It took me a while to work through that. Amos drew upon his religious faith and his inherent optimism to overcome this most humiliating setback. This page was last edited on 10 February 2023, at 22:25. That's not what I want to do. Amos later recalled that the person of greatest influence in his childhood was his father's mother. When Wally tried to start a new companyWally Amos Presents: Chip & Cookiea federal judge told him hed sold away the rights to use his name. The shop was the first of its kind dedicated to one brand of gourmet cookies, and Amos pitched his product with an unquenchable enthusiasm. Always the survivor, Amos started a new company in 1992, this time selling freshly baked muffins and cakes. This was comfort food at its best. He and his third wife have created two cookie-character dolls -Chip (a boy) and Cookie (a girl). Soon he had $25,000 in financial backing. Within two years, his business operation evolved into a corporation which sold cookies nationwide in a variety of upscale stores. I'm happy to be back, and the people at Keebler are wonderful folks. Food is part of pop culture, much like fashion, Szewczyk says. 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 had an impressive client list, which included Simon and Garfunkel, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye (1939-1984), Sam Cooke (1935-1964), Dionne Warwick (1940-), and Diana Ross (1944-). Lower Lake: Aslan, 1994. I wanted to be excellent., Unfortunately, Amoss business acumen did not prove equal to the task of keeping up with a multi-million dollar enterprise. ''The first couple of years after I left Famous Amos, I didn't even make cookies anymore, and I used to always make cookies at home. In 1975, Amos launched the first Famous Amos store on Los Angeless Sunset Boulevard. Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author from Tallahassee, Florida. LAist's new podcast LA Made: Blood Sweat & Rockets explores the history of Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab, co-founder Jack Parsons' interest in the occult and the creepy local lore of Devil's Gate Dam. Now, under terms of his deal with Keebler, he has regained the right to use his name and he sells the muffins as Uncle Wally's. Los Angeles wasn't the promised land Amos had hoped for. Keebler Company. (February 23, 2023). "Amos, Wally 1937 The grand opening was a star-studded gala with over 1,500 people in attendance. Hollywood tastemakers began to take notice: Id go to meetings with record company or movie people and bring along some cookies, and pretty soon everybody was asking for them, Amos told The New York Times in 1975. Wally Amosentrepreneur, motivational speaker, and authorfounded the Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company in 1975 selling bite-sized homemade chocolate chip cookies. (714) 645-1395 And Keebler was willing to let him use his name for his own business. Shortly before graduation, Amos dropped out of high school to join the United States Air Force. and Formosa Ave., in front of a Brazilian restaurant, you might notice a square metal sign. Later in 1992, he launched his new venture. "We might be related." (February 23, 2023). In 1967 Amos decided to leave William Morris to manage the career of South African trumpeter Hugh Masakela. McCollough, Kathy. In 1975, a friend suggested to Amos that he set up a store to sell his cookies, and in March of that year, the first Famous Amos cookie store opened in Los Angeles, California. . However, in 1985, mismanagement forced Amos to gradually sell off parts of his company. Before long he had worked his way up to secretary for Howard Hausman, an executive vice president at the agency. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. After his discharge from the Air Force, Amos enrolled at the Collegiate Secretarial Institute in Manhattan. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. I'm a promoter.". Amos put together a packet for potential investors touting his product as though it was a Hollywood starlet. Leading American Businesses. "He just exuded light," his son says. Amos said: "We were made to think, to be curious, to seek solutions, and not add to problems." Wallace Amos, Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936. We are very proud of our Famous Amos cookies and believe were producing high-quality, great-tasting product, she said. I didn't even want to talk about chocolate-chip cookies, really. "The secret of Famous Amos was my attitude. I think that's what he probably ended up discovering about himself.". Beaverton, Oregon 97077 The cookies will once again be handmade. The Power in You: Ten Secret Ingredients for Inner Strength. With financial backing from singers like Gaye and an innovative marketing initiative, which included an extensive advertising campaign and a gala grand opening, the first Famous Amos cookie store opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1975. He attended classes there and worked also as a stockroom clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue department store until 1961. 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. Hughes, Allan J., Jr. "Wally Amos Still Famous but with a Lower Case "F." Providence Business News, 11 December 1995. Within months, Amos had opened two more franchises on the West Coast, and New York-based department store Bloomingdale's had begun selling gourmet cookies. In developing his cookie business, Amos' approach was highly personal. 