John Witherspoon Biography

Born in Detroit, Michigan, John Witherspoon began his career as a stand-up comedian, and made his first television appearance on the 1970s series Barnaby Jones, starring Buddy Ebsen. On the big screen, Witherspoon has starred alongside some of the biggest and brightest comedians in the business, including Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler and Tim Meadows, in films such as Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Little Nicky (2000) and The Ladies Man (2000), as well as a role in Warren Beatty's Bulworth (1998). No stranger to the world of television, Witherspoon has logged serious time in front of small screen cameras, appearing in an impressive list of TV projects spanning more than two decades, including a five-year stint starring as Pops on the WB sitcom The Wayans Brothers, and guest appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Martin Lawrence Show, Living Single, The Incredible Hulk, The Richard Pryor Show, Hill Street Blues, Good Times, and WKRP in Cincinnati, to name a few. He has also made countless appearances on shows such as The David Letterman Show, Live in LA and HBO's Def Comedy Jam. witherspoon appeared as Ice Cube's outrageously funny, dog-catching dad in Friday (1995) and Next Friday (2000) and returns in the latest instalment, called Friday After Next (2002).

Soul Plane (2004)
Friday After Next (2002)
Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) (voice)
Little Nicky (2000)
The Ladies Man (2000)
Next Friday (2000)
High Freakquency (1998)
I Got the Hook Up (1998)
Bulworth (1998)
Ride (1998)
Fakin' Da Funk (1997)
Sprung (1997)
A Delicatessen Story (1996)
Friday (1995)
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Fatal Instinct (1993)
The Meteor Man (1993)
Bebe's Kids (1992) (voice)
Boomerange (1992)
Talkin' Dirty After Dark (1991)
The Five Heartbeats (1991)
Killer Tomatoes Strike Back! (1990)
House Party (1990)
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Bird (1988)
Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Kidnapped (1986)
The Jazz Singer (1980)