Wallace “Wally” Amos, the creator of the Famous Amos cookie company, died Tuesday. He was 88.
He died at his home in Honolulu, with his wife, Carol, at his side, his children said. He died from complications with dementia, they said.
“With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride,” said a statement from his children, Sarah, Michael, Gregory and Shawn Amos.
Amos opened his bakery in 1975 on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, selling bite-sized chocolate chip cookies that were a novelty for the time, according to the company’s site.
Amos had said the Famous Amos cookies sold today are unlike his cookies, which had lots of chocolate, real butter and pure vanilla extract.
“You can’t compare a machine-made cookie with handmade cookie,” he told the AP. “It’s like comparing a Rolls Royce with a Volkswagen.”
Amos was born in Tallahassee, Florida.
He …