John Witherspoon died on Tuesday evening at his home, according to his family. He was 77.
The legendary comedian’s family announced the news of his death on Instagram. The post read:
“It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this, but our husband & father John Witherspoon has passed away. He was a Legend in the entertainment industry, and a father figure to all who watched him over the years. We love you “POPS” always & forever. 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. The Witherspoon Family”
Many celebrities, including Samuel Jackson, Magic Johnson, and Ice Cube took to Twitter to pay their respects to him.
Best known for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday series, Witherspoon acted in several movies and TV shows, including Boomerang, Holly Shuffle, House Party, I’m Gonna Get You Sucka, Vampire In Brooklyn, Little Man, Soul Plane, and many more.
The legendary comedian always played unforgettable characters in moves and shows he acted in.
Born John “Weatherspoon” on January 27, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan, the comedian used to find laughter in anything he did. He later changed his name to Witherspoon.
Many people are not aware of the fact that Witherspoon worked as a model. In the 1960s and 1970s, Witherspoon started showing interest in comedy and even did stand-up comedy.
In 1988, Witherspoon married Angela Robinson and they have two children, John David and Alexander.
When asked about his secret to a long marriage, Witherspoon said, “I know what’s going to push her buttons, and she knows what’s going to push my buttons. It’s very simple; don’t push those buttons. You can move around in different ways to get a point across. A person has got to have their own agenda if you gonna be married a long time.” “She has to have things to do without you, and you have things to do without her,” he added. “My wife and I have to have that situation because I’m on the road all the time doing stand-up comedy.”
