Wallace Amos Jr. died peacefully in his Honolulu home at age 88 due to complications of dementia, his family says.

Before he founded the Famous Amos brand of cookies, Wally worked in the mail room of William Morris Agency (now WME after merging with Endeavor in 1988). He eventually became the first black talent agent, not only at WMA but within any talent agency. It was there that he played an instrumental role in the early career of Simon and Garfunkel.

I remember walking in the studio and these guys had such an interesting look, a different look. And, man! The music, the blending of their voices, the lyrics, it was just absolutely magical. I ultimately signed them. It was a magical moment for me, and I was able to sign them to the William Morris Agency. I was the first agent to work with Simon and Garfunkel[...]

Amos went on to head up their rock division, where he represented artists like Sam Cooke, The Supremes, The Animals, and eventually Marvin Gaye. In 1970, he left William Morris and moved to Los Angeles to start his own talent agency. When his new venture proved unsuccessful, Amos turned to baking. He became known for his cookies, bringing them to meetings.

In 1974, B.J. Gilmore, friend of Amos and secretary of Quincy Jones, suggested that together he and Amos open a cookie shop. When Amos decided to leave the music business and pivot to baked goods, his music biz friends were waiting to get in on the ground floor.

Marvin Gaye, Helen Reddy, and fellow agent Artie Mogul (Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers) invested a combined $25,000. This allowed Amos to open the first Famous Amos store on Sunset Boulevard, where his mini cookies exploded in popularity until financial troubles forced Amos to sell off the brand in the 80s.

Amos bounced back in the 90s, selling muffins under the brand Uncle Noname (later Uncle Wally) before eventually returning to cookies as the Cookie Kahuna in 2014.

Amos was a veteran of the United States Air Force, serving from 1954 to 1957. He was also a dedicated advocate for literacy, hosting the 1987 television program Learn to Read, aimed at helping adults become literate.

Amos is survived by his wife, Christine, and his children Shawn, Sarah, Michael, and Gregory.