Wally Amos obit

Wally Amos, pioneering creator of iconic cookie brand Famous Amos, dies aged 88

 

He was not on the list.

Wally Amos, creator of the iconic cookie brand Famous Amos, died in his Honolulu, Hawai’i home on Tuesday. He was 88 years old.

Amos died of complications from dementia, his children Shawn and Sarah Amos told The New York Times. The entrepreneur, born in Florida in 1936, founded Famous Amos.

The cookie business, which relied on his aunt’s recipe, launched in 1975 with a single storefront in Los Angeles, California, before quickly expanding into a nationwide brand. By 1981, Famous Amos was a $12 million company, the Times reports.

Amos found success by elevating an “everyday item into a gourmet experience,” according to Jesse Szewczyk, author of Cookies: The New Classics.

“The concept of a zero-preservative, craft-made cookie was uncommon,” Szewczyk told the History Channel.

Soon after launching Famous Amos, the entrepreneur became a household name. Amos was featured on the cover of Time magazine and made guest appearances on iconic TV shows like “The Jeffersons,” the Times reports. He also appeared on “The Office.”

Amos led the company for several years but struggled to keep up profits, the Times reports. He was forced to completely sell his stake in the company in 1988.

“I was stupid, plain and simple. I sold the company and didn’t realize I had sold my future along with it,” Amos told CNBC.

However, Amos did not back down. In 2016, the entrepreneur appeared on “Shark Tank” to pitch his latest cookie venture: The Cookie Kahuna. While the Shark Tank investors recognized Amos and his success, they did not take the offer.

The Cookie Kahuna eventually went out of business due to a “not-so-good business arrangement,” Amos told Charlotte Magazine.

“I put the whole business together, my business partner put up the money, and it didn’t go so well,” he continued.

Amos went on to work on a new brand, Aunt Della’s Cookies, in 2018.

“This is my last company, I can tell you that for sure,” he told Charlotte Magazine. “Put that on my tombstone: ‘He died starting one last cookie company.’”

Returning to New York City, Amos went to college to become a secretary, and after graduating, took a mailroom clerk job with the William Morris Agency. Eventually, he became the agency's first African American talent agent. He signed Simon & Garfunkel 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. He the musicians he represented included The Temptations, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye.

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. 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. He became such a known figure culturally that he appeared as himself in the Taxi episode "Latka's Cookies", in 1981. Thanks in part to the success of his cookie company, he was hired to deliver speeches. He wrote several books, many of which have a self-help theme, including The Cookie Never Crumbles 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.

Amos was born 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. Shortly before graduation, Amos dropped out of high school to join the United States Air Force.

He served at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, from 1954 until 1957. He earned his high school equivalency diploma before being honorably discharged from the military.

 

Filmography

Year     Name            Type            Role            Notes

1980    The Jeffersons            television sitcom            Man #1            Season 7, episode 3

1981    Taxi            television sitcom            as himself  In 1981, Amos appeared in the February 5 episode of Taxi, entitled "Latka's Cookies", as himself.

1987    Learn to Read            educational TV series            host

2001            Biography            television documentary            as himself  The episode is named "Famous Wally Amos: The Cookie King".

2012    The Office            television sitcom            as himself  In 2012, Amos appeared in the February 16 episode of The Office, entitled "Tallahassee", as himself.

2016    Shark Tank            television reality show            as himself  Amos appeared in the October 6, 2016, episode of the American television show Shark Tank seeking $50,000 funding for 20% equity of his company "Cookie Kahuna". The Sharks all passed on the opportunity.

2018    The Great Cookie Comeback: Re-Baking Wally Amos            documentary film            as himself  The Great Cookie Comeback: Re-Baking Wally Amos (Released: February 2020), a documentary film on the life of Wally Amos, released by Content Media Group.