I thought, if you could just get Saddam Hussein and George Bush together over a bowl of cookies and milk, they'd solve this thing. Chocolate chip cookies have been good to him -and the cookie god knows, no one has done more for chocolate chip cookies than Amos. [10][failed verification] A Famous Amos distributor at the time, Lou Avignone, heard Amos on a local radio talk show and, inspired by Amos' story of his early business success with Famous Amos and his spirit, contacted Amos with the idea for starting a new business. I enjoy making cookies, he told Ebony. Heuslein, William. [CDATA[ In 1998, the Keebler Company purchased the Famous Amos brand, and Amos resumed his role as the brand's spokesperson. The Famous Amos Cookie Company was the first premium chocolate chip cookie. In 1988 the company lost $2.5 million, and the Shansby Group purchased it for $3 million. Hard as it is to imagine in the '90s, there was a time in America when there was no shop devoted solely to chocolate chip cookies. With hard work and easy charisma, Amos worked his way into a role as a talent scout with William Morris Agency. Mount Prospect, Illinois 60056 "They better take good care of it, 'cause they'll never get another one.". ''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. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986. Perhaps Dennis Kimbro and Napoleon Hill of Black Enterprise said it best when describing Amos: "Some call him a promoter, others say he is a public relations wizardbut neither title adequately describes what he does best. And he has become somewhat of an E-mail fanatic, sending a network of cherished friends and associates regular morale-boosting messages. . Encyclopedia.com. [1] When his parents divorced, he moved to New York City with his aunt, where he enrolled at the Food Trades Vocational High School. In 2002, he was traveling the world promoting Uncle Wally's muffinsand himselfsince he had become a sought after inspirational They cant. who always remained true to himself," worked in Tallahassee at the local gas company. The Famous Amos Cookie Company was born. Now living in South Carolina, 83-year-old Wally Amos has plans for one last venture, Aunt Della's Cookies. He attended classes there and worked also as a stockroom clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue department store until 1961. How the Cookie Crumbled Founded in 1975, the company took off almost instantly. In the late- 1980s the company changed ownership several more times, and Amos ultimately became a mere figurehead with no role in the operations of the company he had founded. U.S.A. "It became his thing. I think its bordering on being fanatical.. These cookies were marketed in a store in Hawaii, where Amos was based. After Amos discovered two young musicians named Paul Simon (1941-) and Art Garfunkel (1941-) and convinced them to sign with William Morris, he was promoted again and became their agent. He has a thing for baked goods, specifically, cookies. Located within department stores, Chip & Amos is also a serial entrepreneur. If you respect your customers as friends, they will respect you and support you in good times and bad times, he said. When a new job opportunity. I have a fetish for chocolate chip cookies. [13], In 2019, Amos was called "the King of cookies" by NBC affiliate KSNV-TV in Las Vegas. This was comfort food at its best. I sold the company and didnt realize I had sold my future along with it, Amos speaks of his decisions. Because of his intelligence and high motivation to please others, he went, in a few short months, from mailroom worker to become a personal secretary to Howard Hausman, who was a senior vice-president with the firm. She loved to cook, and she lavished the youngster with her special chocolate chip cookies. He would throw his efforts into the cookies that had come to occupy so much of his time. He was positive that somewhere along the way his recipe had stopped being used. "The thing that got us in trouble is when I tried to actually run the business. But the heady times would soon end. //]]>, For Wally Amos, success has had a very sweet smell, indeed. Its part of my philosophy, Amos explained in Parade. Amos, Wally, Eden-Lee Murray, and Neale Donald Walsch. If I can eat it, I can sell it.. And so Wally, relentlessly optimistic, raised a little cash from Marvin Gaye and a few other friends and set up shop. His entrepreneurial spirit in tact, Mr. Amos switched to a line of low-fat and fat-free muffins. ", While "The Cookie" was supposedly the star, Amos's kindness and goodwill helped make Famous Amos successful. I was stupid, plain and simple. Contemporary Black Biography. His cookie shop, Chip & Cookie, is a couple of miles from his home in the oceanside community of Kailua. