Famous Amos's distinctive packaging became almost as famous as the cookies themselves: every brown bag featured a smiling Wally Amos, dressed in a straw Panama hat and a decorated white shirt. Within months, Amos had opened two more West Coast franchises, and the New York-based Bloomingdale's department store had begun selling the gourmet cookies. His speaking fee runs $10,000 to $20,000, according to a booking agencys Web site. The film was directed by Jeff MacIntyre. When you walked into the cookie store, the door to the kitchen had a star on it, because that was the dressing room for 'The Cookie.' Somebody did something to me that paralyzed me for life. If you believe that, youll never move forward.. There are people who convince themselves that they cant do anything with their lives because of whats happened to themand theyre right. U.S.A. The cookies will once again be handmade. He decided to take a chance with his cookies. Racist Ex-University Of Kentucky 'Karen' Sophia Rosing Is Charged For Assaulting Black Student, Mississippi Cops Beat, Waterboarded Handcuffed Black Men, Shot 1 For Dating White Women': Lawyers. Fax: (847) 803-1186 He has co-written several books of inspiration, including one capitalizing on his failures at Famous Amos. Over the next few years, Amos headed the agency's newly formed rock 'n' roll department, where he worked with Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke. Encyclopedia.com. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Around this time, in 1970, Amos, frustrated both personally and professionally, began to soothe his nerves by making cookies like his Aunt Della had done. Film and television stars, pop singers, and politicians all professed a craving for Famous Amos cookies. Amos said the Famous Amos cookies sold today by Kellogg Co. are unlike his cookies, which had lots of chocolate, real butter and pure vanilla extract. Amos! IE 11 is not supported. "Amos, Wally Culinary entrepreneur Wally Amos stands in front of the original Famous Amos store on Sunset Blvd. "I never had a superstar but I made a day-to-day living, that was about it," he told the New York Times in 1975. Tietosuojakytnnstmme ja evstekytnnstmme voit lukea lis siit, miten kytmme henkiltietojasi. "He worked with all the Motown acts, with the Temptations and Supremes," his son, musician Shawn Amos says. liverpool v nottingham forest 1989 team line ups; best crews to join in gta 5. jay chaudhry house; bimbo bakeries buying back routes; pauline taylor seeley cause of death The Famous Amos Story: The Face That Launched a Thousand Chips. In 1951 Amos moved in with his mother and grandmother, who had also moved to Manhattan. Amos struggled to keep up with the brands rapid growth. "The cookies' reputation began to grow as my contacts multiplied," he recalled in his book, The Power in You. How he lost his money: Amos started a cookie business after deciding to leave his cushy job as a talent manager for the William Morris Agency in New York in 1975. After one year as a paid spokesman for . Being famous is highly overrated anyway, said Amos, who has lived in Hawaii since 1977. Within two years the company was producing six tons of cookies each week, and Amoss little venture had become a business generating in excess of $4 million in sales per year. On the first day, customers were lined up outside. Why Wally Amos Lost "Famous Amos Cookies" - YouTube Reflecting on his changing fortunes in Parade, Amos concluded: When you say I will with conviction, magic begins to happen. Mr. Amos is happy to do his part. Amos's promo packet and boundless enthusiasm were enough to convince entertainment industry friends, including singer Helen Reddy, her husband, producer Jeff Wald (another product of the William Morris mailroom) and record executive Artie Mogull to invest in the venture. He spent the ensuing years working in the stock room at Saks Fifth Avenue, and in the mailroom at the prestigious William Morris Agency. Amos headed the rock n roll department, where he signed Simon and Garfunkel and worked with Motown megastars The Supremes, Diana Ross, Sam Cooke, and Dionne Warwick. Amos told Newsweek that when he saw his completed storefront, he was overjoyed. He brought them to meetings and gatherings, always getting enthusiastic praise. [4] He started the business with the help of a $25,000 loan from Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. "Profiting Through Self-Reliance." I think it's more than a fetish. He was the first black talent scout in America. Selected awards: Presidential Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, U.S. president