Wallace “Wally” Amos, founder of Famous Amos cookies, has passed away. He was 88 years old.
Shawn and Sarah Amos, two of his children, said he died at his home in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 13, of complications from dementia, according to The New York Times. He is survived by two other children, Gregory and Michael, and his wife Christine Harris Amos, with whom he has been with for 45 years.
PEOPLE reached out to his family and the current owners of Famous Amos, but they did not immediately respond.
Wally was born in Tallahassee in 1936 and moved to Harlem as an early teenager to live with his aunt Della Bryant. He briefly left New York after dropping out of high school (earning his GED shortly thereafter) and joined the Air Force from 1954-1957.
Before he became a cookie lover, Wally worked his way up in a talent agency. He started in the mail department at the William Morris Agency in 1957 and became the industry’s first black talent agent, according to History. He signed then unknown and future superstars, Simon and Garfunkel and the Supremes.
Wally moved to the west coast in 1967 to open his own agency and start working on the side.
Wally Amos continued the bakery business after selling Famous Amos in the 1980s.
AP Photo/Lucy Pemoni
“I started baking as a hobby; it was a kind of therapy,” Wally told The New York Times 1975 “I’d go to meetings with record companies or movie people and I’d bring cookies, and pretty soon everyone was asking for them.”
With financial help from music legends Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy, who gave him $25,000 to start, Wally opened the Famous Amos Cookie Company in a store on Sunset Boulevard in 1975, according to a 1999 The New York Times profile.
The cookies were known for their natural ingredients and no preservatives. The company made $300,000 in its first year and reached $12 million in revenue in its first five years. One location in Los Angeles grew to dozens of stores across the country and packaged products sold in grocery stores.
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With the popularity of his cookies, Wally’s name, smiley face and panama hat became iconic. In 1986, President Reagan presented Wally with one of the first awards for entrepreneurial excellence.
After some financial problems, Famous Amos was bought for $3 million in 1988. It is now owned by the Ferrero Group. Wally worked with the company from time to time and returned as a spokesperson in 1999.
By selling the company, Wally lost the use of his name and image. He sold pastries under other names, such as Uncle Noname, Uncle Wally’s Muffin Co. and Cookie Kahuna.
Wally loved to read and write. In 1981, Wally also became a spokesperson for the Literacy Volunteers of America, an organization focused on teaching adults to read. He eventually wrote several books, including The cookie never crumbles cookbook and The road to success is paved with positive thinking.
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Source: HIS Education