John Witherspoon (actor)

John Witherspoon (born John Weatherspoon; January 27, 1942 – October 29, 2019), was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films.

Witherspoon was born on January 27, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan.

He later changed his last name from Weatherspoon to Witherspoon.

Witherspoon was one of 11 siblings.

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.

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.

Witherspoon was also known for his over-the-top characters in films such as House Party, in which he played an irritated neighbor who is repeatedly woken up by the party, and Boomerang with Eddie Murphy, where he plays Mr. Jackson, the ill-mannered father of Murphy's best friend.

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".

Another sibling, Cato, was a director of the PBS-TV Network/CH56 in Detroit.

His sister, the late Dr. Gertrude Stacks, was a pastor at Shalom Fellowship International, a church in Detroit.

Witherspoon had a passion for music and learned to play the trumpet and French horn.

Witherspoon worked occasionally as a model.

His first television appearance was on the 1970s CBS television show Barnaby Jones, 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.

The show, which ran on NBC, was known for being one of the shows during the 1980s that featured an almost entirely black cast.

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.

Also in 1981, 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!!.

This then led to his 1982 appearance in WKRP In Cincinnati, in which Witherspoon played Detective Davies, on the fourth-season episode "Circumstantial Evidence".

Witherspoon played Willie Jones in the Friday series, and starred in films such as Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Boomerang (1992), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995).

Witherspoon was also featured in the American television sitcom Amen (1988), as the bailiff.

Next came spots on Townsend Television (1993), Cosmic Slop (1994), and Murder Was the Case (1994) as a drunk.

In addition, Witherspoon made appearances on television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994), The Wayans Bros. (1995–1999), The Tracy Morgan Show (2003), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Boondocks (2005–2014), and Black Jesus (2014–2019).

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.

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.

He later appeared in the 1997 Living Single episode "Three Men and a Buckeye" as Smoke Eye Howard.

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.

In 2006, he performed as Real Santa, a Christmas singer on the radio, in the television movie, Thugaboo: A Miracle on D-Roc's Street, a story of a group of kids who find the true meaning of Christmas.