Ronald Reagan, 1986; Horatio Alger Association citation, 1987. Mr. Amos again found himself in a money-losing venture on the verge of collapse. "If I could love myself once a week or so in my home kitchen, I thought, why couldn't I love myself full time, share that love with as many people as possible, and at the same time earn a living doing what I loved most, with a product I loved the best? ", In the late afternoon, he visits a day care center for senior citizens. Contemporary Black Biography. Encyclopedia.com. In 1988 the company lost $2.5 million, and the Shansby Group purchased it for $3 million. Kellogg, like Keebler, was a billion-dollar company known for its quality and outstanding products. Wally Amos had long ago lost control of Famous Amos, the cookie company he founded in 1975, and had even lost the right to use his name or the famous likeness of himself with his. The Famous Amos Cookie Company was born. Located within department stores, Chip & "There's a really high awareness of chocolate chip cookies now, and that was created by me." Yet with such phenomenal success came mistakes. While muffins may be on his mind these days, Amos couldnt entirely leave the cookie business. Amos has advocated literacy and helped thousands of adults learn to read. Recalling the episode in the Providence Business News in 1995, Amos said, "I was irresponsible. It was the low point of my life, Amos recalled in Ebony. Within months, Amos had opened two more franchises on the West Coast, and New York-based department store Bloomingdale's had begun selling gourmet cookies. Following his parents' separation in 1948, Amos was sent to New York City to live with his Aunt Della, who often baked homemade chocolate chip and pecan cookies. Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Name: Wally Amos, Birth Year: 1936, Birth date: July 1, 1936, Birth State: Florida, Birth City: Tallahassee, Birth Country: United States. In 1975, Amos launched the first Famous Amos store on Los Angeless Sunset Boulevard. Pollack, Judann. He was an amazing marketer and had great promotional instincts. The shop cleared $300k its first year. ", Famous Amos opened on March 10, 1975, as a small, father-and-son operation, "He and I were together," Shawn says. Los Angeles wasn't the promised land Amos had hoped for. I'm not in the cookie business anymore.". ." . Amos remained on the companys board as vice-chairman, but he became increasingly dismayed as the venture was sold to one investment group after another. Amos and his cookie empire enjoyed a decade of success. Fine, 1988. Amos and his cookie empire enjoyed a decade of success. Between visits to the rooms of patients (none of whom seem quite sure who the ebullient, kazoo-blowing guy is), Amos takes a pit stop. Anyone can read what you share. The man who once called himself the face that launched a thousand chips told Parade magazine of his new company: Its still methe best Wally Amos I can be., Amoss self-professed love affair with the chocolate chip cookie began in his childhood. He changed Uncle Noname to Uncle Wally's, and published his fifth book, The Cookie Never Crumbles: Inspirational Recipes for Everyday Living, in 2001. The Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Company was officially born in March 1975 at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles. The company produces various homemade-style and healthy muffins. Wally Amos - Famous Amos, Family & Age - Biography The company focused on fat-free, nutritious muffins at that time. Amos greeted passerbyes with smiles and cookies from his latest enterprise; they responded with an affectionate Uncle Wally!, If you flow with the universe, it opens spaces for you, Wally told the reporter as they parked his cara watermelon-green SUV that looped Disneys Its a small world. "His real skill was as a hype man. ." Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html, Born: July 1, 1936Tallahassee, FloridaFounder, Famous Amos Chocolate Chip CookieCompany. He bursts in, looking around in exaggerated puzzlement. Amos's role as a perpetual hype man had its downside. Mr. Amos became a paid spokesman but left in frustration the next year. In the early 1960s Amos took a job in the mail room at the William Morris Talent Agency. The legal order came from the owners of the Famous Amos Cookie Company. His entrepreneurial spirit in tact, Mr. Amos switched to a line of low-fat and fat-free muffins. Im a promoter Im not a business guy. who always remained true to himself," worked in Tallahassee at the local gas company. Determined to make his mark by signing a blockbuster act, his tenacity