He is the most "famous" man in the chocolate chip cookie business. Everywhere from his Aunt Della's kitchen in New York City to Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood to the islands of Hawaii, Wally Amos has been baking cookies for the world for decades.
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Wally Amos' Aunt Della taught him how to make chocolate chip cookies when he was only 12 years old, paving the way for his future launch of The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Store.
Developing a hardy work ethic and a positive outlook at an early age made Amos a business superstar and an inspiring role model to all who know of him. Now, as the founder of the Chip & Cookie Read Aloud Foundation and cookie store, he focuses on eliminating illiteracy and, of course, feeding the world his delicious cookies.
Although he did not know it at the time, Amos's lifelong cookie career was set in motion before he was even a teenager. Amos left his hometown of Tallahassee, FL, to live with his aunt, Della Bryant, in New York City at the age of 12.
Amos's mother, Ruby, was a very strict disciplinarian, so when he got to his loving and fun Aunt Della's house, he encountered a whole new experience. In addition to bestowing bounteous love and life lessons upon Amos, his Aunt Della also instilled in him his love of chocolate chip cookies—the key component to his later success.
"The one defining thing that I always relate to Della is that chocolate chip cookies represent love more than any other cookie, and Aunt Della represented love, and her cookies tasted so incredible. I've never tasted a cookie that tasted like her cookies because it's just not possible—she transferred the love that she had into those cookies," he said.
Amos attributes his success to both his mother and his aunt because each woman helped shape his personality and professional goals. Because she was tough, Amos's mother instilled in him his "work ethic and stick-to-it-iveness."
"She was a hell of a worker. She had integrity, she was honest, she was responsible—I got those from her," he said.
On the other hand, Amos's character was balanced out by his aunt's love for chocolate chip cookies and the fun that they had making them.
"I'm a blend of two great women," said Amos.
"I have a love, a relationship, a respect, an admiration for chocolate chip cookies that no one else possesses," said Wally Amos.
Years later, after spending four years in the Air Force, Amos came back to New York looking for a career. He started out at Saks Fifth Avenue as a stock-room worker in 1957. The following year, Amos enrolled in business school (which was more like secretarial school), working in the morning and attending classes in the afternoon.
Taking notice of Amos's hard work, his manager, Ernie Ricco, frequently allowed him to return to the store in the evening to make extra money. Amos became the manager of the supply department four years after being hired by the company, but he ultimately had to quit school because handling the management position was too much in combination with going to school and spending time with his family. (He was married and had one child at the time.)
Making $85 per week, Amos asked Saks Fifth Avenue to give him a $10-per-week raise, which it declined to do. He told the company that he was going to leave if he was not granted at least a $5 raise.
"Now, this is a guy who's a high school dropout, who doesn't have any real work experience except for the Air Force and Saks, but I had a confidence in myself, my skills, and my abilities," he said.
Wally Amos reading to an audience at his Chip & Cookie store in Kailua, Hawaii
After leaving Saks Fifth Avenue, Amos went back to his business school, which helped him find his way into the entertainment industry. It just so happened that the legendary talent agency William Morris was seeking an African-American agent trainee, and Amos fit the bill. When he landed the job at William Morris, Amos went from making $85 per week to making $50 per week as a mailroom employee, but it was worth it because of the opportunities working for the agency presented.
"I went from being a manager in a supply department to just a gopher in the mailroom, but for the first time, I saw a future, and I saw a career. I applied myself, went above and beyond the call of duty, did more than was asked of me, and I did it with a joyful heart. That's the real key; that has been a great part of my success," he said.
Because he had returned to school to perfect his shorthand and typing, Amos was able to get out of the mailroom quickly. He began substituting for secretaries, and in less than a year, he became one of the founding agents of the agency's new rock and roll department.
During his seven-year career at William Morris, Amos changed music history by signing and booking some of the most influential acts of the 1960s, including Simon & Garfunkel, Marvin Gaye, and The Supremes.
"It was the height of music. Music has never been the same since, and I was there. It was a wonderful and exciting time, and I was in the middle of it," he said.
Q.
What are your hobbies and interests?
A.
I have no hobbies—life is a hobby. Every day is a new day.
Q.
What CD is in your CD player right now?
A.
I have a record called Antion. It's an album of Hawaiian chants by the guitarist for the band The Animals.
Q.
What is your favorite TV show?
A.
The Daily Show is the only thing that I watch on TV.
Q.
What was the last magazine you read?
A.
The New Yorker.
Q.
Who is your role model?
A.
Abdul Aziz Said. He's a professor at the American University and one of the greatest people who I know. He created a peace studies program at the university.
When he got the urge to move on to something new, Amos made the decision to leave William Morris.
"It is such a freeing aspect of life to make a decision to move and to go beyond your fear and to realize that you're far more than you could ever think possible. I think of it in terms of growing through your fear, not just going through it. You grow as you confront the things that you fear the most. You realize that there's a reservoir within you that's so powerful and so strong, and you continue to build on that as you go through future experiences," he said.
After venturing out to Los Angeles, Amos worked as a talent manager for approximately six years until he had a novel business idea that would pave the way for the rest of his life.
"There is so much research confirming that reading aloud develops readers. If a kid is a reader, then he has less chances of going to jail. When you don't have an education, you have fewer options," Wally Amos said.
"I just decided that I didn't want to be in show business anymore. I was in the business, but I never really felt a part of it. I was always like a stranger on the outside looking in," he said.
