The Day John Amos Visited Power FM

The Day John Amos Visited Power F.M

It was twenty years ago when John Amos first visited Uganda.

John Amos, the lead actor in the American comedy, 'Good Times,' and father of the bride in America's beloved, 'Coming to America,' alongside Eddie Murphy, as well as a lead actor, starring as Kunta Kinte in 'Roots,' a series about slavery.

Here I am, twenty years ago, working as a radio host at Power FM in Kampala.

It was the week that we heard about John Amos visiting Uganda and staying at one of the hotels in town. I knew that we had to have him on the show. This icon. This worthy actor. I knew that we had to meet him.

Since almost none of us at the station ever had airtime on our mobile phones, we used to make official calls using the office telephone. All our marketing appointments, invitations to hosts and all important transactions were made using that office landline.

Sometimes, we had to speak as rapidly as we could, because the UGX 5,000 airtime on the phone would run out and leave us embarrassed with the humiliating reminder,

'You don't have enough airtime to complete this call.'

And then would take at least another ten minutes to load more airtime, because we had to request for petty cash, have it authorised and then run to the nearest supermarket to buy another airtime scratch card. All this was necessary before loading another UGX 5,000 for important office calls.

After learning that John Amos was visiting Uganda and staying at one of the hotels in town, I approached the office phone, with a little trepidation, at first. On reaching the front office, I introduced myself and the radio station I worked at, asking if they had a guest John Amos, and how possible it was to speak to him.

In a series of fortunate events, within a minute, John Amos was on the line. I introduced myself, expressed my delight at speaking to the very man who had filled our homes with laughter and tears, because of his powerful acting skills, and invited him over to our morning show the next day.

It worked. The next morning, the Power FM driver picked John Amos from his hotel, and I had the rare opportunity to interview a celebrity, alongside my co-host at the time, Ben Mwine.

John Amos was lively, courteous, generous with his story and he autographed our notebooks and white handkerchiefs. 

I recently saw him in Coming 2 America and it's good to know that he's still acting.

Given that there was no social media twenty years ago, the only representation we had of John Amos, was from films and maybe articles. Today, everyone has the ability to curate and reconstruct their lives as they please, on the digital platforms.

John Amos had no need to reconstruct his bio, because he was as amicable and friendly as they come. I have read about the recent family struggles and for a man in his eighties, this is regrettable to have to go through.

When it comes to celebrities, he is one of those whose encounters I still hold extremely dear.

Bless!

Beverley

P.S. I haven't been able to retrieve any photos of the staff and John Amos.