He decided to take a chance with his cookies. None of them have had the mass appeal or success of Famous Amos. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words Publishing, 1996. His cookie shop, Chip & Cookie, is a couple of miles from his home in the oceanside community of Kailua. Upon discharge from the service, Amos attended secretarial school, learning shorthand, typing, and accounting skills. Former politics editor at the Cambodia Daily. [9], Due to financial troubles, Amos was forced to sell the Famous Amos Company, and because the name "Famous Amos" was trademarked by his former company, he had to use The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company as his new company's name. Whatever his former ties to it, he said, ''I will always be Famous Amos. It's easy to be cheerful if you spend the other half of your life in Hawaii. But Wally Amos isn't one to fret over the loss of his name or his company. . The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips. Famous amos oatmeal raisin | Updated January 2023 There's no darkness, there's no subterfuge there. Amos decided to sell his cookies as a full-time occupation in October 1974, after a long and searching conversation with a close friend. Fax: (714) 722-4261 How Did Famous Amos Lose His Company In the late 1980s, Famous Amos ran into trouble when sales of his cookies began to decline. Wallace Amos, Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936. Thought is everything, love is everything. It doesn't honor a movie star or a musician. They were saying I didnt even have the right to my own name, Amos said in Parade. It was a huge honor and one he would never forget; yet it had come, ironically, after Amos had been forced to sell his company. Bylines @BBC, The Diplomat, Christian Science Monitor, and more. Working in the business in Los Angeles was frustrating, and Amos was nearly always in debt. I'm not serious, but I'm responsible. Famous Amos was bought by Keebler Foods in 1998, which pleased Amos. Later, in 1987, Amos won the Horatio Alger Award, which is given to Americans who have shown purpose and. The film was directed by Jeff MacIntyre. In addition to being proprietor of Chip & Cookie in Kailua, the former cookie king is now a muffin mogul. Then he landed a job in the mailroom at the New York offices of talent agency William Morris. After about a decade of success, mismanagement forced Amos to start selling off parts of his company. Culinary entrepreneur Wally Amos stands in front of the original Famous Amos store on Sunset Blvd. I was like a kid in a candy store!". It was the low point of my life, Amos recalled in Ebony. But the reason is that theyve told themselves they cant. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001. Born July 1, 1937, in Tallahassee, FL; married, wifes name Christine; four children. . Carlsen, Clifford. You need a team, he said. Karl Braun Drive (847) 803-4600 ''If you sit around starting to feel sorry for yourself, and blaming everyone else for your position in life, it is like being in quicksand,'' he said. People wondered why Amos would choose to feature such a stereotype in his title. . Wally Amos was born on July 1, 1936, in Tallahassee, Florida. McCollough, Kathy. Amos is a literacy advocate despite his limited schooling. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986. Over the next few years, Amos headed the agency's newly formed rock 'n' roll department, where he worked with Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. He was granted a National Literacy Honors Award by President George H.W. Some bags contained no cookies at all. William Morris Co., New York, NY, 195967, began as mail clerk, became executive vice president, talent agent for Simon & Garfunkel, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Dionne Warwick, and Patti LaBelle, among others; entertainment manager, Los Angeles, CA, 197275, clients included Franklin Ajaye, Abby Lincoln, and Oscar Brown Jr.; Famous Amos Cookie Corporation, San Francisco, CA, president, 197585, vice chairman, 198589; Wally Amos Presents Chip & Cookie, president, 199092; Uncle Nonam Cookie Company, Honolulu, HI president, 1993. He did so on purpose, but rather than stir the fires of racial stereotypes, Amos thoughtfully examined the topic of race and bias, along with many others issues he had come into contact with throughout his life. Famous Amos's distinctive packaging became almost as famous as the cookies themselves: every brown bag featured a smiling Wally Amos, dressed in a straw Panama hat and a decorated white shirt. The affable Amos recalled in Parade that he had numerous obstacles to overcome on his long road to success. Why did Wally Amos lose his company? Recalling the episode in the Providence Business News in 1995, Amos said, "I was irresponsible. He has pitched the cookies at a food-marketing trade show in Chicago, and has been appearing at supermarkets, shaking the hand of shoppers who still recognize him. Business First, (March 2, 2001): p. A21. How Wally Amos Lost His Famous Amos Company Then Persevered To Become A Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). He now leaves the day-to-day operations of his Long Island company, which is based in Hauppauge, to a partner, Lou Avignone, who is a former owner of a larger food distributor. With hard work and easy charisma, Amos worked his way into a role as a talent scout with William Morris Agency. I have a fetish for chocolate chip cookies, Amos admitted in Ebony magazine. 