Comedian John Witherspoon performs at the Comedy Zone in Charlotte, Friday, July 23, 2011. Photo: Michaela Duckett for Qcitymetro.com)
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Whether he’s playing the dog-catching father in the “Friday” movie series or the mushroom-coordinated father in the movie “Boomerang,” John Witherspoon has earned a reputation as one of America’s funniest on-screen dads.

During a stop in Charlotte last week while playing the Comedy Zone, he told Qcitymetro.com that the character that most resembles him in real life – right down to the on-toilet conversations with his children – is Pops, the diner-owning dad on the syndicated sitcom “The Wayans Brothers.”

“I play myself,” he said. “I do the same thing at home with my kids. You’ve got to be yourself. All I’m doing is delivering lines the way I would deliver them.”

With a career spanning more than four decades, Witherspoon is a comedic legend. In the 1970s he broke into television on shows such as “Barnaby Jones” and “WKRP in Cincinnati.” Before that he worked as a fashion model in national advertising campaigns.

Witherspoon has coined his own phrases, such as “Bang! Bang! Bang!” and “You’ve got to co-ordinate.” In addition to acting and stand-up comedy, he also launched The John Witherspoon Collection, a line of humorous greeting cards called Spoon Cards, which are available on his website, bangbangbang.com.

“I’ve done everything,” he said. “I tell these cats today, “You’ve got to do everything.’ Most people don’t realize that.”

Witherspoon said life was “tough” growing up poor in a family with 11 children (9 boys, 2 girls). Memories of his Detroit childhood, he said, continue to motivate him.

“I used to wear two left boots to school,” he said. “You know what two left boots look like in the snow in Detroit?… And one of them had a high heel. I never forgot that. That’s why I’m working my butt off today.”

Later this year, Witherspoon said he will reprise the role of “Granddad” on Aaron McGruder’s politically charged cartoon “Boondocks.” That's right; the animated series will return to the Cartoon Network for its fourth, and possibly final, season.

According to Witherspoon, production of the show was in limbo because McGruder was growing tired writing the scripts. So next season, he said, the show will bring on a team of writers to assist McGruder.

Witherspoon said he is currently shopping around a new show for himself: “It’s called ‘Cooking for Poor People,’ because when you’re poor everything tastes good.” But he said he’s having trouble getting networks to pick it up because he refuses to wear a shirt.

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