Before John Witherspoon would become a TV & Film legend appearing the Friday Franchise,
The Wayans Brothers, Little Nicky, Soul Plane and over a ten year run on the cult animated
TV series The Boondocks.
Before John Witherspoon would coin the popular catchphrases
Bang bang...bang bang bang, Yeaaaa Boy!, You Got To Coordinate and more...
Before John Pops Witherspoon would clock in over 200K followers on Instagram and another
175K Subscribers on YouTube - which ain't bad for a man in his 70's.
Best known for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday franchise for an entire generation
of urban youths John was seen as a father figure and he wore that norotriety as a badge
of honour refering to himself as Pops on his Instagram page.
People also joke that much like Morgan Freeman he's looked old all his life to which he hilarious
replied to via IG:
Since y’all wanna say I’ve been old my whole life, here’s a picture of me at 17.
Women used to fall at my feet! And they still do. And i’m still a PLAYA
His television and film career spanned five decades. He was 77 years old at the time of
his passing and leaves behind a wife and his two sons.
I've actually met one of his eldest son JD at a YouTube event a couple years back.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family – there have been plenty of celebrities
sharing their condolences on his passing and we will share those with you a little later
in this video.
Hey guys... it is with deep condolences to the friends and family of John Witherspoon
that we pay tribute to his life, career and legacy detailing his story here for you on
Before They Were Gone. These videos are made with the upmost respect and in an effort to
spread the word about his many accomplishments and incredible talent for those who want to
know more. When someone passes away we find that most news outlets only give you the coles
notes and here, like we do with all the videos we make we put in the extra effort to give
you as much info that we can. Please spread the love and leave a positive message in the
comments down below. Now let's get into this video.
John Witherspoon was born on January 27, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan. Apparently there was
a mix up at the hospital and the nurses named some of his
siblings Weatherspoon and others Witherspoon not knowing the proper spelling so he might
of been a Witherspoon or a Weatherspoon.
He was born one of 11 siblings, 9 boys and 2 girls and a few of them went on to have
careers in MoTown, Broadcasting and another as a Pastor. In his late teens and early 20's
he was living with a brother who took an interest in acting. John liked the idea and signed
up for some Shakespear classes and fell in love with performance. He was also apparently
a model. In a throwback photo on Instagram he looked like a black tennis super stud who
could sell some rackets or shampoo.
Eventually is knack for the performing arts got him involved in stand up comedy starting
out in Detroit then moving to New York City and started earning enough to support himself
while working day shifts at a night shift. Eventually his work led him to Los Angeles
after a short stint in Las Vegas where he lost all his money and was down
to his last dollar.
In LA he began working as an MC and for a short period of time as a security gaurd at
The Comedy Story on Sunset Blvd.
He was also on the basketball team. There he made strong ties with many of the upcoming
acts of the time including
Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Tim Reid, Robin Williams, Jay Leno and David Letterman who
is actually the Godfather to his two sons. His film and television career started back
in 1977 with various uncredited roles on The Richard Pryor Show but as a recurring character.
The next year he booked a role on The Incredible Hulk in the role of Tom, episode titled Final
Round. John figured out pretty early on that he was an improv actor and would basically
use the script as guidelines and tell the directors to let the magic flow out of him
while he worked his scenes. He booked work consistently in shows like Hill Street Blues,
LA Law, Fatal Instinct and The Fresh Prince of Bell Air.
He married in 1988 to Angela Robinson and remained a one woman man.
1990 he landed a role in the urban comedy House Party.
For his work in the first Friday from 1995, he earned $10K.
5 years later he took home a cool $400K for his work in Next Friday.
Then in 2002 he finally got paid, banking $1,000,000 for Friday After Next.
More notable roles would continue including Bulworth, The Wayans Brothers as the boys
father John Pops Williams.
Other included Little Nicky, a ten year run on the cult animated TV series The Boondocks
and Soul Plane where his wife Angela who was also an actress played his on-screen companion
His family credited him for his endless hard work with roles in his 70's on Adult Swim's
Black Jesus and the Obama inspured sitcom The First Family. In fact he even got into
the digital space collaborating with YouTuber star DashieXP and appearing on the Joe Rogan
Podcast.
With the help of his son JD, he even had his own Cooking Show – Cooking For
Poor People.
John was set to reprise his role in Last Friday, but the project was in preproduction and had
yet to start filming. He passed away on October 29th, 2019 in is Los Angeles home. His family
released a statement:
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. - The Witherspoon Family
His son JD also took to Instagram with a post that read:
So…my Dad died today & honestly I’m not sure how to feel. I’m sad, but I’m also
happy 4 all the great times we had together.
We’d roast each other like homies more than Father & Son, and I really loved that about
us.
In all seriousness I work as hard as I do thanks to seeing Him grind for literally 77
years of his life, and I’m damn proud to be his son.
If I have even half the career & impact he has had on people I’ll be very happy.
His legacy will live on through me, my family, his friends, and everyone else who was touched
by him here on earth.
He was my best friend & my Hero. I Love U Dad…I’ll miss u.
– J.D
Of course Tweets began to roll in from Hollywood friends.
Ice Cube tweeted out: I’m devastated over the passing of John
Witherspoon. Life won’t be as funny without him.
Chance The Rapper: God bless John Witherspoon. The definition
of an icon. Wow.
Chuck D: It’s where I first remembered The Great
John Witherspoon on the screen in @Robert_Townsend Hollywood Shuffle R I P funny man
I’m sad. Broken. Hurt.. yet extremely grateful to God that i got to spend 5 years of my life
working with one of the funniest sweetest wisest humblest loving man
@johnnywitherspoon you were my tv dad and my mentor and my friend. I miss you already.
Something don’t feel right.
This is heavy on my heart. Anyone that knows me knows how much i love pops. You have a
strong wife and great kids.
What an amazing family. Your boys damn near grew up on the #WayansBros set they’ll always
be like my little brothers and sons.
i will pass on all the jewels that you bestowed on to us. Thank you God for the many many
many laughs that we shared on and off the set.
You got 'all the keys' and i know you got one to heaven’s gate. Anytime i want to
laugh or to see you I’m gonna put on a episode of wayans bros and laugh until i cry.
I miss already.... hope your dancing in heaven with ugly white shoes on. “Pops pops sugar
pops”