Ja'net Dubois (1945 - 2020) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Studdy911 · 02-18-2020, 05:36 PM

Hey Good Times fans breaking news. Another Good Times Cast Passes on in the Spirit Janet Dubois Willina Woods was unexpectedly found dead in her home in California TMZ brook the news on Facebook just letting y'all know RIP.

MA · 02-18-2020, 05:40 PM

Here is the article from TMZ about it:

https://www.tmz.com/2020/02/18/good-...-dead-dies-74/

MA · 02-18-2020, 08:15 PM

There’s already a thread for this.

https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=389154

Duster76 · 02-18-2020, 08:35 PM

She brought a great deal of talent to the table, great performer. I'm a little skeptical about her age (74), that would have made her 34 when Good Times went off the air (just two years older than Jimmy Walker). Wikipedia has two different dates of birth, 1938 and 1945, 1938 seems about right (maybe even a little earlier), Wikipedia indicated she lost a child in 1987 who was 36 (which would indicate the child was born in1951).

Tap Dancer · 02-18-2020, 08:35 PM

MA · 02-18-2020, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

I was in the process of posting long before that one. Unfortunately my internet connection was interrupted before I could finish. When it came back on I just went ahead and finished my thread.

Sorry. I didn’t know that.

MA · 02-18-2020, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duster76

She brought a great deal of talent to the table, great performer. I'm a little skeptical about her age (74), that would have made her 34 when Good Times went off the air (just two years older than Jimmy Walker). Wikipedia has two different dates of birth, 1938 and 1945, 1938 seems about right (maybe even a little earlier), Wikipedia indicated she lost a child in 1987 who was 36 (which would indicate the child was born in1951).

Sources were saying that she was either 81 or 74.

OH Nuts! · 02-18-2020, 10:35 PM

So sorry to hear of her passing. May she R.I.P.

Bonniegirl · 02-18-2020, 11:07 PM

Another sad shocking death !

She was 't that old! May she RIP!!

MA · 02-19-2020, 09:06 AM

Sources are differing about the year she was born and how old she was.

She was born on August 5, but the years given are 1932, 1938, or 1945.

AB · 02-19-2020, 07:05 PM

May she rest in peace. I enjoyed her playing Willona, she could really ruffle James's feathers at times. So sad to hear of her passing.

TMC · 02-19-2020, 09:46 PM

Ja’Net DuBois remembered: Good Times' Norman Lear, Janet Jackson and BernNadette Stanis pay tribute

The death of the Emmy-winning actress best known for playing nosey and vivacious neighbor Willona Woods on the 1974-1979 CBS sitcom inspired social media tributes. Norman Lear, who developed Good Times as a spinoff of Maude, posted an image on Instagram of him and Dubois together two months ago at the Live in Front of a Studio Audience taping for Good Times. "Ja’Net DuBois was all light and will be missed. I love that she wrote the theme song for her passing, 'Movin’ on Up,'" Lear wrote on Instagram, referring to DuBois co-writing and singing The Jeffersons theme song. Janet Jackson, who portrayed her adopted daughter “Penny” Woods, also honored her on Instagram. “I am so very saddened to hear my longtime friend Ja’Net DuBois has passed away,” Jackson wrote. “I saw first hand how she broke stereotypes and changed the landscape for Black women in entertainment. I’m grateful in recent years I had a chance to see her and create more lasting memories.” BernNadette Stanis, who played Thelma Evans on Good Times, also joined DuBois at the Live in Front of a Studio Audience taping. In an Instagram video, Stanis recalled DuBois writing The Jeffersons theme. “You were like an aunt to me," Stanis wrote in a separate post. "We shared so many things, from my early days on Good Times to just two weeks ago at the Hollywood Show. I will miss you and all of your cast family will miss you. Rest In Peace Beautiful Soul. We are praying for your family." Also paying tribute to DuBois was Viola Davis, who played Esther Rolle's character Florida Evans in Live in Front of a Studio Audience. "Oh man!!!" Davis tweeted, accompanied by a photo of her DuBois and Stanis. "Just saw you! What a pleasure it was to meet you. You shaped so much of the best memories of my childhood! God bless you, Ja’net DuBois! RIP."

Ja’Net DuBois was the personification of cool on Good Times

DuBois, who died Tuesday at the age of 74, "knew how to make an entrance," says Keith Murphy. "In the annals of television sitcom history, few actors injected their character’s on-screen arrival with as much eye-winking swagger as did DuBois in Norman Lear’s 1970s landmark series Good Times." In a 2006 interview, DuBois told Bravo's Andy Cohen her job as Willona Woods "was to make it right, fast and funny. It was a wonderful thing that happened. It changed the scene for the type of black woman being shown. The wigs, the hats, my everything was a dream come true.” Murphy adds: "Given that the at times controversial Good Times took place at Chicago’s infamous Cabrini-Green housing project, her impact as one of TV’s most indelible black style icons in a mostly white television landscape cannot be overstated. Way before Shonda Rhimes introduced us to Scandal’s Olivia Pope (played with ostentatious splendor and soaring attitude by perennial baddie Kerry Washington), DuBois was the personification of cool. Plus, the risk-taking storyline of a divorced black woman, totally in control, with a rotation of suitors and who would later adopt a child (!!!) was shocking stuff on the small screen in those years."

