Wally Amos, who went from representing musicians as an agent to running a cookie empire, has died. He was 88. His family gave a statement to the New York Times, saying he died Tuesday of complications from dementia.
Amos had one of the most unique career trajectories in Hollywood — a place where “Joan Didion’s carpenter†to “star of Star Wars†is normal. Born in Florida, Amos began working at William Morris in New York after serving in the military. He worked his way up from the mailroom and represented such acts as Simon & Garfunkel, Marvin Gaye, and Helen Reddy. It was Reddy who helped bankroll his baking side hustle in 1975.
Amos moved to Los Angeles to simultaneously work as an agent and a baker. Famous Amos cookies, had its first storefront on Sunset Boulevard. Amos hawked his cookies on sitcoms in the 70’s like Taxi and The Jeffersons. He sold the Famous Amos brand to Bass Brothers in 1984, and it’s now owned by the Kellogg Company. Amos later created Uncle Wally’s Gourmet Muffins and the Cookie Kahuna brand, which was featured on Shark Tank.