Why did Wally Amos lose his company? ''Somehow or another caramel coloring had been added and I don't know why that was,'' the 63-year-old Mr. Amos said, the lines in his forehead becoming more pronounced. Amos held a holiday block party where celebrity guests included Andy Warhol and Muhammad Ali. When you walked into the cookie store, the door to the kitchen had a star on it, because that was the dressing room for 'The Cookie.' In 1983, he wrote his autobiography, The Famous Amos Story: The Face that Launched a Thousand Chips. His declining financial fortunes taught him that there is truly a Higher Power in the Universe than myself. Even his soured relationships have been for his ultimate betterment: Now I can see all of the good that has come out of my two divorces and from walking out on my three sons, he wrote in 1996. ''I can even use my picture on here,'' he said, seemingly astonished. The Shansby Group sued Amos for violating an agreement that forbade him to use his name and likeness on the packaging of any food products. He later dropped out of high school to join the Air Force before working as a mailroom clerk at the William Morris Agency, where he became a talent agent, working with The Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel and Marvin Gaye before borrowing $25,000 to launch his cookie business. When his parents divorced, Wally was booted to Aunt Dellas in Harlem. In 1967, Amos left William Morris and moved to Los Angeles, where he struggled to set up his own personal management company. He described his Aunt Della as "happy all the time," and as a woman who loved to cook and bake, especially chocolate-chip cookies. Friends clamored for a store. The Uncle Nonam (pronounced No-NAHH-may) Cookie Company specializes in five varieties of gourmet cookies. "In the end he was a natural entertainer himself. The Sharks all passed on the opportunity. When Amos returned to New York, he studied at a secretarial school and was briefly employed at Saks Fifth Avenue before moving on to the William Morris Agency. He was sued by the owners of Famous Amos who successfully contended that Amos had relinquished the rights to use his name and likeness in marketing a food product. Amos, who turned 71 this month, is co-founder and shareholder of Uncle Wally's Muffin Co., whose products are found in 5,000 stores nationwide, including Costco and Wal-Mart. [14], In 2020, Content Media Group released a documentary on the life of Wally Amos, The Great Cookie Comeback: reBaking Wally Amos. . In April 2019, its current owner, Kellogg Company, announced plans to sell Famous Amos, the Keebler brand and its fruit snacks business to Ferrero for $1.4 million. A local history about the extraordinary lives of a generation of female daredevils. Amos later recalled that the person of greatest influence in his childhood was his father's mother. In the early 1960s Amos took a job in the mail room at the William Morris Talent Agency. He was bom in Tallahassee, Florida, and grew up there until his parents divorced when he was 12. By 1977, when Wally moved to Hawaii with his family, Famous Amos had added two baking and manufacturing facilities and additional stores around Los Angeles and its first in Hawaii. Around the time Wally lost ownership in his company, his career took perhaps its most remarkable turn. Telephone: (856) 342-4800 Amos elevated a product that was seen as an everyday item into a gourmet experience, says Szewczyk. Amos says the mistake he made with Famous Amos Cookies was not assembling a good management team. Washington Business Journal (December 12, 1997): p. 61. Contemporary Black Biography. In 1989, yet another group of investors dismissed Amos from the company he had founded. Fax: (856) 342-3878 Almost overnight the effervescent Amos became a minor celebrity, both for the quality of his product and his enthusiasm for its promotion. Amos and his cookie empire enjoyed a decade of success. Telephone: (816) 502-4000 It was the '70s. Im a promoter Im not a business guy. In 2012, Amos appeared in the February 16 episode of. Tietosuojakytnnstmme ja evstekytnnstmme voit lukea lis siit, miten kytmme henkiltietojasi. I didn't have a good management team . Masekela fired him, so Amos worked at his friend John Levy's entertainment firm. Over the next decade, Famous Amos expanded exponentially, growing into an international chain. Many who resort to crime ultimately can't read or write. He bursts in, looking around in exaggerated puzzlement. While it certainly was a comment on the fact that he could not use his own name, Noname actually had a Hawaiian pronunciation, No-nah-may. He sought help to save the company, and ultimately himself. Wally Amos gained prominence as an entrepreneur in the mid-1970s when he developed and marketed a brand of chocolate-chip cookies under the name "Famous Amos." The rise and fall of Wally Amos, who founded Famous Amos cookies, is an unexpected story of great success and tragic downfall. "Where are the seniors?" Within months, Amos had opened two more West Coast franchises, and the New York-based Bloomingdale's department store had begun selling