James Evans Sr. appeared in the first three seasons of Good Times, before the actor who played him, John Amos, decided to leave the top-rated CBS-TV series due to creative disputes with the show's executive producer, Norman Lear, as to the direction which the series was going in the development of the main characters, particulary that of James's son, J.J. Evans, which was played by fellow cast member Jimmie Walker. Anyhow, the character James Sr., appeared in a total of 61 episodes during Seasons 1-3 of the series, before getting killed in an automobile accident in his home state, Mississippi, while trying to find steady work in a plan which would have involved relocating the entire family there afterwards.