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Culinary entrepreneur Wally Amos stands in front of the original Famous Amos store on Sunset Blvd. Within two years the company was producing six tons of cookies each week, and Amoss little venture had become a business generating in excess of $4 million in sales per year. Education: Earned high school equivalency. Two sales later, the new owners added shelf-stable ingredients and repositioned the cookies as an affordable brand, prompting its famous founder to depart. Food Processing (June 1999): p. 46. The Shansby Group and Wally Amos battled in the early 1990s, entangled in a legal battle for the use of his face and image. but as a child he had an innate spirit and gift to. In his autobiography, The Famous Amos Story, Amos said that his parents rarely laughed and seldom displayed affection toward him. If at 54, Amos enjoys being an apostle of cheer, he has led a serious life. By 1985, Famous Amos reported a $300,000 loss on sales of $10 million. Today, Famous Amos is an international brand you can find in most grocery stores. Wally Amos created the first such store, on Sunset Boulevard. In 1967 Amos decided to leave William Morris to manage the career of South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela. He signed South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela and moved to Los Angeles, convinced that he could create an entertainment empire. "He had a big block party for the opening of the store and every year at Christmas he'd have a big block party," Shawn recalls. While muffins may be on his mind, Amos couldnt entirely leave the cookie business. was originally published on He began mixing up a new idea. "I'll take a bag of Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies and a chance to ogle the beautiful young groovers at agent Wally Amos' Sunset Blvd. He wrote up a business plan and approached some of his famous friends including singers Helen Reddy (1941-) and Marvin Gaye, who each contributed to his start-up funds. With his magnetic personality and promotional skill, Amos quickly moved up the ranks at the fabled agency, which represented superstars like Sonny and Cher, the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones. As he wrote in his autobiography, he began slowly to console himself and his frustration by making chocolate-chip cookies in the style of his Aunt Della. He was an amazing marketer and had great promotional instincts. Within two years, his business operation evolved into a corporation which sold cookies nationwide in a variety of upscale stores. Leading American Businesses. In 1989, yet another group of investors dismissed Amos from the company he had founded. Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company. Amosby then, on his third wife, kid, and cookie company, began selling self-help. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. LAist's new podcast LA Made: Blood Sweat & Rockets explores the history of Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab, co-founder Jack Parsons' interest in the occult and the creepy local lore of Devil's Gate Dam. He wasnt a businessman. Andy Warhol came and they had cookies and milk and champagne. I deal in love." Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with chocolate cookies and kaleidoscope skies. Before long he had worked his way up to secretary for Howard Hausman, an executive vice president at the agency. Wally Amosentrepreneur, motivational speaker, and authorfounded the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company in 1975 selling bite-sized homemade chocolate chip cookies. Yet with such phenomenal success came mistakes. Advertising Age (March 22, 1999): p. 6. He pivoted to muffins with Uncle Wallys Muffin Co. and opened a bake shop in Hawaii. His title choice, however, raised some eyebrows. He later said of the experience, "We certainly had no monetary wealth, but Aunt Della's home was always rich in the principles and qualities vital to a childs upbringing. People . Amos held a holiday block party where celebrity guests included Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali. In the room of a youngster, he plays the kazoo until the boy pulls a pillow over his head. He served at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1954 until 1957. But since the name was copyrighted by the original company Wally can no longer use the name " Famous Amos ". Within months, Amos had opened two more West Coast franchises, and the New York-based Bloomingdale's department store had begun selling the gourmet cookies. The day-to-day operations of the company required more money than it could generate.. Chicago: Nightingale-Conant, 1988. Contents Besides cookies and muffins, promoting literacy is his passion. In addition, Amos believed that the company would return the cookies that bore his name back to their original quality. Did Shark Tank have Crumble cookies? I just send love to 'em. [2] He earned his high school equivalency diploma[3] before being honorably discharged from the military. "The cookies' reputation began to grow as my contacts multiplied," he recalled in his book, The Power in You. Amos fragrant store is as much about reading as it is about cookies. U.S.A. and Formosa Ave., in front of a Brazilian restaurant, you might notice a square metal sign. As a marketing hook, each bag of Uncle Nonam cookies carries a recipe for lemonade. At first Amos used the Nestle's recipe printed on the side of the chocolate-chip bag. "Amos, Wally 1937 I think it's bordering on being fanatical. Article Title: Wally Amos Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/business-leaders/wally-amos, Publisher: A&E; Television Networks, Last Updated: May 24, 2021, Original Published Date: April 3, 2014. 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. When you were born or when you died is not nearly as important as what you did in betweenwhat you put in that dash. That means everything to us.. Over the next decade, Famous Amos expanded exponentially, growing into an international chain. Carlsen, Clifford. . Having your face or company named after you, you cant take that to the bank. You cant compare a machine-made cookie with handmade cookie. He's got a fine attitude in his mind, man, he's got a kazoo in his shirt pocket, and he's got cookie. Amos struggled to keep up with the brands rapid growth. Amos is also the author of four books: the autobiographical volume The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips (1983), the motivational work The Power in You: Ten Secret Ingredients for Inner Strength (1988), The Man with No Name (1994), and Watermelon Magic: Seeds of Wisdom. "When I began to bake them myself, it became my own creative project for the hour or so it took to mix the batter and pop 'em in the oven," Amos writes in The Power in You. The company produces various homemade-style and healthy muffins. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Like all sugar-induced highs, Wally later wrote in Watermelon Wisdom: Seeds of wisdom, slices of Life, it didnt last. In the mid-80s, the company began churning through owners until Amos was demoted to a figurehead, then bought out entirely by a foreign banking conglomerate. This is our one home. But his trademark smile, optimistic outlook and uncanny ability to promote remain unchanged. Then he landed a job in the mailroom at the New York offices of talent agency William Morris. His cookie shop, Chip & Cookie, is a couple of miles from his home in the oceanside community of Kailua. Wally Amos became the first Black talent agent in the history of the William Morris Agency in 1962. Amos and his cookie empire enjoyed a decade of success. In the 1970s Amos founded the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Corporation, the very first gourmet cookie business to attract a national following. He began using these cookies, later, as "calling cards" when meeting with clients, and when attending meetings with producers. Amos has advocated literacy and helped thousands of adults learn to read. None of them have had the mass appeal or success of Famous Amos. Soon he had $25,000 in financial backing. "Famous Amos is Back in the Chips." "I encourage parents to read aloud to children at least from birth to 6 years old. In 2017, he launched a GoFundMe announcing he was struggling to pay for food, gas, and rent. 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. Its like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen, he said. That's not a bad pitch.''. The cookies were an immediate sensation; 2,500 people to his stores opening party. Amos said: "We were made to think, to be curious, to seek solutions, and not add to problems." Amos said hes always been in business to make friends, not to sell treats. This is considered such a breakthrough that Famous Amos' shirt and straw hat are in the Smithsonian. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. How Did Amos Lose Famous Amos Cookies? "On the front cover there was a picture of The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie," he writes in The Cookie Never Crumbles. Theyve said I am a victim. Why TV Icon Deserves Her Flowers, The Promising Rise And Stunning Fall Of Jason Mitchell, The Story Of Wally Amos: From His Great Success To Tragic Downfall Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. At school, he claimed that he had developed an intense desire to become successful and to make money. Amos decided to sell his cookies as a full-time occupation in October 1974, after a long and searching conversation with a close friend. 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. He signed Simon and Garfunkel and The Animals.". 1996: Uncle Noname released line of low-fat baked goods. Shortly before graduation, Amos dropped out of high school to join the United States Air Force. Wally Amos gained prominence as an entrepreneur in the mid-1970s when he developed and marketed a brand of chocolate-chip cookies under the name "Famous Amos." Wally Amos hugs Jayson Weidmann in the doorway of his cookie store after his weekly children's book reading on June 16, 2007, in Kailua, Hawaii. Since leaving Famous Amos behind, Wally dipped into other bakery ventures, including the launch of another cookie company in the early 1990s. (Photo of Wally Amos courtesy of Shawn Amos; photo collage by Elina Shatkin). ''An entrepreneur has an enormously high energy level and has a very low attention span typically,'' said Paul Karofsky, executive director of the Center for Family Business at Northeastern University. . Mr. Amos's cookie craving had returned in the meantime. When Amos returned to New York, he studied at a secretarial school and was briefly employed at Saks Fifth Avenue before moving on to the William Morris Agency. Reflecting on his changing fortunes in Parade, Amos concluded: When you say I will with conviction, magic begins to happen. He enrolled in a trade high school specializing in cooking, and had a job as a cook after school. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He and his third wife have created two cookie-character dolls -Chip (a boy) and Cookie (a girl). I'm not serious, but I'm responsible. For an entrepreneur who was down on his luck it was almost too good a deal to pass up. You need a team, he said. Bush. Amos started baking to console himself, since cookies always made him feel better. Costa Mesa, California 92627 ." Incorp, 12 East Armour Boulevard 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, The Early LA Daredevils Who Defied Gender Norms, The Groundbreaking Suicide Squad That Tested Early Rockets And Flirted With The Occult, Why A Property Worth Millions Was Returned To The Tongva Tribe, The Rise Of Lady Lowriders And Other All-Women Car Clubs In LA, The Murderous Lover Who Lived In A Silver Lake Attic. However, in 1985, mismanagement forced Amos to gradually sell off parts of his company. In 1962, following a number of promotions, Amos