ALSO:

To call Willona Woods comic relief is to miss the point: "With Good Times tackling topics like child abuse, black unemployment, gang violence, loan sharks, and even death, Willona always breezed into apartment 17C to lighten the mood with some hope," says Miles Marshall Lewis. "She had her own issues, most of which swirled around the men she dated: Even today, memes circulate social media with Willona cutting stank eyes at wannabe boyfriends who can’t hang. Yet, she embodied unflagging optimism in the face of the socioeconomic situation surrounding the Evans family. Willona dared to live a vivacious life on-screen, a pioneering move at a time when single women in their forties weren’t expected to be happy about that singlehood."
Ja’Net DuBois last appeared in public with her Good Times co-stars earlier this month on Feb. 1, at a fan meet-and-greet in Burbank

TMC · 02-20-2020, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duster76

She brought a great deal of talent to the table, great performer. I'm a little skeptical about her age (74), that would have made her 34 when Good Times went off the air (just two years older than Jimmy Walker). Wikipedia has two different dates of birth, 1938 and 1945, 1938 seems about right (maybe even a little earlier), Wikipedia indicated she lost a child in 1987 who was 36 (which would indicate the child was born in1951).

For what it's worth, here's her passport from a trip to Brazil in 1959.

see offsite link on imgur.com

She's listed as a dancer in this 1959 Cab Calloway revue that toured Brazil.

The NY Times has updated her obituary, but her youngest daughter insists she was 74!

Quote:

Her family said Ms. DuBois was 74 when she died, but public records indicate she was older.

As you said, one of her sons, Raj K. Gupta was born in 1951 and died of cancer in 1987. She married her husband Sajit Gupta in 1950. Ja'net's 66 year old son, Provat is a basketball coach.

Her possible records, where one of her daughters is listed as a relative. Her daughter is 67. (TruePeopleSearch.com - Janet Theresa Dubois - Pasadena, California - 100% Free People Search)

stevea · 02-20-2020, 10:09 PM

She was one of the most enjoyable players on Good Times, the only adult actor in all 5 seasons.

RIP Ja'net.

GoldenTV · 02-21-2020, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

The NY Times has updated her obituary, but her youngest daughter insists she was 74!

As you said, one of her sons, Raj K. Gupta was born in 1951 and died of cancer in 1987. She married her husband Sajit Gupta in 1950. Ja'net's 66 year old son, Provat is a basketball coach.

Her possible records, where one of her daughters is listed as a relative. Her daughter is 67. (TruePeopleSearch.com - Janet Theresa Dubois - Pasadena, California - 100% Free People Search)

Obviously her family not telling the truth about her age. If she is 74, that mean she was only 4 years old when she got married in 1950

IMDb list her birthday as Aug 5, 1932 which make her 87 when she passed awy. That sound about right.

She was also in one episode of Sanford and Son in 1972. She does looks like about 40.

Either way, RIP Ms Willona Woods.

02-18-2020, 05:36 PM	#1
Studdy911 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 30, 2019 Location: Valdosta Georgia Posts: 45	Another Good Times Cast Passes on in the Spirit Janet Dubois Willina Woods RIP Hey Good Times fans breaking news. Another Good Times Cast Passes on in the Spirit Janet Dubois Willina Woods was unexpectedly found dead in her home in California TMZ brook the news on Facebook just letting y'all know RIP.

02-18-2020, 05:40 PM	#2
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,621	Here is the article from TMZ about it: https://www.tmz.com/2020/02/18/good-...-dead-dies-74/
	__________________ ~-Mikaela-~

02-19-2020, 07:05 PM	#11
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,428	May she rest in peace. I enjoyed her playing Willona, she could really ruffle James's feathers at times. So sad to hear of her passing. Attached Images

