The current owner of the Famous Amos brand, Ferrero Group, posted a tribute to Amos on their Instagram today:

"Ferrero and the Famous Amos team are saddened by the loss of Wally Amos and our thoughts are with his family. He brought joy to millions with his cookies and is an inspiration to generations of entrepreneurs. We will continue to work to honor his legacy," the brand says.

"Our dad inspired a generation of entrepreneurs," Wally's children told CBS News. "With his Panama hat, kazoo, and boundless optimism, Famous Amos was a great American success story, and a source of Black pride. It's also part of our family story for which we will forever be grateful and proud."

"At a time when flavorless, preservative-packed cookies were about the only thing available to consumers not blessed with a baker in the family, Amos’s confections stood out. Derived from a recipe he had learned from his aunt, they used real ingredients, no coloring or chemicals added, and he kept them as close to handmade as possible, even as his company exploded into national distribution through the early 1980s," says The New York Times.

"What began with a single store in Los Angeles that made $300,000 in revenue its first year became by 1981 a $12 million company (about $42 million in today’s currency), with dozens of Famous Amos stores across the country and packaged products sold in supermarkets and department stores like Bloomingdale’s as well," the article notes.

With the popularity of his cookies, Amos's name, smiling face, and Panama hat became iconic, says People magazine. In 1986, President Reagan gave him one of the first Awards of Entrepreneurial Excellence.

After Amos experienced some financial troubles, Famous Amos was bought for $3 million in 1988. Amos worked with the Ferrero Group on-and-off and came back as a spokesperson in 1999. However, in selling the company, he lost the use of his name and his image; but was able to sell baked goods under other names, such as Uncle Noname, Uncle Wally's Muffin Co., and the Cookie Kahuna, says People. 

The New York Times ran a profile on Amos in 1999, when Ferrero's Keebler owned the brand, and invited Amos to return as spokesperson for a limited time.

"Mr. Amos is happy to do his part. 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. Whatever his former ties to it, he said, 'I will always be Famous Amos,'" the article says.