John Witherspoon

John Witherspoon (January 27, 1942 - October 29, 2019) was an American actor and comedian. Born in Detroit, Michigan, one of 11 siblings, he worked occasionally as a model and began his stand-up comedy career in the 1960s and 1970s. He became known for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday film series and appeared in films such as Hollywood Shuffle, Boomerang, House Party, and Vampire in Brooklyn. On television he was a regular on The Richard Pryor Show, played Pops Williams on The Wayans Bros., and voiced Granddad Freeman on the animated series The Boondocks, as well as appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Black Jesus. He released a hip-hop comedy album titled 63 Cent in 2008 and toured with his stand-up act in his later years. Witherspoon died of a heart attack in 2019 at age 77.