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. . Amos tries to coax the pillow away from him. Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. Why did Wally Amos lose his company? "Obituaries always list the year you were born and the year you died, separated by a dash, i.e. Confidential column in 1975. //]]>, For Wally Amos, success has had a very sweet smell, indeed. The cookies were an immediate sensation; 2,500 people to his stores opening party. '', See the article in its original context from. From the beginning, he had a whole myth and lore around the store. Wally later made a comeback in the world of cookies under a new name, The Cookie Kahuna, in 2014. As an agent, he signed .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Simon & Garfunkel and headed the agency's rock 'n' roll department. Under the Uncle Noname label, by 1996 Amos had again scored success with fat-free gourmet sweets. "He was a fun, positive personality. Amos wrote multiple books about his experiences, including Man With No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade, The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched 1,000 Chips and The Power In You. Business Leader Profiles for Students. [8], In 1979, Amos' long-time friend and publicist John Rosica introduced him to Literacy Volunteers of America. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. (Photo of Wally Amos courtesy of Shawn Amos; photo collage by Elina Shatkin). window.__mirage2 = {petok:"DAWbIiPtfTtFzY4CfwZ6UTAwi.hV.E5y1C9rowz8sW8-86400-0"}; Man with No Name. But his trademark smile, optimistic outlook and uncanny ability to promote remain unchanged. IE 11 is not supported. 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.' "Famous, Shmaymous." Like all sugar-induced highs, Wally later wrote in Watermelon Wisdom: Seeds of wisdom, slices of Life, it didnt last. In the mid-80s, the company began churning through owners until Amos was demoted to a figurehead, then bought out entirely by a foreign banking conglomerate. Fax: (503) 627-2406 [13], In 2019, Amos was called "the King of cookies" by NBC affiliate KSNV-TV in Las Vegas. It is now facing changing demographics and gentrification. But ''it was a shocker at first.'' He spots a man wearing a name tag: Amos. It doesn't even honor a person. "Amos, Wally He wrote up a business plan and approached some of his famous friends including singers Helen Reddy (1941-) and Marvin Gaye, who each contributed to his start-up funds. I don't live my life for other people. (Photo: Chava Sanchez/LAist; Illustration: Elina Shatkin/LAist). Because the name Famous Amos was trademarked by his former company, Amos had to sell the Famous Amos Company because he couldn't afford to do so, and he chose The Uncle Noname's Cookie Company as his new company's name because he couldn't afford to trademark his previous Uncle Wally's Sold To Give & Go You need a team, he said. He accumulated all his fortune being the founder of the most common cookie brand Amos Cookies. When a new job opportunity in Los Angeles backfired, Amos grew disillusioned with show business. https://www.comedyhype.com/ - Wally Amos would become a nationally recognized face because of his hit cookie brand 'Famous Amos'. I wanted to do something that really had quality. "Amos! Today, Famous Amos is an international brand that you can find in most grocery stores. Now living in South Carolina, 83-year-old Wally Amos has plans for one last venture, Aunt Della's Cookies. If I can eat it, I can sell it.. "It's not the same formula. But hes hardly struggling. Letting an industry insider run the business has freed Mr. Amos to pursue a wide range of other interests. ''And they were using a real low-grade vanilla flavoring, and I always used vanilla extract. but as a child he had an innate spirit and gift to. "I never had a superstar but I made a day-to-day living, that was about it," he told the New York Times in 1975. His son Shawn called him a bearded, amped-up Willy Wonka whose mother used to beat him with an electrical cord, angry at Wallys fathers infidelities, their poverty, and at the structural strains of the Jim Crow South. Money was so scarce for him and his family that he often had to walk four miles to and from school to save the bus fare. Ironically, Amoss tireless promotion of his cookies helped to fuel sales of them long after he left the companyeven when he suggested that they were no longer made from his recipe. Amos has earned numerous honors for his volunteerism, including the Literacy Award presented by President George H.W. "Famous Amos Gets its First National Push from Keebler." Then he hollers: " "Bye-bye, I'm out the door, you can look now!' He finally parted with the Famous Amos company in 1989. San Francisco Business Times (November 19, 1993): p. 1. This is our one home. What have you put in your dash?". Amos continued to raise money while diluting his own equity. . A high school dropout who eventually earned a general equivalency diploma, Mr. Amos knew little about business basics and failed to hire managers who did. He began baking cookies using his Aunt Dellas recipe. "In the end he was a natural entertainer himself. All Rights Reserved. . Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates.