by Kandiss Edwards
August 1, 2025
‘They usually wished us to have a special father…like a Danny Glover sort, and we was like, No.’
In an interview, Marlon Wayans revealed that John Witherspoon was initially rejected for the function of “Pops” on The Wayans Bros.
In an interview with Keke Palmer on the Child, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, Wayans recalled that at one level, NBC executives thought Witherspoon’s character was “too ghetto” for the potential viewers.
“We did a desk studying, they usually thought, Witherspoon’s character, ‘Pops, ‘ was too ghetto. They usually wished us to have a special father…like a Danny Glover sort, and we was like, ‘No.’”
The community most well-liked a extra tamed character to play the daddy of Shawn and Marlon Wayans. The creatives refused, which led them to signal with The WB. The present grew to become the flagship property for the younger community.
“We was like ‘Wait, maintain on, Danny Glover, you say?’ However then, the WB was beginning, and it was like, ‘I feel that’s an amazing mixture.’ So, all the things is God. One man’s trash is one other man’s treasure, and it’s not in regards to the doorways that shut; it’s those that open up.”
Fortunately, the NBC’s critiques didn’t result in content material modifications on the present. Witherspoon’s character grew to become beloved by many. The Wayans Bros. ran from 1995 to Might 1999 on the WB. After 5 seasons, the present went into syndication. Because the youthful Wayans mentioned, the character of “Pops” had “the flavour.”
To today, lots of his scenes and monologues have made their approach into the cultural consciousness.
Marlon praised Witherspoon, who died in 2019 at age 77, as greater than a comic book: “He was household. He was sincere. He made individuals snigger the best way all of us wanted.”
After the success of the present, Shawn and Marlon Wayans grew to become Hollywood royalty with the success of the Scary Film franchise. Marlon Wayans will star within the September horror movie, Him, produced by Jordan Peele.
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