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John Amos Kept on Making Television History

It wasn't the first time John Amos made TV history when he played the adult version of Kunta Kinte in Roots. He had already done it twice.

The first time he was on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, he was Gordy, the weatherman. The producers cast him as the weatherman because there weren't many black weathermen. In the first season episodes, Gordy would complain, "Why does everyone think I'm the sportscaster?" Gordy was the polar opposite of news anchor Ted Baxter; he was smart and a pro at what he did, meaning he couldn't last very long at WJM.