Bitter Regret 'Roots' Star John Amos Took to His Grave Revealed: Acting Hero 'Never Got Over' Being Brutally Fired From 'Good Times'

Beloved Roots star John Amos took a deep and bitter regret to the grave with him – he never got over being cruelly fired from the hit sitcom Good Times, sources said.

The 84-year-old Roots star died at his L.A. home August 21.

Now, a pal has told RadarOnline.com said the firing "stung him to his last day."

The insider said: "He tried to make the show better, more realistic, but his suggestions fell on deaf ears and they threw him out on his butt despite the fact that he'd helped make it one of the highest-rated shows on television!"

A former college football player who'd had tryouts with the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs, Amos' TV career rocketed when he was cast as WJM-TV weatherman Gordy Howard on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

His big breakout role came as James Evans Sr. with Esther Rolle as his wife, Florida on Good Times, which ran from 1974 to 1979 on CBS.

Said an insider: "But he and Esther weren't happy with the show, didn't think of it as being realistic and grew upset when Jimmie Walker's character became clownish and bigger than their roles."

Walker complained in his 2012 memoir, Dynomite! Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times, “The fact is that Esther's criticism, and also that of John and others – some of it very pointed and personal – seriously damaged my appeal in the Black community."

After three seasons in 1976, Amos was axed, and his character was killed off in a car accident.

"He'd become very confrontational with the show's white writing staff and producers," said the source.

"Some words were said that he'd wished he could take back. While he was proud of standing ground, he wished he could have changed things."

Have a tip? Send it to us! Email RadarOnline.com at tips@radaronline.com.