50 Fun Facts About Good Times

Good Times was a spin-off of which sitcom, on which Florida Evans had been the housekeeper?

Maude was itself a spin-off of All in the Family, making Good Times a spin-off of a spin-off; Florida had worked for Maude Findlay in Tuckahoe, New York.

On which network did Good Times air its entire six-season run?

It premiered on February 8, 1974 and ended on August 1, 1979, all on CBS.

Good Times was created by Eric Monte and which actor, best known as Lionel Jefferson?

The youngest Evans child is named Michael after him; Monte went on to create What's Happening!!, based on his film Cooley High.

Which producer developed Good Times and served as its first executive producer?

It was the last sitcom Bud Yorkin produced before ending his partnership with Lear and Tandem Productions.

In which city do the Evans family live?

The projects are never named on the show; on Maude the family had lived in New York.

What is the Evans family's apartment number?

The address is 963 North Gilbert Avenue, in a public housing high-rise.

Which real housing project is shown in the opening and closing credits?

The show never names the project on screen; the exterior shots were of Cabrini-Green, later demolished.

What had James Evans's first name been when the character appeared on Maude?

On Maude he was a New York City firefighter and the family was middle class; the new show made him a man with a sixth-grade education working odd jobs.

What was Henry Evans's job on Maude, before the character was reworked for Good Times?

The move to the Midwest and to poverty was made because the new series was already deep in development when producers decided to feature Florida.

How far did James Evans get in school, which is why he works manual jobs?

He often works two jobs, dishwasher or construction, and will not accept charity, though he sometimes hustles pool money over Florida's objections.

Who played James Evans?

Amos was only seven and a half years older than Jimmie Walker, who played his 17-year-old son.

How old was Jimmie Walker when he began playing 17-year-old J.J.?

He was just seven and a half years younger than the actor playing his father.

What nickname does James give his youngest son Michael, because of his political activism?

Michael, played by Ralph Carter, aspired to be a Supreme Court justice; the actor playing James later complained the show wasted him in favor of J.J.'s antics.

What is the name of the Evans family's neighbor and Florida's best friend, played by Ja'Net DuBois?

Willona is a divorcee who works at a boutique; by the finale she has been made its head buyer.

What is the surname of the building superintendent, nicknamed "Buffalo Butt"?

Nathan Bookman, played by Johnny Brown, first appears in season two and joins the opening credits in season five; the crueler nickname was "Booger".

Which director is credited with J.J.'s catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!" and insisted he say it every episode?

Walker first delivered it at the end of the second episode, "Black Jesus"; Walker and the executive producer were both skeptical of the idea.

In the season one episode "Black Jesus", who does J.J. use as the model for his portrait of Jesus?

The painting becomes the family's good-luck charm; Ned, played by Raymond Allen, is the neighborhood drunk Michael later tries to sober up.

Which artist actually painted most of the works credited to J.J. on the show, including The Sugar Shack?

The Sugar Shack, painted in 1971, joined the credits in season four and was later used on Marvin Gaye's album I Want You; Barnes even played one of Sweet Daddy's bodyguards.

What was the fictional J.J. Evans supposed to be, that made the paintings plausible?

J.J.'s art career is a running thread, from a bank mural to a portrait of a numbers runner's girlfriend, and in the finale a syndicated comic-book job.

Who composed the gospel-styled Good Times theme music?

Alan and Marilyn Bergman wrote the words, and Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams sang it with a gospel choir.

Which comedian used a famously hard-to-hear line of the theme song as a quiz question in his sketch show?

The "I Know Black People" sketch on Chappelle's Show tested contestants on it; the Bergmans have since confirmed what the line really is.

Which future star filled in as Michael in early rehearsals while Ralph Carter's contract was settled?

Carter was under contract to a Broadway musical, so early episodes carry a credit that he appears courtesy of that show.

Ralph Carter had to be bought out of which Broadway musical to play Michael?

Haywood Nelson, later of What's Happening!!, had actually been hired first but was replaced because Carter had more live-audience experience.

Chip Fields was a finalist for the role of Thelma; which character did she later play instead?

Bern Nadette Stanis won the part of Thelma; Fields returned in season five as the mother who burns Penny with an iron.

Which magazine ran Esther Rolle's 1975 interview attacking the J.J. character?

