Famous Amos Dies at 88; He left Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Simon & Garfunkel to Sell Cookies

[Pink Freud]

Wallace "Wally" Amos became a national sensation with his Famous Amos chocolate chip cookies sold from "the world's first cookie store" on Sunset Boulevard.

Courtesy of today's L. A. Times: Born in Tallahassee, Fla., Amos moved to New York City at age 12 after his parents divorced. He lived with an aunt, Della Bryant, who taught him how to make chocolate chip cookies.

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

Amos also was active in promoting reading. His shop had a reading room with dozens of donated books, and Amos usually spent Saturdays sitting on a rocking chair, wearing a watermelon hat, reading to children. Sarah Amos recalled him reading to children at Hanahauʻoli School, continuing to do so even after she graduated from the small elementary school.

The former high school dropout penned eight books, served as spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America for 24 years and gave motivational talks to corporations, universities and other groups. Amos earned numerous honors for his volunteerism, including the Literacy Award presented by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. “Your greatest contribution to your country is not your signature straw hat in the Smithsonian, but the people you have inspired to learn to read,” Bush said.

In one of his books, “Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade,” Amos explained how he lost Famous Amos even before it was sold for $63 million to a Taiwanese company in 1991.