the gourmet cookies. (February 23, 2023). I have a fetish for chocolate chip cookies, Amos admitted in Ebony magazine. Amos no longer sports a beard or his iconic Panama hat, now displayed in a Smithsonian museum. "The Cookie" got the full star treatment. In 2016, Wallace "Wally" Amos appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank," asking for $50,000, which would give the investor 20% stock in the company, The Cookie Kahuna, a Hawaii-based cookie company. I have a fetish for chocolate chip cookies. Wally Amos's most famous creation, Famous Amos cookies. She loved to cook, and she lavished the youngster with her special chocolate chip cookies. The new owners came in and I was outside looking in.". Wally Amos was born on July 1, 1936, in Tallahassee, Florida. . By the mid-'80s, Famous Amos was losing money and Amos slowly lost control of his creation. (Photo of Wally Amos courtesy of Shawn Amos; photo collage by Elina Shatkin). He opened a small shop on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, and began making mass quantities with the same recipe hed used in his own kitchen. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The move proved to be a mistake, as the new owners began to run the company into the ground. Web site: http://www.i, One Campbell Place He served at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1954 until 1957. When Wally Amos first developed Famous Amos cookies in 1975, the brand became one of the most unlikely success stories in food history. chitchat. "When I finally entered the cookie business full time, I acknowledged to myself that I had taken a beating and that it was time for a change," Amos writes in The Power in You. There is no other homeland or mother country. He also worked as a talent agent and discovered Simon & Garfunkel. The shop cleared $300k its first year. Amos soon left againthis time for good. He was an amazing marketer and had great promotional instincts. With this remark, made by Amos after he sold his cookie business, Amos turned to the new passion in his lifelecturing on inspirational issues. How Chinese Restaurants Shaped Tiki Culture In LA, The Weird And Wild Flavors Of Musso And Frank's Most Old Timey Dishes. The man beams. Amos considered the Famous Amos cookies of the 1990s to be cheap knockoffs, which had neither the quality nor the taste of his original cookies. Slices of Life (1996). "I would team up with others to build a self-contained, music-oriented entertainment company that handled recording, music publishing and personal talent management," Amos recalled in his book, The Cookie Never Crumbles. So a decade after losing his company, Mr. Amos is back bragging about Famous Amos, like a proud father showing off his now-grown first-born. Leading American Businesses. . Besides cookies and muffins, promoting literacy is his passion. "I was confident Masekela's career would bankroll our dream. Confidential column in 1975. [On-line] http://www.keebler.com (accessed on August 15, 2002). Part of his responsibilities included booking acts such as the Temptations, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Bobby Goldsboro, and he is even given credit for signing a then-unknown duo named Simon & Garfunkel. Kellogg spokeswoman Kris Charles said the company has not significantly changed the original recipe when it acquired Famous Amos in 2001, as part of Keebler. Encyclopedia.com. In 2002, he was traveling the world promoting Uncle Wally's muffinsand himselfsince he had become a sought after inspirational But ''it was a shocker at first.'' . speaker earning up to $12,000 per appearance. In the late- 1980s the company changed ownership several more times, and Amos ultimately became a mere figurehead with no role in the operations of the company he had founded. Among the products developed by the company are pound cakes in such flavors as banana blueberry and orange cranberry, and fat-free muffins in a variety of flavors, including corn and honey raisin bran, apple cinnamon, chocolate passion, and blueberry. "He was a fun, positive personality. Why did Wally Amos lose his company? He signed South African trumpet player Hugh Masekela and moved to Los Angeles, convinced that he could create an entertainment empire. Box 419627 That means everything to us.. In a world of mass-produced food products, Amos seemingly hit upon the universal "soul food": the American home-style chocolate-chip cookie. The company, based in Shirley, N.Y., expects to produce 250 million muffins this year and 1 billion muffins annually by 2010. His rise serves as the most infamous cautionary tale. He turns to the on-lookers. ''We can dramatically increase distribution of the brand and that is everything from building its presence in convenience stores, mass merchandisers, obviously grocery stores and drugstores,'' Mr. Grieve of Keebler said. Fax: (503) 627-2406 A Self-Made Man Wallace Amos, Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936. At one point, he lost his home. "Famous Amos Gets its First National Push from Keebler." I thought, if you could just get Saddam Hussein and George Bush together over a bowl of cookies and milk, they'd solve this thing. I wanted to make the best chocolate chip cookies possible. 