Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, who appeared in 'Friday,' dies at 77

Actor and comedian John Witherspoon, a notable figure in the "Friday" franchise and voice actor in the animated series “The Boondocks," died at his home Los Angeles Tuesday at the age of 77, his family said.

Manager Alex Goodman confirmed the news.

"It is with deepest sorrow that we can confirm our beloved husband and father, John Witherspoon, one of the hardest working men in show business, died today at his home in Sherman Oaks at the age of 77," Witherspoon's family said in a statement from Goodman to NBC News.

"He is survived by his wife Angela, and his sons เปิดยูส100 JD, Alexander, and a large family. We are all in shock, please give us a minute for a moment in privacy and we will celebrate his life and his work together. John used to say 'I'm no big deal', but he was huge deal to us.”

Witherspoon was born in Detroit in 1942 as John Weatherspoon and launched a stand-up and comedy career that began in the late 1970s with television roles, according to the online news site Deadline, which reported Witherspoon's death earlier Tuesday evening.

He appeared in 1980's "The Jazz Singer." He starred as John "Pops" Williams in "The Wayans Bros." television show and as Mr. Jackson in “Boomerang,” among many other film and TV roles.

Witherspoon played the father figure Mr. Jones alongside Ice Cube in the 1995 hit "Friday" and reprised his role in sequels "Next Friday" and "Friday After Next."

Witherspoon also appeared in the 1995 Eddie เปิดยูส50 Murphy film "Vampire in Brooklyn," in which he played Silas Green, and in the 1988 film "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka." He also was a voice actor in the animated series “The Boondocks. informed of the visa denials in late September. He and another faculty member then met individually with each of the three affected South Korean students, all of whom said the tour should proceed, according to Rossi. The other members of the philharmonia also voted by a two-to-one margin to continue, the dean said.