John Witherspoon (born January 27, 1942) is an American comedy actor known for his roles in, Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Boomerang (1992), Murder Was The Case (1994), Friday (1995), Vampire In Brooklyn (1995) and the 1990s WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. and more recently Granddad in The Boondocks.

[edit] Biography

John Witherspoon was born in Detroit, Michigan and has also been known as Johnny Witherspoon Craig Daddy and Detroit John but is now known as John Witherspoon. He started as a fashion model for various catalogs. He has combined a career as a stand-up comic with appearances on television and films. Most of his roles in movies have been as humorously cantankerous characters as seen in Boomerang, House Party and the Friday series.

His recent roles include Robert "Granddad" Freeman in the animated television show The Boondocks. Witherspoon's most recent television appearance was as a blue-suited pimp on Carlos Mencia's May 6th episode of Mind of Mencia.

Witherspoon appeared in Jay-Z's video for "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It 2 Me)" and in Field Mob's music video for "Sick of Being Lonely". He can be seen in Hitman Sammy Sam's video "Step Daddy" as Stepdaddy #1. He also appeared in LL Cool J's video "Ain't Nobody".

Witherspoon was interviewed on Space Ghost Coast to Coast but the interview never aired, although the interview is quickly glimpsed on Episode 60: "Lawsuit", When Space Ghost is looking for a lawyer. He also starred in the film Little Man along with the Wayans brothers (Shawn and Marlon) and made a small appearance in 2000 film Little Nicky.

Witherspoon's longtime friend David Letterman is the godfather to his son, JohnDavid.^[1] His brother, William Witherspoon, wrote the Motown hit "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted". Witherspoon is a cousin of Lamont Dozier.

Witherspoon, along with the likes of Paul Mooney, Robin Williams, Sandra Bernhard, and Tim Reid appeared on the groundbreaking and controversial NBC sketch comedy series The Richard Pryor Show, which was the brainchild of Richard Pryor. He was a regular on the sitcom The Wayans Bros., and also appeared in Good Times, What's Happening!!, and Martin.

Witherspoon played the role of the blind man in the 2004 movie, Soul Plane.

Witherspoon's first hour-long stand-up special, You Got To Coordinate, premiered on the Showtime Network (USA) on March 28, 2008. It is available on DVD through Image Entertainment

Witherspoon is currently a spokesman for Eastern Motors, a Washington, DC-based used car dealership.

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• John Witherspoon at the Internet Movie Database
• Reelblack TV interview