Rolle said the writers had made J.J. "more stupid" and enlarged the role; she and the actor playing James both wanted the show to deal with serious issues.

The actor who played James was let go from the show after how many seasons?

He was told his contract option was not being renewed, which he called the same thing as being fired.

How was James Evans written out of the show?

He had been setting up an auto repair shop that would have moved the family out of the projects; the producers chose not to recast the role.

What is the title of the two-part season four premiere in which James dies?

The episode ends with Florida smashing a punch bowl and shouting "Damn, damn, DAMN!", and the closing credits ran in silence instead of applause.

Which household object does Florida smash when her grief finally breaks through after James's funeral?

Until that moment she had seemed cheerful at the post-funeral gathering, which outraged Thelma and Michael.

Florida leaves after season four, engaged to which shop owner played by Moses Gunn?

They marry off screen; Rolle disliked the storyline partly because Carl was an atheist and Florida a devout Christian.

To which state do Florida and Carl move after marrying off screen?

Florida returns from there alone in the season six premiere; a rare uncut scene implies Carl has died of cancer.

Which future pop superstar joined the cast in season five as Penny Gordon?

Penny is an abused girl abandoned by her mother; she stays with the show for its final two seasons.

Who adopts Penny?

After Rolle and Amos left, Ja'Net DuBois's Willona effectively became the lead, looking in on the Evans children who were living alone.

Which head of state did the shady Alderman Fred C. Davis spoof with the line "I am not a crook"?

Davis calls the Evanses his "favorite project family" and keeps mangling Willona's name with other W-words, earning him the nickname "Baldy".

What is Sweet Daddy Williams's line of work?

Played by Theodore Wilson, he wears flashy jewelry and travels with bodyguards, one of them played by NFL star Bubba Smith.

Which Oscar-winning actor played Florida's brother Wilbert?

Gossett also appeared in an earlier episode as Thelma's much older fiance in "Thelma's Young Man".

Which future Fame star played Diana, J.J.'s fiancee with a hidden drug problem?

Diana steals from her mother and a jewelry store to fund the habit; Thelma discovers it after accidentally switching purses with her at the prom.

In "Michael Gets Suspended", what does Michael tell his teacher that gets him sent home?

James and Florida set out to prove him wrong; the episode's alternate title is "The Midget Strikes Back".

Which future Rocky co-star played the husband of "the Wiggler", who wants J.J. to paint her nude?

Florida cannot understand why the woman has to pose in the Evans apartment, or why James is so taken with her.

Which single, a real 1975 release, does Ralph Carter perform as Michael at the rent party?

The party is held to help neighbor Wanda after her electricity is cut off; the superintendent threatens to shut it down.

How much rent money is the family scrambling to raise in the pilot, "Getting Up the Rent"?

James tries the pool hall, J.J. runs a scheme and Florida and Willona go to the welfare office.

How much does J.J. win in the state lottery in "Rich Is Better Than Poor...Maybe?"

The luck lasts about as long as it takes for Thelma's friend Edna and her sister to show up with pistols demanding the money.

Thelma marries Keith Anderson in season six. What is his profession?

Played by Ben Powers, Keith has a bad knee; in the finale it heals and the Bears offer him a contract.

In the finale, J.J.'s big break comes from a comic-book character he creates. What is she called?

The character is based on Thelma, who is delighted; J.J. also moves out to an apartment with some lady friends.

Which upscale district do Keith and Thelma move to in the series finale?

Florida moves in with them to help with the coming baby, and Willona and Penny turn out to be moving into the same building.

How many episodes of Good Times were made?

Six seasons: a 13-episode first season and five seasons of 24.

In its first full season (1974-75), where did Good Times rank in the Nielsen ratings?

More than a quarter of American households watched each week, and Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons were also in the top ten.

What was the title of the 1976 British adaptation of Good Times?

It aired on ITV, was the first British sitcom written for an all-Black cast, and starred a young Lenny Henry and Norman Beaton.

Which streaming service released the animated revival Good Times: Black Again in 2024?

Seth MacFarlane and Stephen Curry were among the executive producers; it was panned for crass humor and its lack of connection to the original.

Which husband-and-wife songwriting team wrote the lyrics to the Good Times theme?

Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams sang it, backed by a gospel choir.