goodtimes - 3

Good Times was a spin-off from Maude, which in turn was a spin-off from All In The Family. Florida Evans was originally Maude Findlay's maid until, in the spring of 1974, she got a show of her own. Florida and James Evans were lower middle-class blacks living with their three children in a high-rise ghetto on the south side of Chicago. J.J. was the oldest, Thelma was a year younger than he, and Michael was five years younger than she, 10 when the series started. Trying to make ends meet on the erratic income provided by James, who was always in and out of jobs, made life difficult, but there was always plenty of love in the family. J.J. was an accomplished amateur painter who, though going to trade school, was always looking for some get-rich-quick scheme. His catch phrase "Dy-No-Mite" became very popular in the mid 1970s.

Cast/Characters


Esther Rolle as Florida Evans
John Amos as James Evans (1974-1976)
Jimmie Walker a James Evans Jr. (JJ)
Ja'net Dubois as Willona Woods
Ralph Carter as Michael Evans
Bernadette Stanis as Thelma Evans Anderson
Moses Gunn as Carl Dixon (1977)
Johnny Brown as Nathan Bookman (1977-1979)
Janet Jackson as Penny Gordon Woods (1977-1979)
Ben Powers as Keith Anderson (1978-1979)
Theodore Wilson as Sweet Daddy (1978-1979)
Broadcast History
First Telecast: February 8, 1974
Last Telecast: August 1, 1979
Episode Count: 133