John Witherspoon Dead: Regina King Pays Tribute to ‘The Boondocks’ and ‘Friday’ Co-Star

Regina King is paying tribute to John Witherspoon, who played her on-screen father in Friday and her grandfather on The Boondocks. King, 48, called Witherspoon her “comedic inspiration” in a tribute shared alongside a funny GIF of the actor-comedian.

King was just one of Witherspoon’s colleagues to pay tribute to the late comedy legend. Friday star Ice Cube wrote that he was “devastated” by Witherspoon’s death, and wrote that “Life won’t be as funny without him.”

Former The Wayans Bros. cast member, Marlon Wayans shared a heartfelt post on Instagram dedicated to Witherspoon. “I’m sad. Broken. Hurt.. yet extremely grateful to God that I got to spend 5 years of my life working with one of the funniest sweetest wisest humblest loving man,” Wayans wrote. “[John Witherspoon] you were my tv dad and my mentor and my friend. I miss you already. Something don’t feel right. This is heavy on my heart. Anyone that knows me knows how much I love pops.”

Witherspoon’s son, J.D. Witherspoon, called the actor his “best friend [and] idol” in an emotional tweet that showed several photos of the father-son duo together. “So…my Dad died today & honestly I’m not sure how to feel. I’m sad, but I’m also happy 4 all the great times we had together. We’d roast each other like homies more than Father & Son, and I really liked that. He was my best friend & my idol,” J.D. Witherspoon wrote on Twitter. “Love U Dad…I’ll miss u.”

John Witherspoon’s family confirmed in a statement on Twitter that the actor died suddenly in his Sherman Oaks, California, home on Tuesday at the age of 77. A cause of death has not been released.

In a statement made to Deadline, the Witherspoon family said, “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 not big deal,’ but he was a huge deal to us.”

Best known for his roles in Friday and The Boondocks, Witherspoon also did stints on comedy series like The Wayans Bros., The Tracy Morgan Show, The First Family and Black Jesus, as well as appeared frequently as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman.

He launched his stand-up and acting career in the late ’70s and appeared in several guest-starring TV roles. He made his feature film debut with 1980’s The Jazz Singer and appeared in many others, including Hollywood Shuffle, Boomerang, Vampire in Brooklyn, The Ladies Man and Fakin’ Da Funk.

Photo credit: E. Charbonneau / Staff / Getty