17678; December 20, 1993, pp. [4] He started the business with the help of a $25,000 loan from Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. "Amos, Wally When you walked into the cookie store, the door to the kitchen had a star on it, because that was the dressing room for 'The Cookie.' Why did Wally Amos lose his company? A Newsweek correspondent called him the progenitor of the upscale cookie and the greatest cookie salesman alive. Today Amos is no longer involved with the Famous Amos cookies found in most supermarkets and many vending machines, but he has begun a whole new gourmet cookie venture, the Uncle Nonam Cookie Company. Wallace Amos Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936, the only child of Wallace and Ruby Amos. Encyclopedia.com. The man who once called himself the face that launched a thousand chips told Parade magazine of his new company: Its still methe best Wally Amos I can be., Amoss self-professed love affair with the chocolate chip cookie began in his childhood. He and Andy would sign autographs. Wally later made a comeback in the world of cookies under a new name, The Cookie Kahuna, in 2014. The Famous Amos brand got backing from celebrity investors like Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy, who gave Amos $25,000 for his new business. Check out a post by digital creator, @talk2pops, highlighting Wally Amos story below: What Happened To Wendy Williams? Amos, Wally, and Camilla Denton. As Amos celebrated the book's success, his business was losing money. // Contents Wally Amos created the first such store, on Sunset Boulevard. Everyone was stoned and had the munchies so he was always warmly greeted. Before Mrs. Fields and the legion of cookie shops that now tempt us, Wally Amos was the proud owner of perhaps the first cookie-centric store in the United States. A Self-Made Man Wallace Amos, Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936. We made the move to the West Coast, and I fell in love with L.A. the epicenter of the entertainment world. Amos wrote multiple books about his experiences, including Man With No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade, The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched 1,000 Chips and The Power In You. Best Known For: African American entrepreneur Wally Amos founded the Famous Amos cookie brand. Ever the optimist, he views the experience as yet another reminder of the power of faith and positive thinking. In 1967, five years later, feeling "burned out" and "stagnant," as he put it, Amos left the agency and went to Los Angeles to create his own entertainment agency. Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with chocolate cookies and kaleidoscope skies. [CDATA[ Im not a purchasing guy.. Amos said he told him: Im a cookie man, but if you can make a good muffin, I can sell it. Famous Amos became a fixture in Hollywood, its proprietor staging celebrations much like the music revues he had helped organize in the 1960s. Having your face or company named after you, you cant take that to the bank. He finally parted with the Famous Amos company in 1989. Heuslein, William. The Sharks all passed on the opportunity. In March of 1975, Wally Amos launched The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Store in Los Angeles. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/trade-magazines/amos-wally. After his. By 1985, however, the Famous Amos Cookie Company was suffering debilitating financial losses, and Amos sold a controlling share in the venture to a Texas investment group. When a new job opportunity in Los Angeles backfired, Amos grew disillusioned with show business. [1] In 1957, he returned to New York and joined the William Morris Agency, where he worked his way up from the mailroom to become the first black talent agent in the industry. Toll Free: (800) 257-8443 By the time the Bass Brothers of Fort Worth, Texas, came on the scene in 1985, the company founder was in serious financial trouble. Faced with the prospect of losing his business, Amos sold the controlling share to the Bass Brothers of Fort Worth, Texas for $1.1 million. This time, the company produces its own fat-free muffins and will soon offer take-home cupcake kits. This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 22:25. