Veteran US actor John Witherspoon dies at age 77

Tributes have poured in for actor and comedian John Witherspoon.
Tributes have poured in for actor and comedian John Witherspoon.
Image: Vallery Jean/WireImage

Tributes have poured in for veteran US actor and comedian John Witherspoon after the Friday star's death on Tuesday.

Witherspoon died at his home in California, with his family confirming the news on social media.

Speaking to Deadline the family remembered the star as “one of the hardest working men in show business”.

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 a huge deal to us.”

John was best known for his role as Willie Jones in the Friday movies and for voicing Robert Jebediah “Grandad” Freeman in The Boondocks. He also starred in films such as  I'm Gonna Get You Sucka, Soul Plane, Little Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Tracy Morgan Show and Black-ish.

The actor topped the local Twitter trends list as fans and friends flooded social media with tributes and videos of scenes he had acted in.

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