Wally Amos, famous inventor of Amos Cookies, dies at the age of 88

Wally Amos opened his bakery Famous Amos in 1975 and later sold the legendary cookie brand in 1988.

Wallace “Wally” Amos, the founder of Famous Amos Cookies, has died. Amos died Tuesday, August 13, surrounded by his wife, Carol, and children at his home in Honolulu from complications of dementia, his family confirmed, according to CBS News. He was 88 years old.

“Our father inspired a generation of entrepreneurs. With his Panama hat, his kazoo and his boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story and a source of black pride. It is also part of our family history, for which we will forever be grateful and proud,” said his children Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn Amos, adding: NPR“Our father taught us the importance of hard work, believing in ourselves and pursuing our dreams.”

Born in Tallahassee, Florida in 1936, Amos was 12 when he moved to New York City to live with his aunt Della Bryant, who had a talent for baking, which sparked his own interest in the craft. After dropping out of high school and joining the Air Force from 1954 to 1957, Amos joined the William Morris Agency, where he worked his way up to become the first black talent agent in the industry, according to Story.

Amos eventually left show business and concentrated on baking cookies using his Aunt Della's recipe. In an interview with The New York Times In 1975, Amos said he started baking “as a hobby; it was a kind of therapy. I would go to meetings with people from record companies or the film industry and bring some cookies, and soon everyone was asking for them.”

He soon turned this passion into a career and a business, founding Famous Amos in 1975 with a bakery on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. While the cookies were known for their simple ingredients and for being preservative-free, Amos told NPR In 2008, he told the outlet that the secret ingredient was love: “I think it's important to love what you do because that love transfers to what you do and turns it into something absolutely amazing.”

The famous Amos cookies were a huge success. The company made $300,000 in sales in the first year. The New York TimesBy 1981, the company was worth $12 million, had stores across the country, and the iconic beige bags with blue lettering were sold in grocery stores nationwide. After selling the company in 1988 following years of financial difficulties, Amos later sold baked goods under names such as Uncle Noname, Uncle Wally's Muffin Co., and Cookie Kahuna.

In addition to his work as a baker, Amos became a spokesperson for the Literacy Volunteers of America in 1981 and hosted his own public access cable television program, Learn to Read, in 1987. He also authored several books, including The famous Amos story: The face that threw a thousand chips into the air, The cookie never crumbles: Practical recipes for everyday lifeg, and The Man Without a Name: Making Lemonade from Lemons. He also appeared as a guest The office, taxiAnd The Jeffersons.