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Amos has three sons from his first two marriages, Shawn, Michael and Gregory. Other biographers spin a sadder story. He was reduced to calling his own cookie line Uncle Noname, and the business was struggling. The man who created the Famous Amos cookie empire and eventually lost ownership of the company as well as the rights to use the catchy name is now running a modest cookie shop in Hawaii. Determined to make his mark by signing a blockbuster act, his tenacity was rewarded when he discovered the singing duo Simon & Garfunkel. . ", Famous Amos opened on March 10, 1975, as a small, father-and-son operation, "He and I were together," Shawn says. Within months, Amos had opened two more franchises on the West Coast, and New York-based department store Bloomingdale's had begun selling gourmet cookies. Why did Wally Amos lose his company? Advertising Age (March 22, 1999): p. 6. Famous Amos was the real star of the brand, appearing on packaging and merchandise in his signature straw hat and embroidered cotton shirt. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Fax: (856) 342-3878 However, in 1985, mismanagement forced Amos to gradually sell off parts of his company. U.S.A. The man who created the Famous Amos cookie empire three decades ago and eventually lost ownership of the company as well as the rights to use the catchy name is now running a modest cookie shop in Hawaii. The Famous Amos shirt and hat are currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Amos founded the cookie company in 1975 and things just didnt go as planned. "Amos, Wally 1937 After the breakup of the family, he was sent to live with his Aunt Della in New York City. He began distributing Famous Amos cookies in luxury retailers like Macys and Bloomingdales. Chicago: Nightingale-Conant, 1988. Amos is like a parade float, drifting cheerfully along, vaguely familiar looking, never failing to evoke a smile as he wanders the wards at Winter Park Hospital, which brought him back to Florida to celebrate its 36th birthday. "It's not the same formula. Always the survivor, Amos started a new company in 1992, this time selling freshly baked muffins and cakes. The idea seemed far-fetched, but by 1974, Amos had grown completely disillusioned with the entertainment business. (February 23, 2023). ''I'd lost the company really because I didn't use to listen to people a lot because I was Famous Amos,'' the founder now acknowledges. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love my daily morning newsletter, How To LA. With the company propped up, it sold Famous Amos to President Baking for $61 million in 1992. A Famous Cookie And a Face to Match; How Wally Amos Got His Hand And His Name Back in the Game, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/03/business/famous-cookie-face-match-wally-amos-got-his-hand-his-name-back-game.html. "In financial terms," Wally wrote in 1996, "all I've done since is amass debt and miss payments." Around the time Wally lost ownership in his company, his career took perhaps it's most remarkable turn. "I encourage parents to read aloud to children at least from birth to 6 years old. Burdened with the debt of his failing business, Amos began to take comfort in baking chocolate chip cookies. Confidential column in 1975. Amos has married three times, first in 1958. ." One of the first things I shared with Keebler when we met was that I couldn't promote the product they were currently selling, that if I were going to be a part of it we had to make some adjustments so that it could be closer to a Wally Amos product. Wally Amos had long ago lost control of Famous Amos, the cookie company he founded in 1975, and had even lost the right to use his name or the famous likeness of himself with his. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Wally Amos, Birth Year: 1936, Birth date: July 1, 1936, Birth State: Florida, Birth City: Tallahassee, Birth Country: United States. By 2002, when Keebler and Famous Amos were bought by the Kellogg Company (see entry), Amos was unconcerned. They cant. Im a promoter Im not a business guy. "In Motown's heyday, they had something called the Motortown Revue, so he booked all that. [On-line] http://www.kelloggs.com (accessed on August 15, 2002). The narrative he established was that he was a talent manager who spent his whole life identifying and discovering new talent and the next big act that he discovered, that he was going to dedicate his career to, was 'The Cookie.'". That year the Shansby Group purchased Famous Amos for $3 million. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. However, in 1985, mismanagement forced Amos to gradually sell off parts of his company. After spending several years in New York City, Amos dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Air Force, where he earned his G.E.D. He was bom in Tallahassee, Florida, and grew up there until his parents divorced when he was 12. Encyclopedia.com. Uncle Wallys Muffin Co. was originally founded as Uncle Noname Cookie Co. in 1992, a few years after Amos lost Famous Amos. 23 Feb. 2023 . In 1998, Keebler purchased the brand, keeping Amos as the spokesperson.
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