The cause of death for John Witherspoon was recently released after the actor passed away on Oct. 29 at age 77 in Sherman Oaks, California.
TMZ and other outlets secured the death certificate, which shows Witherspoon suffered a fatal heart attack as a result of his coronary heart disease, hypertension and obesity.
Related: John Witherspoon: A Master of the Funny
His funeral was held on Nov. 5 at Forest Lawn National Park in Glendale, California, and some of the stars who attended include Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Cedric the Entertainer, George Wallace, David Letterman, D.L. Hughley and Bill Bellamy, who shared a photo from backstage.
“#Backstage celebrating the life of @johnnywitherspoon !!!” Bellamy wrote in the caption. “One of the nicest and talented people in the game!!!”
Witherspoon’s career spanned over four decades, and besides co-starring in the TV series “The Wayans Bros,” he’s been in cult classic films like “Hollywood Shuffle” and “Boomerang.”
But he’s probably best known for playing Ice Cube’s father in the films “Friday,” “Next Friday” and “Friday After Next.”
In fact, Cube spoke about Witherspoon at the funeral and said he cast the veteran actor in “Friday” after seeing him on “The Robert Townsend Show” back in the day.
“He had one line [on ‘The Robert Townsend Show’], and I knew I wanted him to be my father on ‘Friday,'” the rapper explained. “His one line was ‘Why the hell they ain’t playing no Al Green in here?'”
“Laughter is the medicine for our mind, body and soul. It helps us get through this crazy world, and God bless the ones who make us laugh,” added Cube. “There was nothing you could do to harness John’s funny. It was going to come through no matter what you gave him. That was his true gift, and we all loved John because of that.”
Witherspoon was survived by his wife Angela Robinson-Witherspoon and two sons Alexander and John David.
