Wally Amos
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wallace Amos Jr., known as Wally Amos (born 1936) is an entrepreneur, actor and book writer from Tallahassee, Florida. He is the founder of the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie brand.
[edit] Biography
Amos lived in Tallahassee, Florida until he was twelve. Then he moved to Manhattan, New York, where his aunt would bake chocolate chip cookies for him and his puppy, Rufus. It was from his aunt that Amos learned the ingrediants that make his cookies so loved, which include a small amount of nutmeg and other additives not generally associated with chocolate chip cookies. Amos showed interest in cooking from a very young age. He enrolled at the Food Trades Vocational High School.
Later, Amos dropped out of that institute to join the U.S. Air Force. He wished to join the Marines but the Corps decided that he would not make it out of basic training and told him to quite while he was ahead. While with the Air Force, he became inspired to study and graduate from high school, so he got his GED (high school equivalency diploma) before being honorably discharged. Ironically, one day Amos was punished for misbehavior by working in the kitchen, where he ironically made cookies.
Back in New York, Amos went to college to become a secretary. This led to a clerical job with the William Morris Agency. Eventually, Amos became the agency's first African American talent agent, working with such people as Diana Ross & the Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel, Marvin Gaye, and various other child stars, teen idols and movie stars.
Amos attracted clients to the William Morris Agency by sending them chocolate chip cookies along with an invitation to visit him. In 1975, a friend of his got an idea that he should set up a store to sell the cookies, which he baked himself based on his aunt's recipe. Wally improved on his aunt's recipe, however, by adding a teaspoon of nutmeg. That year, the first "Famous Amos" cookie store opened in Los Angeles.
His new company began to expand, and, eventually, "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie bags could be found on supermarket shelves across the United States. Part of his biography can be read on the back of these bags.
Due to financial troubles, Amos was forced to sell the Famous Amos company. As "Famous Amos" was still trademarked by his former company, Amos started The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company.[1] Lou Avignone, a Famous Amos distributor at the time, heard Amos on a local radio talk show. Inspired by Amos' story of his early business success with Famous Amos and his indomitable spirit, Avignone contacted him with the idea for starting a new business. In 1994, the two became partners and subsequently launched Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins. With America's tastes shifting towards healthier foods, the company focused on fat-free, nutritious muffins at that time. Uncle Noname ultimately became Uncle Wally's Muffin Company in 1999. Uncle Wally's manufactures a broad selection of nutritious gourmet and homestyle muffins in fat-free, sugar-free, all natural and soy protein varieties that have won numerous awards for quality and great taste. The muffins are sold in more than 3,500 stores nationwide.
Thanks in part to the success of his cookie company, Amos went on to have guest star spots on a number of sitcoms, and he has been hired by an influential firm of speakers to deliver speeches. He has written thirteen books, including Watermelon Magic: Seeds of Wisdom, Slices of Life, and The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips.
In 1979, his long-time friend and publicist for more than 30 years, John Rosica, introduced Wally to Literacy Volunteers of America. From that point foward, Amos has advocated literacy and helped thousands of adults learn to read. Since then, he has remained a literacy advocate.
He currently is 70 years old, married to his wife Christine for 30 years and resides in Hawaii with his four children, where he runs the Chip & Cookie gourmet cookie brand and store.