was rewarded when he discovered the singing duo Simon & Garfunkel. Its part of my philosophy, Amos explained in Parade. Although he was hired to work in the mail room and to do some janitorial work, Amos got noticed by the upper management because he was willing to do things that were not part of his job description. But Wally Amos isn't one to fret over the loss of his name or his company. Famous amos cookies with pecans | Updated February 2023 In 1962, Amos became the first African American agent, not just at William Morris but at any major talent firm. Why did Wally Amos lose his company? Always the survivor, Amos started a new company in 1992, this time selling freshly baked muffins and cakes. ", IF YOU GO BACK A FRAME, TO THE moment just before Wally Amos saw the bag of Famous Amos cookies that have nothing to do with him, you get the real, unbound Wally Amos. In 1991, Amos attempted to launch another cookie company, which he called Wally Amos Presents Chip & Cookie. A successful motivational speaker, he penned inspirational self-help books and received a 1986 award for entrepreneurial excellence from President Ronald Reagan. Amos, Wally and Leroy Robinson. [2] He earned his high school equivalency diploma[3] before being honorably discharged from the military. It doesn't even honor a person. "He just exuded light," his son says. Wallace Amos Jr. was born in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1936, the only child of Wallace and Ruby Amos. He was sued by the owners of Famous Amos who successfully contended that Amos had relinquished the rights to use his name and likeness in marketing a food product. As quoted in a Black Enterprise profile from November 1992, Amos said, "I knew I had the best product; all I needed to do was to convince the public of something I already knew.". '', Keebler, a unit of Flowers Industries, which had inherited the reformulated cookies, agreed to meet Mr. Amos's conditions. I just send love to 'em. And so Wally, relentlessly optimistic, raised a little cash from Marvin Gaye and a few other friends and set up shop. Neither parent could read or write. He now leaves the day-to-day operations of his Long Island company, which is based in Hauppauge, to a partner, Lou Avignone, who is a former owner of a larger food distributor. When a new job opportunity in Los Angeles backfired, Amos grew disillusioned with show business. . Despite the company's poor financial history, and the fact that Uncle Wally's muffins have not become the huge hit with consumers that Famous Amos cookies once were, the business had modest revenues of about $3 million last year and the product is winning fans, Mr. Avignone said. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). A Famous Cookie And a Face to Match; How Wally Amos Got His Hand And His Name Back in the Game, https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/03/business/famous-cookie-face-match-wally-amos-got-his-hand-his-name-back-game.html. I'm especially glad that Famous Amos Cookies are now in the hands of people who love, live, and breathe great-tasting cookies." Whatever his former ties to it, he said, ''I will always be Famous Amos. Amos continued to raise money while diluting his own equity. Bush. The cookies were an immediate sensation; 2,500 people to his stores opening party. In the aftermath of the court cases, Amos abandoned all hopes of baking and selling cookies and sold muffins and cakes under the Uncle Noname label (originally formed in 1992). Over the next several years, Famous Amos was bought and sold a number of times. ''In quicksand, if you start flailing all about and panicking with each movement you go in deeper, but if you just stay calm and look about, chances are you'll see a twig or something you can reach to pull yourself out. This simple, affectionate act had lasting consequences in the life of the young boy, who eventually went on to make his living from fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Amos has three sons from his first two marriages, Shawn, Michael and Gregory. It was the '70s. Amos, the former talent agent, became a star in his own right. With financial backing from singers like Gaye and an innovative marketing initiative, which included an extensive advertising campaign and a gala grand opening, the first Famous Amos cookie store opened on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1975. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Who owns the Famous Amos cookie company now? - Wise-Answer 548; May 1983, p. 53. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/amos-wally-1937. He started in New York, then relocated to Los Angeles, California, nearer the show business capital of Hollywood. Around the time Wally lost ownership in his company, his career took perhaps it's most remarkable turn. His stern mother was full of life. Because of his intelligence and high motivation to please others, he went, in a few short months, from mailroom worker to become a personal secretary to Howard Hausman, who was a senior vice-president with the firm. He also has a daughter named Sarah with his third wife, Christine Harris. Wally Amos Net Worth: $20 Thousand Childhood Private Life Career g, ght, nd Wght Additional Ventures Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. On June 13, 1977, Amos' picture was on the cover of Time magazine, which ran a lengthy article about him and his success. In 1957, he returned to New York and joined the William Morris Agency, where he worked his way up from the mailroom to become the first black talent agent in the industry. By 1985, on sales of $10 million, the Famous Amos Cookie Company reported a $300,000 loss. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Elon Musk. Amos said: "We were made to think, to be curious, to seek solutions, and not add to problems." P.O. He described his Aunt Della as "happy all the time," and as a woman who loved to cook and bake, especially chocolate-chip cookies. In 1967, Amos left William Morris and moved to Los Angeles, where he struggled to set up his own personal management company. How Wally Amos Lost His Famous Amos Company Then Persevered To Become A I poured money into start-up costs, investing heavily in what I was sure was a brilliant future. His parents divorced when he was twelve, and Amos was sent to live with his Aunt Della in Harlem, New York. "When I began to bake them myself, it became my own creative project for the hour or so it took to mix the batter and pop 'em in the oven," Amos writes in The Power in You. Amos founded the cookie company in 1975 and things just didnt go as planned. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/trade-magazines/amos-wally. What is Wally Amos doing now? - The Billions Whatever Happened To The Cookie Kahuna After Shark Tank? - Looper.com Like our content? ''I can even use my picture on here,'' he said, seemingly astonished. He sought help to save the company, and ultimately himself. Profits increased. (February 23, 2023). Fax: (714) 722-4261 famous amos dancer net worth - stmatthewsbc.org Wally Amos, famed entrepreneur and founder of the Famous Amos chocolate chip cookie brand, was born Wallace Amos Jr. on July 1, 1936, in Tallahassee, Florida. He worked dilligently, eventually becoming manager of the supply department at the ritzy store. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. After his discharge from the Air Force, Amos enrolled at the Collegiate Secretarial Institute in Manhattan. "He had a headshot made of 'The Cookie,'" Shawn says. I'm happy to be back, and the people at Keebler are wonderful folks. In his book, Man With No Name: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade, Amos explains how he lost Famous Amos even before it was sold it off for $63 million to a Taiwanese company in 1991. Amos never forgot those cookies. "He's the white sheep of the family. So a decade after losing his company, Mr. Amos is back bragging about Famous Amos, like a proud father showing off his now-grown first-born. . "In financial terms," Wally wrote in 1996, "all I've done since is amass debt and miss payments." Around the time Wally lost ownership in his company, his career took perhaps it's most remarkable turn. When the dust settled, he was barred from using his identity or his face to sell cookies. Toll Free: (800) 257-8443 Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/economics-magazines/amos-wally. In 1989, yet another group of investors dismissed Amos from the company he had founded. Theyve said I am a victim. Chicago: Nightingale-Conant, 1988. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1986. He also worked as a talent agent and discovered Simon & Garfunkel. It filed for bankruptcy in 1996. How Wally Amos Made Famous Amos Cookies So Famous - LAist . Chocolate chip cookies have been good to him -and the cookie god knows, no one has done more for chocolate chip cookies than Amos. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words Publishing, 1996. Around the time Wally lost ownership in his company, his career took perhaps its most remarkable turn. Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with chocolate cookies and kaleidoscope skies. New Recipe: How Did Wally Amos Lose His Money? - Cake Baking Kimbro, Dennis, and Napoleon Hill. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1996, abandoned cookies and went into muffins at the suggestion of Amos business partner, Lou Avignone. Public Company People . And even though he has no ownership in Famous Amos and is making Uncle Wally's his priority, he acknowledges that his first company is still in his blood. Wally Amos was a walking, breathing brandwho couldn't seem to cash in on his own success. Wally Amos is a television personality, entrepreneur, and author from the United States of America. Most recently, he appeared on Shark Tank at age 80 pitching The Cookie Kahuna, a business that eventually failed. Amos and his cookie empire enjoyed a decade of success. Thanks to his amazing promoting ability, he grew the company from $300,000 revenue in the first year to $12 million by 1982. Amos, who turned 71 this month, is co-founder and shareholder of Uncle Wally's Muffin Co., whose products are found in 5,000 stores nationwide, including Costco and Wal-Mart. Money was so scarce for him and his family that he often had to walk four miles to and from school to save the bus fare. He added that they were both conscientious churchgoers who regarded "anything that appeared to be fun, like dancing" as a sin. But Wally Amos isn't one to fret over the loss of his name or his company. Did Shark Tank have Crumble cookies? 1983, Reprint. Amos, Wally, and Camilla Denton. A Newsweek correspondent called him the progenitor of the upscale cookie and the greatest cookie salesman alive. Today Amos is no longer involved with the Famous Amos cookies found in most supermarkets and many vending machines, but he has begun a whole new gourmet cookie venture, the Uncle Nonam Cookie Company. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"DAWbIiPtfTtFzY4CfwZ6UTAwi.hV.E5y1C9rowz8sW8-86400-0"}; He's got a fine attitude in his mind, man, he's got a kazoo in his shirt pocket, and he's got cookie. Except the boy never takes the pillow off his face. Graham, Judith, ed. By 1985, the year before America's free-market President was hailing him as a hero, his company lost $300,000 as revenue slipped to $10 million. At the time, Mr. Amos challenged the barriers of entertainment as a Black man and went on to create a flourishing cookie empire. Famous amos cookies with walnuts | Updated January 2023 He ultimately lost the company to investors in 1988. ''I'd lost the company really because I didn't use to listen to people a lot because I was Famous Amos,'' the founder now acknowledges. Culinary entrepreneur Wally Amos stands in front of the original Famous Amos store on Sunset Blvd. And Keebler was willing to let him use his name for his own business. [15], On July 1, 1979, Amos married Christine (Harris) Amos, who later helped him design the early merchandise and packaging for Famous Amos cookies. [12], In 2014, an article in Fortune magazine lauded "The cookie comeback of 'Famous' Wally Amos" as Amos bought back his handmade cookies under a new name The Cookie Kahuna. Some bags contained no cookies at all. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "Where are the seniors?" Why did Wally Amos lose his company? He has written 10 books,[6] many of which have a self-help theme, including The Cookie Never Crumbles[7] and The Power in You. . Unfortunately for Amos, he . LAist's new podcast LA Made: Blood Sweat & Rockets explores the history of Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab, co-founder Jack Parsons' interest in the occult and the creepy local lore of Devil's Gate Dam. Famous Amos was the real star of the brand, appearing on packaging and merchandise in his signature straw hat and embroidered cotton shirt. They cant. Jos haluat muokata valintojasi, napsauta Hallitse tietosuoja-asetuksia. Amos dropped out of high school but earned his G.E.D. In 1967, Amos decided to leave William Morris and launch his own talent agency. "Attached to the inside was a little plastic bag with the cookies inside one chocolate chip cookie with pecans, one butterscotch chip cookie with pecans, and one peanut butter chocolate chip cookie stapled right there on the front page of the proposal. cookie emporium any day," he wrote cheekily in his L.A. "Amos, Wally Each year, millions of delicious confections made by the company founded by Wally Amos are sold in stores nationwide. (Photo of Wally Amos courtesy of Shawn Amos; photo collage by Elina Shatkin). Here's Why It's Especially Dangerous To Hike SoCal Mountains Right Now, How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA. Perhaps Dennis Kimbro and Napoleon Hill of Black Enterprise