John Witherspoon, veteran actor and comedian, best known for starring as Mr. Jones in the "Friday" movie series, and voicing #Gramps on #TheBoondocks, died on October 29, 2019. He was 77.
Witherspoon was survived by his wife, Angela Robinson-Witherspoon, whom he married in 1988, and their two children, Alexander Witherspoon and John David Witherspoon.
His family confirmed in a statement to Deadline: “It is with deepest sorrow that we can confirm our beloved husband and father, John Witherspoon, one of the hardest working men in show business, died today at his home in Sherman Oaks at the age of 77. He is survived by his wife Angela, and his sons JD, Alexander, and a large family. We are all in shock, please give us a minute for a moment in privacy and we will celebrate his life and his work together. John used to say ‘I’m no big deal’, but he was huge deal to us.”
Born in Detroit on January 27, 1942, Witherspoon’s career in comedy got started in the late 1970s, appearing on The Richard Prior Show, and other TV series such as The Incredible Hulk, What’s Happening!!! and Good Times. Witherspoon booked his first film role in 1980, in the movie The Jazz Singer, and continued to work steadily in both TV and film.
In 1995, Witherspoons was cast as Mr. Jones in the cult classic, Friday, starring opposite Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. #DJPooh, who wrote the movie, including its sequels, #NextFriday, #FridayAfterNext, and #LastFriday, which is still in pre-production, was one of the first to tweet out his condolences upon hearing about Witherspoon’s death, as was actress #ReginaKing, who also starred in the Friday movies as Dana Jones.
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