In 1986, Amos was awarded the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award by President Ronald Reagan at the White House Conference on Small Business.
Due to financial troubles, Amos was forced to sell the Famous Amos Company in 1988. Because the name "Famous Amos" was trademarked by his former company, he had to use 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 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. Amos appeared on the reality television show Shark Tank in October 2016, pitching Cookie Kahuna, but failed to get a deal. The business folded in 2018.
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
thumb|[[Shawn Amos]]
Amos was married four times, most recently to Carol Williams. and musician Shawn Amos. Amos lived in Hawaii from 1977 until 2018, and was again living in the state at the time of his death. He also lived in Columbia, South Carolina, where he was working on Aunt Della's Cookies until 2018.
|-
|1981
|Taxi
|Television sitcom
|Himself
|Episode: "Latka's Cookies"
|-
|1987
|Traxx
|Movie
|Himself
|
|-
|1988
|Another Page
|Educational TV series
|Host
|
|-
|2001
|Biography
|Television documentary
|Himself
|Episode: "Famous Wally Amos: The Cookie King".
|-
|2012
|The Office
|-
|2018
|The Great Cookie Comeback: Re-Baking Wally Amos
|Documentary film
|Himself
|Released in February 2020, a documentary film on the life of Wally Amos, released by Content Media Group.
|}
References
External links
- Famous Amos Cookies
- Uncle Wally's