John Witherspoon, American actor
John Weatherspoon (January 27, 1942 – October 29, 2019), better known as John Witherspoon, was an American actor and comedian who performed in various television shows and films.He is best remembered for his role as Willie Jones for the Friday series; Witherspoon also starred in films such as Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Boomerang (1992), The Five Heartbeats (1991), and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). He has also made appearances on television shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1994), The Wayans Bros. (1995–99), The Tracy Morgan Show (2003), Barnaby Jones (1973), The Boondocks (2005–2014), and Black Jesus (2014–2019). He wrote a film, From the Old School, in which he played an elderly working man who tries to prevent a neighborhood convenience store from being developed into a strip club.

1942Jan, 27
John Witherspoon (actor)
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Events on 1942
- 25Jan
Thailand
World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom. - 8Mar
Myanmar
World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British. - 10Jul
Soviet Union
Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established. - 13Aug
Manhattan Project
Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project. - 25Sep
Holocaust
World War II: Swiss Police instruction dictates that "Under current practice ... refugees on the grounds of race alone are not political refugees", effectively denying entry to Jews trying to flee occupied Europe during the Holocaust.