Wallace ‘Wally’ Amos, well-known as the creator of Famous Amos cookies, died at the age of 88 on Tuesday (13 Aug).
Mr Amos passed away from complications with dementia at his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA). His children said that his wife, Carol, was also with him at the time of his death.
Mr Amos created the cookie brand Famous Amos in 1975 but later lost ownership of the company and the rights to use its catchy name.
In his later life, he ran a cookie store named Chip & Cookie in Hawaii, where he relocated in 1977.
Mr Amos started selling cookies at Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1975, establishing what his children say is “the world’s first cookies store”.
Despite its success, the business was losing money by 1985, so Mr Amos brought in outside investors.
Unfortunately, the new owners took over more of the company share until he lost ownership. By then, the company had changed hands multiple times.
It was finally sold to a Taiwanese company in 1991.
A few years after Mr Amos lost ownership of Famous Amos, he established a company in Shirley, New York, originally named Uncle Noname Cookie Co. in 1992. It originally sold cookies as well.
Source: @theoriginalcookiekahuna on Instagram
He had said the Famous Amos cookies sold nowadays are different from his original ones, which offered lots of chocolate, real butter, and pure vanilla extract.
“You can’t compare a machine-made cookie with a handmade cookie,” Mr Amos had told the AP News, adding it’s like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen.
Unfortunately, his Uncle Noname’s company ran into trouble with debt and issues with other companies making their products. As a result, the company went bankrupt in 1996.
It stopped making cookies and started making muffins instead, following a suggestion from his business partner, Lou Avignone.
He later opened a cookie store in Hawaii. The store, which has since closed down, used to sell small cookies similar to those he first sold at the Famous Amos store in Hollywood.
Mr Amos was also known as a children’s literacy advocate as he promoted reading.
His shop had a special room with donated books where he would read to children while wearing a watermelon hat.
He even wrote eight books, supported literacy programs for 24 years, and gave motivational talks to different groups.
Thanks to his volunteerism, Mr Amos received many awards, including a Literacy Award from President George H.W. Bush in 1991. Bush praised him for inspiring people to learn to read.
Source: Air Force
In one of his books, Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade, Mr Amos shared how he lost his Famous Amos cookie business before it sold for US$63 million (S$83 million) to a Taiwanese company.
Mr Amos was born in Tallahassee, Florida, but moved to New York City at age 12 after his parents’ divorce.
He lived with his aunt Della Bryant, who taught him to bake chocolate chip cookies.
Mr Amos dropped out of high school to join the Air Force and later worked as a talent agent before starting his cookie business with a US$25,000 (S$32,900) loan.
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