became the first Black talent agent in the history of the William Morris Agency. . In 1985, Amos sold a majority stake to Bass Brothers Enterprises for $1.1 million. globalgrind.com, 'Dilbert' Comic Creator Calls Black People A 'Hate Group,' Urges Segregation So Whites Can 'Escape', Bernie Mac Show Star Camille Winbush Is Not Ashamed Of Joining OnlyFans, Kyle Rittenhouse Faces 2nd Civil Lawsuit, Continues To Beg For Money From His Supporters, Ben Stein's 'Aunt Jemima' Rant Is A Master Class On White Privilege, Why Did tWitch Kill Himself? In 1975, Amos launched the first Famous Amos store on Los Angeless Sunset Boulevard. Wally later made a comeback in the world of cookies under a new name, The Cookie Kahuna, in 2014. It filed for bankruptcy in 1996. His store also became a haven for Hollywood hopefuls in what was then a rough area around Sunset Blvd. Forbes (December 20, 1993): p. 146. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Like any great star, the famous Wally Amos continued to reinvent himself, launching other baking ventures including Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins (now Uncle Wally's Muffin Company) and The Cookie Kahuna. 23 Feb. 2023 . Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. "I don't eat 'em anymore, man," says Amos. To create buzz for his concept, he developed a backstory for "The Cookie," putting his years in show business to expert use. 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. "Amos, Wally Of his experience living with his Aunt Della, Amos noted "for me, chocolate-chip cookies have always been an expression of love.". In this upbeat effort, Amos offered readers plenty of homespun advice and lively Famous Amos became a fixture in Hollywood, its proprietor staging celebrations much like the music revues he had helped organize in the 1960s. [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. Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author from Tallahassee, Florida. "He just exuded light," his son says. Amos dropped out of high school but earned his G.E.D. While it certainly was a comment on the fact that he could not use his own name, Noname actually had a Hawaiian pronunciation, No-nah-may. Fine, 1988. I wanted to make the best chocolate chip cookies possible. . Amos! http://www.GreatCookieComeback.com Wally Amos was the King of the Cookie Kingdom. All Rights Reserved. He is the creator of the Famous Amos brand of chocolate chip cookies. By 1977, when Wally moved to Hawaii with his family, Famous Amos had added two baking and manufacturing facilities and additional stores around Los Angeles and its first in Hawaii. You have to focus on what you can do, he said. Or, if you stay there long enough someone will come and rescue you.''. Then in March the Keebler Company, the new owner of Famous Amos, offered Mr. Amos a two-year contract to promote his old brand. The senior Wallace Amos, whom his son once described as a "good person . Amos greeted passerbyes with smiles and cookies from his latest enterprise; they responded with an affectionate Uncle Wally!, If you flow with the universe, it opens spaces for you, Wally told the reporter as they parked his cara watermelon-green SUV that looped Disneys Its a small world. "Profiting Through Self-Reliance." As Amos told Diane Toops of Food Processing magazine, "It took me a while to catch up with my name. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? Bush in 1991. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit LAist.com/radio. America sure must be one remarkable place if someone can be a wild success, a celebrity, from nothing but chocolate chip cookies. 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. But he has been chastened by failure, acknowledging that in some respects he walked into a trap awaiting many entrepreneurs. Letting an industry insider run the business has freed Mr. Amos to pursue a wide range of other interests. Here's Why It's Especially Dangerous To Hike SoCal Mountains Right Now, How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA. He became such a known figure culturally that he appeared as himself in the Taxi episode "Latka's Cookies", in 1981. Toops, Diane. A True Story, Baldwin Hills, 'The Black Beverly Hills': The Life And Times Of The Community, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. When the dust settled, he was barred from using his identity or his face to sell cookies. 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. That was the whole schtick.". His first job after the military was in the stockroom at Saks Fifth Avenue. During his four years in the military, he finished his high school education. Contact at: Uncle Noname Cookie CompanyP.O. Debt mounted to $1.3 million and Uncle Noname filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1997, emerging just two months ago. Thought is everything, love is everything. Kellogg, like Keebler, was a billion-dollar company known for its quality and outstanding products. There's no darkness, there's no subterfuge there. When Wally tried to start a new companyWally Amos Presents: Chip & Cookiea federal judge told him hed sold away the rights to use his name. Why is Wally Amos not rich? ''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. Fax: (816) 502-4155 Wally Amos was a walking, breathing brand who couldn't seem to cash in on his own success. In financial terms, Wally wrote in 1996, all Ive done since is amass debt and miss payments.. At the time, Mr. Amos challenged the barriers of entertainment as a Black man and went on to create a flourishing cookie empire.