![]() Witherspoon performed in many feature films (usually comedies), including Friday (and its sequels Next Friday and Friday After Next), Hollywood Shuffle, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Bird, Vampire in Brooklyn, and The Meteor Man. As a result, he had many friends in the business, including Tim Reid (while he was working on WKRP in Cincinnati and The Richard Pryor Show), Robin Williams (also on The Richard Pryor Show), Jay Leno, and David Letterman. During that time, he began his stand-up comedy career. During the 1960s and 1970s, he began to take a liking towards comedy. Witherspoon worked occasionally as a model. Witherspoon had a passion for music and learned to play the trumpet and French horn. Gertrude Stacks, was a pastor at Shalom Fellowship International, a church in Detroit. Another sibling, Cato, was a director of the PBS-TV Network/CH56 in Detroit. His older brother, William, became a songwriter for Motown, with whom he penned the lyrics of the 1966 hit single " What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". He later changed his last name from Weatherspoon to Witherspoon. Witherspoon was born on January 27, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan. He wrote a film, From the Old School, in which he played an elderly working man who tries to prevent a neighborhood convenience store from being developed into a strip club. ![]() In addition, he made appearances on television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994), The Wayans Bros. ![]() Witherspoon is best remembered for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday series he also starred in films such as Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Boomerang (1992), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). "Love U Dad.I'll miss u.John Weatherspoon (Janu– October 29, 2019), better known as John Witherspoon, was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films. ![]() He was my best friend & my idol," JD Witherspoon posted. "We'd roast each other like homies more than Father & Son, and I really liked that. JD Witherspoon tweeted that he was happy for all the great times he and his dad had together. 27, 1942, is survived by his wife, Angela, and sons JD and Alexander. The statement says Witherspoon, who was born on Jan. Goodman referred to a family statement issued to the website Deadline that said the family was in shock over Witherspoon's death. Regina King, who appeared as Witherspoon's daughter in "Friday" and also voiced both of his grandsons in the animated series "The Boondocks" called him her "comedic inspiration" on Twitter. "Life won't be as funny without him," Ice Cube said in a Twitter post late Tuesday, adding that he was devastated by news of Witherspoon's death. His film roles included "Vampire in Brooklyn" and "Boomerang," and he was a frequent guest on "Late Show with David Letterman."įor many his most recognizable role was "Pops," Ice Cube's father in the stoner comedy "Friday" and its two sequels, a crude but affectionate father trying to guide his son to be better. The actor had a prolific career, co-starring in three "Friday" films, appearing on "The Wayans Bros." television series and voicing the grandfather in "The Boondocks" animated series. Witherspoon's manager Alex Goodman confirmed late Tuesday that Witherspoon died in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor-comedian John Witherspoon, who memorably played Ice Cube's father in the "Friday" films, has died.
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