Beloved actor and comedian John Witherspoon has passed away at the age of 77. Witherspoon’s family announced the news early Wednesday morning on the actor’s official Twitter account.
“It is with deep sadness we have to tweet this,” his family wrote. “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.”
Witherspoon was best known for his roles playing over-the-top characters in films such as Friday and House Party. The latter was recently revealed to be getting the remake treatment by Lebron James’ SpringHill Entertainment but, it’s unclear if Witherspoon was involved before his passing.
Witherspoon also made a splash on the small during his career. Most notably, he provided the voice of Robert ‘Granddad’ Freeman in the massively popular Adult Swim series, The Boondocks. A reboot of that show was also recently announced and many fans expected Witherspoon to reprise his role. The actor also co-starred in episodes of Adult Swim’s Black Jesus and has a small part in an episode of the final season of Netflix’s BoJack Horseman.
Black Jesus is currently airing its third season Fridays on Adult Swim. Witherspoon appears in a few more episodes later on this season.
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 pic.twitter.com/ov9P34kaMn
— John Witherspoon (@John_POPS_Spoon) October 30, 2019
Witherspoon is survived by his wife and two sons.
