Wally Amos, founder of Famous Amos cookies, dies at 88, reports say
The New York Times reported Amos died Tuesday in his home in Honolulu, and his children toldthe outlet the cause was complications of dementia.
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.
Amos was born in Tallahassee, Florida.
Famous Amos wasn’t just a business, he said in a 1991 Detroit Black Journal interview.
“I started making cookies just to make a living and to be happy doing what I was doing,” Amos said in the interview. “And I just, I was so committed and so involved and so joyous about it.”
From there, he created a cookie empire.
“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,” Amos said in the interview.
Amos was alsoa figure in US pop culture. He famously appeared in a cameo in the sitcom “The Office” to excitement and applause from the cast members. Before that, he also appeared on “The Jeffersons” and “Taxi.”
Amos sold the cookie brand to a private equity group in 1988 after years of financial struggles for the company.
CNN has reached out to the Amos family and Ferrero, the current owner of Famous Amos Cookies, for comment.
Famous Amos viewed his business as more than just making money, stating in a 1991 interview that he wanted to have fun and be joyous while creating his cookie empire. After facing financial struggles, Amos eventually sold the Famous Amos cookie brand to a private equity group in 1988.
