Jimmie “JJ” Walker, Bern Nadette Stanis, and Ralph Carter, three of the stars of “Good Times,” reunited on the red carpet at the taping of a recent award show. The gathering marked a special celebration of the iconic 1970s sitcom created by Mike Evans, Eric Monte, and Norman Lear, as it reached its 50-year milestone.
The late Esther Rolle, a Spelman graduate, made significant contributions in her role as Florida Evans, the children’s mother, on the CBS television sitcom “Maude” for two seasons, which later led to the spin-off series “Good Times.” Rolle’s character initially held the central focus before audiences embraced the comedic antics of Walker’s character, James “JJ.” Evans Jr.
John Amos, who portrayed the father, James Evans, has been in the news recently due to conflicts among his children regarding his care.
“Good Times” made its debut in 1974. Faithful viewers tuned in for six seasons and 133 episodes depicting the life of a family in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing project before the show concluded its run in 1979.
Award Show Sighting
Walker, Stanis, and Carter were recently seen on the pink carpet, posing for the media before going into the venue for the 2024 Urban One Honors on Jan. 20.
Walker opted for a simple yet elegant look, donning a powder blue double-breasted suit paired with a modest white shirt, a black tie, and matching black shoes. Stanis, known for her role as Thelma, exuded style with honey-blond tresses flowing gracefully over her shoulders. She wore a charming little black dress featuring sheer arms and adorned with a jeweled necklace.
Carter, who portrayed the youngest brother, Michael, wore a red ensemble complemented by African beads and medallions. His locs, neatly styled under his red brim, were stylish and appropriate for the night as most fans remember his character on the show rocking an afro.
Amos was missing from the festivites, he
Jimmie “J.J.” Walker Played James “JJ.” Evans Jr.
Walker portrayed a gifted painter who called himself the “Casanova of the Ghetto” on “Good Times.” His catchphrase “Dyn-o-mite!” became a pop culture touchstone — at one point plastered on lunch boxes, used by a talking doll, and more.
Leveraging his comedic timing honed in stand-up, Walker’s portrayal of J.J. served as a crucial source of comic relief to the show’s heavy poverty-laden theme.
“I came on to be funny,” he said in 2008 during PBS’s “Pioneers Of Television,” tapping into his South Bronx upbringing to bring light and levity to his character.
However, sometimes his jokes put him at odds with Lear, who died on Dec. 5, 2023, at the age of 101.
His signature “Dyn-o-mite” phrase was cringy to Lear, Walker claims. “Norman just hated it,” Walker told to People after Lear’s death. “He hated it from day one. And we always had a discrepancy on that. To me, it didn’t make a difference because it was going to get a laugh and that’s all that counted to me.”
Bern Nadette Stanis Played Thelma Evans.
As “Thelma Evans,” the first African-American teenage girl on an American TV sitcom, Stanis showed a generation of Black girls what it meant to be beautiful, smart, talented, and ambitious despite growing up in struggle. She was a former dancer and never got married.
Stanis started her career after being spotted at a beauty pageant, and like Walker, used her upbringing from growing up in the inner city to inform her character.
“I inspired Thelma, and Thelma inspired me. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, in Brownsville, in the projects. I took a lot of that experience and brought it to the character,” she said in an interview with Get.TV. “I wanted her to be a good girl. I wanted her to be stylish. I wanted her to strive for things.”
She also says that while she had ideas for the role, the writers did not. It was Rolle who stood up for Stanis, saying, “My son J.J. has a lot to say. My son Michael has a lot to say. I want my daughter to have a voice as well.”
Ralph Carter Played Michael Evans.
Carter gave the world Michael Evans, who the character J.J. called “the militant midget,” because of his passion for 1970s activism and his support for the Black community. His character mirrored the desire of many young people in Chicago at the time who would be influenced by the Black Power Movement.
The youngest of the three television show children, his pro-Blackness, as pronounced as it seemed, might have been a bone given to cast members that claimed much of the show lacked authenticity or needed a more socially aware bend, only grasped by adding Black writers to the team.
Ralph Carter is 54 today! #HappyBirthday aka Michael Evans! Thank you for all the #GoodTimes pic.twitter.com/Y2XEIqIBgc
— TV One (@tvonetv) May 30, 2015
Both Amos and Rolle eventually left the show because the seriousness of the issues brought to the table were being masked by Walker’s character always reaching for the joke.
“The truth of it was, when the show first started, we had no African-American writers on the show,” Amos said. “And some of the attitudes they had written, as per my character, and frankly for some of the other characters as well, caused me to say ‘Uh-uh, we can’t do this, we can’t do that.’”
Film/television critic and historian Karen Burroughs Hannsberry noted that Carter’s character was purposely pulled back as he got older.
“When you’re having “militant” thoughts come out of an 8-year-old, that’s funny. That’s cute. But when that person is 15, and old enough to put some action behind the militancy, it’s not so funny,” she explained.
In fact, the lines that would have gone to him, wound up going to a young Janet Jackson, whose character Penny was younger and could get away with at the time saying certain things Carter’s character grew beyond with age.
Ralph Carter & Janet Jackson 📺 pic.twitter.com/BoP4ru3zE5
— Craig Seymour, AMERICA’S TOP‼️ (@craigspoplife) January 23, 2023
“Good Times” Reboots.
There were talks about doing a live-action movie based on the sitcom, but that never happened. In 2019, ABC produced a live re-enactment of the show with Tiffany Haddish, Viola Davis, Andre Braugher, Jay Pharoah, Asante Blackk, Jamie Foxx, his daughter, Corinne Foxx and Jharrel Jerome. Executive-produced by Kerry Washington, Amos popped in on the episode when it aired. Another reboot has been announced to air 10 episodes on Netflix.
This animated series will feature J.B. Smoove, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jay Pharoah as the new characters in the classic show. Smoove and Brown will portray the main couple, Reggie and Beverly, while Pharoah will play their son, Junior.
Other memorable characters from the original series, include Ja’Net Dubois, who passed in 2020, and Johnny Brown, who passed away in 2022.
Urban One Honors will air on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on TV One and Cleo TV.
