Ja’net DuBois, who played Willona Woods on the classic sitcom “Good Times,” was found dead Tuesday. She was 74.
If you remember, Willona was the gossipy divorcee and next-door neighbor of the Evans family. She was also the auntie of Penny, played by a young Janet Jackson on the show.
The actress died “unexpectedly” in her sleep at her home in Glendale, California, reports TMZ. It’s unclear who found DuBois’ body Tuesday morning, according to the report, which claims that she appeared to be in good health in recent weeks.
DuBois was recently seen smiling alongside “Good Times” cast members Ralph Carter, Jimmie Walker, BernNadette Stanis and Johnny Brown for the 2020 Hollywood Show in Burbank on Feb. 1.
Ja’net’s acting career began on Broadway, where she was cast in a number of plays including “Golden Boy” with Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Gossett Jr. — plus “A Raisin In The Sun.”
The actress starred on the CBS sitcom “Good Times” for five years from 1974 to 1979. She went on to appear in a number of film and TV projects, including voicing one of the main characters on the stop-motion animated series “The PJs.”
Dubois’s work on “The PJs” earned her two Emmys for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1999 and 2001. She also earned a NAACP Image Award nomination in 1998 for a guest appearance on “Touched by an Angel.”
Her other credits include “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” Moesha,” “Sanford and Son,” “The Facts of Life,” “The Steve Harvey Show,” “A Different World” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
In addition to acting, Dubois also co-wrote and sang the “Jeffersons” theme song, “Movin’ on Up.”
She was one of the ‘Good Times’ most beloved characters and will be missed. Already in the first few hours of hearing of her death, fans and celebrities alike have posted their condolences.
DuBois appeared in former Good Times co-star Janet Jackson’s 1987 “Control” music video as her mother. In 1992, she co-starred with Clifton Davis in And I Still Rise, a play written and directed by Maya Angelou. She co-starred in the films I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and on television in Moesha, The Steve Harvey Show, A Different World, and The Wayans Bros..
During the 1980s, DuBois operated the Ja’net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences, a performing-arts school for teenagers in Long Island, New York. In 1992, DuBois, Danny Glover and Ayuko Babu co-founded the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles.
Rest in peace Ja’net.
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