Actor John Witherspoon's career thrived in the era of television shows. He took part in many of them and was remembered by the audience primarily as a comedian. Today, John Witherspoon lives for his pleasure in his own house with his wife. However, periodically appears in the movie as a guest star.
Strong relationship since childhood
The future comedian was born on January 27, 1942 in Detroit, one of twelve children. Despite the almost distressed situation, the family was distinguished by strong relations. Many of John's brothers paved their way into art. So, William became a famous songwriter, and Caton went into his own business related to video rental. The brothers maintained friendly relations in adulthood. It is noteworthy: not one of them, having achieved fame, did not suffer from star fever.
John Witherspoon began his modeling career, starring for several clothing manufacturers brochures. And then I realized that so glory would not come, and went on television.
Stars nearby
He did not study acting, but simply decided to try his hand and came to audition. The producers gave the newcomer a chance and offered a small role in a show called Barnaby Jones. It was a big responsibility: our hero had to make the audience laugh. And he did it very well. “Illuminated” in a series of television series walk-throughs, in 1980 John received the first small role in the musical drama “Jazz Singer”. The main star in it was Laurence Olivier, and Witherspoon was shocked at how close he could be with a star of this magnitude.
In the early 80s, there were no shows on the screen in which John Witherspoon would not appear. Films and series with his participation were warmly received by the audience, and his popularity as an actor grew. And he did his best to diversify his role - he appeared either in the image of a detective or in the role of a fraudster-seller of hamburgers.
The long road to fame
Since the mid-80s, Witherspoon has been taking a break on television and focuses on full-length work. One after another, several pictures come out with his participation: “Bird”, “Abducted”, “Five Hot Hearts”, “Home Party”. John Witherspoon continues his ascent in the 90s, appearing in such films as Fatal Instinct and Vampire in Brooklyn.
Back in 1988, John tied the knot with actress Angela Robinson. By the way, they appeared more than once in the general pictures. The couple had two sons, the godfather of which was the famous TV presenter David Letterman. John made friends with him many years ago.
In 2017, Angela directed the documentary "Mr.", in which John played the main role.
The real breakthrough came after the release of the 1995 comedy Friday. With a small budget, her box office surprised everyone: both producers and critics. The latter particularly noted the secondary appearance of Witherspoon. The sequel to the comedy titled "Next Friday" was no less successful. Triquel "Another Friday" was released in 2002.
In the early 2000s, John got small roles in a number of famous films, including The Naughty, After Sex, and Nikki, The Devil the Younger. By the way, this comedy starred a lot of Hollywood stars, among which aspiring actress Reese Witherspoon. The interest of the press in the film was aroused by a curious moment - are John Witherspoon and Reese Witherspoon relatives? As it turned out, no. Reese’s relative was John’s full namesake, who at one time signed the Declaration of American Independence, and with our hero they were just namesakes.
Back to the roots
The actor always loved music, but did not perform professionally. However, he supported many performers and with pleasure acted in their clips. Among those was the hip hop band Field Mob, Jay-Z and others.
In 2008, John Witherspoon returned to his comedic origins and organized a tour in which he appeared as a comedian in various ways. He also made up scenes himself. The premiere took place on Showtime Network, and after he visited about twenty cities. Later, John performed at the Funny Bone comedy club in Mississippi.
John Witherspoon: filmography
During his career, the actor starred in more than eighty films. In addition to the paintings mentioned in this article, in conclusion, we will focus on other famous film works by John Witherspoon:
- “Murder was a deed” (1995);
- The Scammers (1998);
- "Dr. Dolittle 2" (2001);
- “A Thousand Words” (2009);
- Black Comedy (2014).