Wallace “Wally” Amos Jr, founder of Famous Amos cookies, passed away on August 13th, 2024 at the age of 88
Wallace “Wally” Amos Jr, founder of Famous Amos cookies, passed away on August 13th, 2024 at the age of 88. The news was confirmed in a statement signed by his children. The Tallahassee, Florida native was introduced to cooking when he went to live with his Aunt Della in New York City at the age of 12. It was Aunt Della’s recipe for cookies that would change the face of African American in entrepreneurship forever.
In a 1991 interview for the Detroit Black Journal, Amos said,
“I started making cookies just to make a living and to be happy doing what I was doing… and I just, I was so committed and so involved and so joyous about it… I didn’t say, ‘Hey, I’m going to go in the cookie business, make a lot of money, you know, sell out of cookies.’ I said, ‘Well, do something I like the way I want to do it,’ you know, I’m going to have fun doing it.”
Writer Ramishah Maruf, in their 2024 article for CNN “Wally Amos, Founder of Famous Amos Cookies, Dies At 88”, writes, “Amos opened his bakery in 1975 on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, selling bite-sized chocolate chip cookies that were a novelty for the time, according to the company’s site. The bakery, whose cookies were developed from a family recipe, attracted Hollywood celebrities and musicians.”
What will be the legacy of Famous Amos? How will Wally Amos and Famous Amos be remembered? Entrepreneurship and family recipes are no strangers to the African American community but few have become synonymous with enduring legacy as Famous Amos. Perhaps, that is the legacy. Not just how a young Black man from Tallahassee became rich & famous but rather because of what he did, it became a possibility for others to do the same.
Still success can’t be without failures. Writer Jennifer Kelleher, in her 2024 article for Associated Press, “Wally Amos, 88, of Cookie Fame, Died at Home in Hawaii. He lost Famous Amos but Found Other Success”, writes, “While Wally Amos was a great promoter, he struggled as a businessperson and eventually lost control of the company. He walked away from it because he didn’t want to just be its face, Sarah Amos said. Later losing the business and the right to use his name was deeply painful and personal, Shawn Amos said: “The remainder of his life and the remainder of his professional pursuits were attempts to get him to, you know, reclaim that space.”
The nature of business certainly has changed since Famous Amos was founded in 1975. But what hasn’t changed is understanding the importance of maintaining ownership in perpetuity. Amos losing control of his hard work and his Aunt’s cookie recipe should be looked at not just a cautionary tale for Black entrepreneurs but rather a triumphant tale of resilience, hard work, and a lasting legacy
