Funny man John Witherspoon "had jokes" when he met PIX11's Lisa Mateo aboard the "Dunkin Donuts Studio on the Run."

The comedian and actor appears in the film "A Thousand Words" which stars Eddie Murphy and opens on Friday, March 9th. In addition, Witherspoon had plenty to say about his family, the series of "Friday" movies he's been in, and all of the people he's done standup with.

"A Thousand Words" is in theaters Friday and also stars Eddie Murphy, Cliff Curtis and Kerry Washington. After stretching the truth on a deal with a spiritual guru, literary agent Jack McCall finds a Bodhi tree on his property. Its appearance holds a valuable lesson on the consequences of every word we speak. For mroe information, visit

Witherspoon was born John Weatherspoon in Detroit, Michigan. He also goes by the nicknames of Johnny Witherspoon and "Detroit" John Witherspoon. John was one of 11 children. One of his older siblings, William Weatherspoon, went on to become a songwriter in Detroit for Motown. He is best known for his work "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted."

John Witherspoon is also related to Lamont Dozier who was a songwriter and record producer well known for hits coming from Martha & the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops, and The Isley Brothers.

John Witherspoon and his brother William grew up enjoying music. The young John continued his passion for music and learned how to play the trumpet and French Horn. Also during his childhood, Witherspoon did occasional work as a model. During the 1960s and 1970s, Witherspoon began to take a liking towards comedy.

During that time he began his stand up comedy career. While doing stand up comedy he made many friends in the business. This included Tim Reid (while he was working on WKRP in Cincinnati and The Richard Pryor Show), Robin Williams (also on The Richard Pryor Show), Jay Leno, and David Letterman. David Letterman and John Witherspoon became such good friends that Witherspoon asked Letterman to be the Godfather to both his children, John David and Alexander. Letterman would accept the privilege.

Witherspoon's stand up comedy career led to his comedian film career. His comical character was seen in his movies, TV shows, and now once again in his comedy tour.

In 1988, he married Angela Robinson. They have two children, John David and Alexander.