1900-1996. "Amos, Wally Bush in 1991. I deal in love." Muffins were really our savior, said Avignone, company president and chief executive. Amos told Newsweek that when he saw his completed storefront, he was overjoyed. Famous Amos cookies were crisp and nutty, with a satisfying bite that most chocolate chip cookies lacked. Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author from Tallahassee, Florida. The episode is named "Famous Wally Amos: The Cookie King". His fourth and longest marriage had collapsed, as had his business, with $108,000 in unpaid rent, but Wally was not deterred. Amos was born Wallace Amos Jr. on July 1, 1936, in Tallahassee, Florida. Keeping the famous in Famous Amos, the entrepreneur made guest appearances on hit TV shows like The Jeffersons and Taxi. Never better!". WALLY AMOS IS IN THE CHEER business these days, on the lecture circuit, giving motivational talks, telling people, "You're a special person." This time, having learned from his previous business errors, Amos has employed a professional management team to run the dollars-and-cents end of the company. All Rights Reserved. "Amos, Wally 1937 Wally Amos had long ago lost control of Famous Amos, the cookie company he founded in 1975, and had even lost the right to use his name or the famous likeness of himself with his salt-and-pepper beard, Panama hat and embroidered Indian shirt. It could be worth a few million in a couple of years. Amos had finally found a superstar worthy of his managementhis own gourmet cookies. ''It's a full-circle kind of thing,'' said Mr. Amos, who still flashes the toothy grin shown on cookie packages and television talk shows two decades ago, though his chocolate-colored face is creased with more lines these days. Around this time, in 1970, Amos, frustrated both personally and professionally, began to soothe his nerves by making cookies like his Aunt Della had done. I wanted to do something that really had quality. Graham, Judith, ed. . His speaking fee runs $10,000 to $20,000, according to a booking agencys Web site. However, in 1985, mismanagement forced Amos to gradually sell off parts of his company. He also has a daughter named Sarah with his third wife, Christine Harris. Wally Amos is a salesman who uses flair, hype, and showmanship to convey his message.". That year, Wally Amos launched Wally Amos Presents hazelnut cookies. . In this upbeat effort, Amos offered readers plenty of homespun advice and lively Famous Amos was the real star of the brand, appearing on packaging and merchandise in his signature straw hat and embroidered cotton shirt. "Obituaries always list the year you were born and the year you died, separated by a dash, i.e. His responsibilities were diminished to the point that he became no more than a spokesperson for the brand name. He used to hand out cookies with abandon. 1996: Uncle Noname released line of low-fat baked goods. Hindsight being what it is, Mr. Amos is now able to reflect philosophically on the low points. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! The muffins are sold in more than 3,500 stores nationwide. Faced with the prospect of losing his business, Amos sold the controlling share to the Bass Brothers of Fort Worth, Texas for $1.1 million. Of his experience living with his Aunt Della, Amos noted "for me, chocolate-chip cookies have always been an expression of love.". In 1962, following a number of promotions, Amos became the first Black talent agent in the history of the William Morris Agency. Success came swiftly as The Famous Amos Cookie Company sold $300,000 worth of cookies in its first year and was making $12 million in revenue by 1982. America sure must be one remarkable place if someone can be a wild success, a celebrity, from nothing but chocolate chip cookies. I think it's bordering on being fanatical. Mr. Amos started the original Famous Amos Cookie Company with $25,000 from the singers Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy, celebrity friends he knew from his days as a talent agent. You might as well eat Chips Ahoy." Leading American Businesses. and Formosa Ave., in front of a Brazilian restaurant, you might notice a square metal sign. His house had been reposed by the bank. 1975: Opened first Famous Amos retail outlet. The store opened on March 9, 1975, on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles. After his. Its part of my philosophy, Amos explained in Parade. At one point, he lost his house. Amos began to spread the love around, not only to friends but to business associates in the entertainment business. Amos, who turned 71 this month, is co-founder and shareholder of Uncle Wally's Muffin Co., whose products are found in 5,000 stores nationwide, including Costco and Wal-Mart. "My dad is a master showman," Shawn says. By the early 80s, Americas cookie baron was clearing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, drawing national attention for the Literary Volunteer of America, and winning kudos from Ron Reagan for his free-market hustle.