John Witherspoon ( Weatherspoon; January 27, 1942 – October 29, 2019) was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films. He played Willie Jones in the Friday series, He later changed his last name from Weatherspoon to Witherspoon. 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". His sister, the late Dr. Gertrude Stacks, was a pastor at Shalom Fellowship International, a church in Detroit.
Career
Witherspoon worked occasionally as a model. During the 1960s and 1970s, he began his stand-up comedy career. 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. playing a camp counselor for drug addicted youth. Subsequent appearances were on Good Times, What's Happening!!, and The Incredible Hulk. In 1977, he became a regular on the series The Richard Pryor Show, an NBC American comedy series.
In 1981, he appeared in the NBC police drama Hill Street Blues, as a man who tries to buy a hotdog from undercover Detective Belker. In 1991, he had an appearance on NBC's legal drama L.A. Law, in the episode "On Your Honor" as Mark Steadman. He appeared in You Again? as Osborne. Other television show appearances include 227, which was an NBC comedy about women who lived in a majority black apartment complex, and What's Happening Now!!, the sequel to What's Happening!!.
Witherspoon was also featured in the American television sitcom Amen (1988), as the bailiff. The show, which ran on NBC, was known for being one of the shows during the 1980s that featured an almost entirely black cast.
Next came spots on Townsend Television (1993), Cosmic Slop (1994), and Murder Was the Case (1994) as a drunk.
He later appeared in the 1997 Living Single episode "Three Men and a Buckeye" as Smoke Eye Howard. His largest role in a television series was on The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999) which aired on The WB and starred Shawn and Marlon Wayans, who played brothers Shawn and Marlon Williams. Witherspoon played their father, John "Pops" Williams.
He was also on the Kids' WB animation series Waynehead, which was about a young boy growing up poor in Harlem, New York City. The show, which aired on Saturday mornings, was based on creator Damon Wayans' life.
In 2003, Witherspoon made a showing on NBC's Last Comic Standing, a reality television show that selected the top comedian out of a group and gave him a contract, in the Las Vegas finals. That same year, he performed as Oran Jones in The Proud Family episode "Adventures in Bebe Sitting". He later guest-starred in an episode of Kim Possible. During this time, Witherspoon was also featured as Spoon in all 18 episodes of the comedy series The Tracy Morgan Show.
In 2004, he appeared in Pryor Offenses, a television movie where he played Willie the Wino. In 2005, he was seen in the Comedy Central talk show Weekends at the D.L. where he portrayed the character of Michael Johnson. That same year, he began starring in Aaron McGruder's animated series The Boondocks as Robert Jebediah "Granddad" Freeman; this Cartoon Network/Adult Swim series ran for four seasons. They raised two sons, John David ("J.D.") and Alexander. David Letterman was Witherspoon's best friend and is the godfather of his two sons.
Witherspoon died of a heart attack at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, on October 29, 2019, at age 77. His funeral was held in Los Angeles on November 5, 2019, and he was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1980
| The Jazz Singer
| M.C. Cinderella Club
|
|-
| rowspan=2|1995
| Friday
| Willie Jones
|
|-
| Vampire in Brooklyn
| Silas Green
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2000
| Next Friday
| Willie Jones
|
|-
| God's Gift
| Store
|
|-
| 2007
| After Sex
| Gene
|
|-
| rowspan=3|2008
| The Super Rumble Mixshow
|
|
|-
| The Hustle
| Mr. Wikes
|
|-
| You Got to Coordinate
| Himself
| Stand-up
|-
| 2009
| Hopelessly in June
| Mr. Myers
|
|-
| 2011
| Chick Magnet
| John
|
|-
| 2012
| A Thousand Words
| Blind Old Man
|
|-
|2019
| I Got the Hook-Up 2
| Mr. Mimm
|
|-
|2020
| Reality Queen
| Joe The Plumber
| Posthumous release; Final film role
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%;"
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role
! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes
|-
| 1977 || The Richard Pryor Show || Various || 2 episodes
References
Notes
Further reading
External links
- Bio at bangbangbangbang.com (archived on November 26, 2011)
- John Witherspoon's "Cooking for Poor People" YouTube series