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The founder of Famous Amos cookies, a popular chocolate chip cookie, died on Tuesday at his home in Hawaii at the age of 88, according to reports.
The New York Times reported that Wallace “Wally” Amos’s children said he died of complications from dementia.
Amos started working as a talent agent for stars, and on the side, he baked bite-sized cookies as a hobby. But the hobby eventually turned into a successful brand, and in 1975, he opened the Famous Amos cookie shop on Los Angeles’ famed Sunset Boulevard after getting a $25,000 loan from Hollywood friends, including singer Marvin Gaye.
History reported that the entrepreneur learned the recipe for the cookies from his aunt in Harlem, New York, after moving from Tallahassee, Florida, to live with her when he was 12 years old.
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Famed Famous Amos cookie maker Wally Amos. (CBS via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The same aunt reportedly encouraged him to pursue a career in the culinary arts, and he attended vocational school in Manhattan before dropping out and joining the Air Force.
Amos’ Air Force career took him to Hawaii, and after four years, he returned to New York City and got a job in the mailroom of the William Morris talent agency, where he worked his way through the ranks and became a junior agent in 1961. Amos became the first Black person to obtain such a title, according to History.
While in the role, he became friends with Gaye and various musicians, while also signing musicians like Simon and Garfunkel.
His job led him to Los Angeles, where he started his own agency and reportedly baked cookies on the side to relieve stress. He also brought treats to client meetings and shoots.
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A box of Famous Amos cookies. (Getty Images)
“I began to bake as a hobby; it was a kind of therapy,” Amos told The Times in 1975. “I’d go to meetings with record companies or movie people and bring along some cookies, and pretty soon everybody was asking for them.”
The cookies quickly became popular, and he turned his hobby into a career, opening the shop on Sunset Boulevard.
During the first year, the store raked in $300,000 in revenue, History reported, and by 1981 had become a $12 million company, with many locations opening and packages of cookies being sold across the U.S.
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Amos also found popularity for wearing a Panama hat and sporting a huge smile. He eventually made appearances on shows like “The Office,” “Taxi,” and “The Jeffersons.”
By 1988, Amos sold his ownership and equity in the company, having failed to keep up with Famous Amos’ finances.
The Times reported that after selling the cookie brand, he worked as a motivational speaker and author, sharing his story and advocating for Black entrepreneurs and childhood literacy.
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He also returned to making cookies and launching multiple other brands, even opening a small bakery in Honolulu.
Amos is survived by his fourth wife, Carol Williams, and his four children – Shawn, Sarah, Michael and Gregory.