said it best when describing Amos: "Some call him a promoter, others say he is a public relations wizardbut neither title adequately describes what he does best. Astrological Sign: Cancer. Wally Amos will always be famous, even though he cant call himself that anymore. . He wrote up a business plan and approached some of his famous friends including singers Helen Reddy (1941-) and Marvin Gaye, who each contributed to his start-up funds. In addition, Amos believed that the company would return the cookies that bore his name back to their original quality. "I'm not concerned with whether people appreciate me or not. However, the date of retrieval is often important. Karl Braun Drive Read more about Wally Amos story inside. The move proved to be a mistake, as the new owners began to run the company into the ground. In 1986, President Reagan presented him with one of the first Awards of Entrepreneurial Excellence. Upon discharge from the service, Amos attended secretarial school, learning shorthand, typing, and accounting skills. The new owners gobbled up more of my share until all of a sudden I found I had lost all ownership in the company I founded, Amos wrote. He represented musicians such as The Temptations, Sam Cooke, and Marvin Gaye. Web site: http://www.tek.com In 2002, he was traveling the world promoting Uncle Wally's muffinsand himselfsince he had become a sought after inspirational During his four years in the military, he finished his high school education. Wallace "Wally" Amos, Jr. (born July 1, 1936) is an American television personality, entrepreneur, and author from Tallahassee, Florida. Amos planned a big party to launch his new business: he hired a band, bought champagne, and invited many of his celebrity friends. That's not a bad pitch.''. "My responsibility, as I see it, is keeping our visibility level very high," he explained to the Los Angeles Times in 1985. In 1975, a friend suggested to Amos that he set up a store to sell his cookies, and in March of that year, the first Famous Amos cookie store opened in Los Angeles, California. I have a fetish for chocolate chip cookies. Wally Amos, married three times and with three sons and a daughter, lives happily in Hawaii. He frequently travels, giving motivational speeches or working on behalf of charities like Literacy Volunteers of America, of which he is spokesman. [8], In 1979, Amos' long-time friend and publicist John Rosica introduced him to Literacy Volunteers of America. The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LAs top 5 stories in just 3 minutes. [13], In 2019, Amos was called "the King of cookies" by NBC affiliate KSNV-TV in Las Vegas. "Amos, Wally 1937 [18], Amos had lived in Hawaii from 1977 until 2018. Business Leader Profiles for Students. In 1999, Keebler approached Amos to help promote Famous Amos, and he happily agreed. "Whenever I see him, I've got a bag waiting for me.". A True Story, Baldwin Hills, 'The Black Beverly Hills': The Life And Times Of The Community, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth. After Amos discovered two young musicians named Paul Simon (1941-) and Art Garfunkel (1941-) and convinced them to sign with William Morris, he was promoted again and became their agent. In its first month of business, Nonam reported $33,000 in sales. I shaved my beard and stopped wearing hats.''. With this remark, made by Amos after he sold his cookie business, Amos turned to the new passion in his lifelecturing on inspirational issues. How did wally amos lose his company? [Expert Review] 1975: Opened first Famous Amos retail outlet. Public Company, 1740 Monrovia Avenue Burdened with the debt of his failing business, Amos began to take comfort in baking chocolate chip cookies. After spending several years in New York City, Amos dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Air Force, where he earned his G.E.D. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. It seemed to be shining as if neon paint had been used. http://www.GreatCookieComeback.com Wally Amos was the King of the Cookie Kingdom. To establish his store he raised $25,000 from entertainment friends including singers Marvin Gaye and Helen Reddy. The affable Amos recalled in Parade that he had numerous obstacles to overcome on his long road to success. At school, he claimed that he had developed an intense desire to become successful and to make money. Besides cookies and muffins, promoting literacy is his passion. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Famous Amos was selling $5 million worth of cookies by 1980, and just two years later sales had rocketed to $12 million.