Amos had found relaxation and solace in baking cookies on the weekends away from work, which took him back to his youth with his Aunt Della. Once he left the entertainment industry, Amos began to consider opening his own cookie store. His dream became a reality in 1975 when a friend loaned him $25,000 to open his store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, CA.
So there was Amos, a retired talent agent and manager, opening his own company for the first time in his life. How was he going to run a successful business? Easy. He had learned how to promote when he was in the entertainment industry—and he was damn good at it.
"When you're an agent, you just get entertainers jobs; you're just an employment agency. But if you're good at what you do, you look for ways to create exposure and awareness to help your client in every way possible, so I learned how to promote. Promoting cookies was a lot easier than promoting people," he said.
Amos strongly believes that no matter what jobs people are in at the moment, they are always training and preparing for something the future holds.
"What you're learning today…you will not have the opportunity to use that information today. You're always in training; you're always preparing. It's important to do your best because you don't know who's watching you. The person watching you could hold the keys to your future," he said.
Taking his talent for baking superb cookies and combining it with his keen publicity sense, Amos was able to develop a basic and logical plan for The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Store.
"I put all the pieces together—just common sense, really. Life is common sense—just putting one foot in front of the other," he said.
Wally Amos' wife Christine created the Chip and Cookie dolls (pictured above), which are the poster characters for Amos' Chip & Cookie company and his Chip & Cookie Read Aloud Foundation.
Amos knew that connections were everything, and he utilized his show-business connections to help launch his store. He sent out 2,500 invitations to a variety of people he knew, many of whom were in the entertainment industry, to attend the opening party for the store. On its opening day, March 10, 1975, more than 1,500 invited guests showed up, stopping traffic on Sunset Boulevard.
But with the booming business and instant fame came a darker side of Amos. "The company kept mushrooming and mushrooming, and I started thinking that I was important. I lost my way—my ego got in my way and started directing me," he said. "Ultimately, I lost Famous Amos because I forgot that life is about a team; it's not about any one person. I don't care how much money you make; you didn't do it. The more money you make, the more people you have to help you make it." Once he decided that he was not happy anymore, Amos decided to leave Famous Amos.
Amos continued giving lectures and providing consulting after his departure from Famous Amos but soon found that he was missing something in his life: the cookie business. After finding out that The Famous Amos Cookie Company still had the rights to his name, Amos endured litigation with his old company in the early 1990s. During this time, he wrote the book Man with No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade, which is based on his experience during the legal battle.
Another baking opportunity came Amos's way in 1994 when Louis Avignone, a Famous Amos distributor, heard Amos on a radio show. Inspired by Amos's career journey, Avignone got in touch with him, which led to their launch of a new company: Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins.
In 1999, Amos did something he had said he would never do; he went back to be a spokesperson for Famous Amos. Because he did this, Amos was granted the right to use "Wally" in his new muffin company's name. That same year, Uncle Noname Gourmet Muffins became Uncle Wally's Muffin Company.
Throughout his career, Amos has always had a place in his heart for promoting reading aloud to children. From 1979 to 2002, Amos was the national spokesperson for Literacy Volunteers of America. He also serves on various educational boards, including the National Center for Family Literacy, Read to Me International, and Communities in Schools.
In 2005, Amos and his wife, Christine, took this passion for ending illiteracy to a new level by starting the Chip & Cookie Read Aloud Foundation.
"There is so much research confirming that reading aloud develops readers. If a kid is a reader, then he has less chances of going to jail. When you don't have an education, you have fewer options," he said.
The organization not only promotes reading to children in order to build their love for it, but it also has a cookie store and a series of products. Amos's wife created the old-fashioned boy and girl cookie characters Chip and Cookie which are the poster characters for the foundation and store. The store, located on Oahu in Kailua, Hawaii, sells scrumptious cookies with ingredients such as chocolate chips with macadamia nuts and butterscotch chips with pecans, as well as Chip and Cookie dolls, storybooks featuring the characters, and shirts and hats.
During his unique career, Amos has reflected upon his experience-filled life in his series of books: The Famous Amos Story: The Face that Launched a Thousand Chips; The Power in You: Ten Secret Ingredients to Inner Strength; Man with No Name: Turn Lemons into Lemonade; Watermelon Magic: Seeds of Wisdom, Slices of Life; The Cookie Never Crumbles: Inspirational Recipes for Everyday Living; Be Positive, Be Positive!: Insights into How to Live a Joy-Filled and Inspiring Life; The Power in Self-Esteem: How to Discover and Fulfill Your Life Dreams; and Live an Inspiring Life: Ten Secret Ingredients for Inner Strength.
In addition to Amos's early-life mentors Ernie Ricco, his manager at Saks Fifth Avenue, and Howard Hausman, an executive at the William Morris Agency, Amos has gained and continues to gain mentorship and inspiration from a variety of people.
"Inspiration is everywhere," he said. "It's not just from famous people. It's not just from people who are already a success. It's from people who are endeavoring to be a success."
From his opening of The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Store in 1975 and his launch of the Chip & Cookie foundation and store only two years ago, Amos has learned a thing or two about succeeding in business and sales.
"Don't give up," he said. "I don't care how bad it is; if you quit, it's going to be worse."
Another huge principle that Amos has lived by is the belief that you should always be doing what makes you happy. If a career field is not fun or intriguing anymore, it is time to move on to something new. "You can only stick with something if you're passionate about it. Do what you love," he said.
Amos feels that he has done well partly because he has a true devotion to cookies and his business. He explained, "I have a love, a relationship, a respect, an admiration for chocolate chip cookies that no one else possesses."
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