John Witherspoon, 77, 1942–2019

John Witherspoon was most renowned for his roles as fathers with an acute sense of comic timing but wisdom to share. He played Pops Williams in The Wayans Bros. series and Willie Jones from Friday, Ice Cube’s cult-classic 1995 stoner film, and its 2000 and 2002 sequels.

Eventually, he would also play a grandfather. In the cult hit, The Boondocks, Witherspoon would play the tritagonist Robert Jebediah “Granddad” Freeman. It’s a hit show from Adult Swim, Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block. Witherspoon died of a heart attack at his home at the age of 77.