02-19-2020, 09:46 PM	#12
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,493	Ja’Net DuBois remembered: Good Times' Norman Lear, Janet Jackson and BernNadette Stanis pay tribute The death of the Emmy-winning actress best known for playing nosey and vivacious neighbor Willona Woods on the 1974-1979 CBS sitcom inspired social media tributes. Norman Lear, who developed Good Times as a spinoff of Maude, posted an image on Instagram of him and Dubois together two months ago at the Live in Front of a Studio Audience taping for Good Times. "Ja’Net DuBois was all light and will be missed. I love that she wrote the theme song for her passing, 'Movin’ on Up,'" Lear wrote on Instagram, referring to DuBois co-writing and singing The Jeffersons theme song. Janet Jackson, who portrayed her adopted daughter “Penny” Woods, also honored her on Instagram. “I am so very saddened to hear my longtime friend Ja’Net DuBois has passed away,” Jackson wrote. “I saw first hand how she broke stereotypes and changed the landscape for Black women in entertainment. I’m grateful in recent years I had a chance to see her and create more lasting memories.” BernNadette Stanis, who played Thelma Evans on Good Times, also joined DuBois at the Live in Front of a Studio Audience taping. In an Instagram video, Stanis recalled DuBois writing The Jeffersons theme. “You were like an aunt to me," Stanis wrote in a separate post. "We shared so many things, from my early days on Good Times to just two weeks ago at the Hollywood Show. I will miss you and all of your cast family will miss you. Rest In Peace Beautiful Soul. We are praying for your family." Also paying tribute to DuBois was Viola Davis, who played Esther Rolle's character Florida Evans in Live in Front of a Studio Audience. "Oh man!!!" Davis tweeted, accompanied by a photo of her DuBois and Stanis. "Just saw you! What a pleasure it was to meet you. You shaped so much of the best memories of my childhood! God bless you, Ja’net DuBois! RIP." Ja’Net DuBois was the personification of cool on Good Times DuBois, who died Tuesday at the age of 74, "knew how to make an entrance," says Keith Murphy. "In the annals of television sitcom history, few actors injected their character’s on-screen arrival with as much eye-winking swagger as did DuBois in Norman Lear’s 1970s landmark series Good Times." In a 2006 interview, DuBois told Bravo's Andy Cohen her job as Willona Woods "was to make it right, fast and funny. It was a wonderful thing that happened. It changed the scene for the type of black woman being shown. The wigs, the hats, my everything was a dream come true.” Murphy adds: "Given that the at times controversial Good Times took place at Chicago’s infamous Cabrini-Green housing project, her impact as one of TV’s most indelible black style icons in a mostly white television landscape cannot be overstated. Way before Shonda Rhimes introduced us to Scandal’s Olivia Pope (played with ostentatious splendor and soaring attitude by perennial baddie Kerry Washington), DuBois was the personification of cool. Plus, the risk-taking storyline of a divorced black woman, totally in control, with a rotation of suitors and who would later adopt a child (!!!) was shocking stuff on the small screen in those years." ALSO: To call Willona Woods comic relief is to miss the point: "With Good Times tackling topics like child abuse, black unemployment, gang violence, loan sharks, and even death, Willona always breezed into apartment 17C to lighten the mood with some hope," says Miles Marshall Lewis. "She had her own issues, most of which swirled around the men she dated: Even today, memes circulate social media with Willona cutting stank eyes at wannabe boyfriends who can’t hang. Yet, she embodied unflagging optimism in the face of the socioeconomic situation surrounding the Evans family. Willona dared to live a vivacious life on-screen, a pioneering move at a time when single women in their forties weren’t expected to be happy about that singlehood." Ja’Net DuBois last appeared in public with her Good Times co-stars earlier this month on Feb. 1, at a fan meet-and-greet in Burbank
	Last edited by TMC; 02-20-2020 at 07:18 AM.

02-18-2020, 08:15 PM	#3
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,621	There’s already a thread for this. https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards...d.php?t=389154

02-18-2020, 08:35 PM	#4
Duster76 Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2008 Location: New jersey Posts: 1,655	She brought a great deal of talent to the table, great performer. I'm a little skeptical about her age (74), that would have made her 34 when Good Times went off the air (just two years older than Jimmy Walker). Wikipedia has two different dates of birth, 1938 and 1945, 1938 seems about right (maybe even a little earlier), Wikipedia indicated she lost a child in 1987 who was 36 (which would indicate the child was born in1951).

02-18-2020, 08:35 PM	#5
Tap Dancer Member Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 20, 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 754

02-18-2020, 10:35 PM	#8
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	So sorry to hear of her passing. May she R.I.P.

02-18-2020, 11:07 PM	#9
Bonniegirl AKA Hazel Horvath Forum Addict Join Date: Jul 10, 2014 Posts: 65,832	Another sad shocking death ! She was 't that old! May she RIP!!

02-19-2020, 09:06 AM	#10
MA Member Moderator Forum Idol Join Date: May 20, 2017 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 127,621	Sources are differing about the year she was born and how old she was. She was born on August 5, but the years given are 1932, 1938, or 1945.

02-20-2020, 10:09 PM	#14
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,779	She was one of the most enjoyable players on Good Times, the only adult actor in all 5 seasons. RIP Ja'net.