Ja’net DuBois reunited with ‘Good Times’ cast mates shortly before her death

Jeanette DuBois, known by her stage name of Ja’net Dubois was found dead in her California home on Tuesday, February 18. 2020. It is believed the 74 year old actress died in her sleep the previous night. DuBois is best known for her role as Willona Woods,, the neighbor of the Evans family on "Good Times" from 1974 through 1979. She had roles in the movies, "I’m Gonna Get You Sucka" and "Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle". The actress was also on episodes of the television shows, "Sanford and Son", "The PJ's", "A Different World", "ER", "The Facts of Life", "Moesha", 'The Steve Harvey Show", and "The Wayans Brothers".

Dubois was a former model who got her start on Broadway and even worked alongside famous entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. She had a role on the long-running CBS sitcom "Love of Life." If you thought the voice singing the theme song for the television sitcom The Jeffersons sounded familiar, it's because the versatile Ja'net Dubois co-wrote and also sang Movin on Up. In 1987 she portrayed Janet Jackson’s mother in the video for the song Control. In 1992 the actress starred in a play with Clifton Davis entitled Still I Rise, which was based on Maya Angelou’s popular poem.

As Willona Woods, Dubois was th best friend of Florida Evans and carried the show when the stars John Amos and Esther Rolle left the show. During the final two seasons, singer Janet Jackson portrayed Penny who was adopted by Willona. These characters portrayed by Dubois and Jackson picked up the slack and kept things going through the final season of Good Times when Esther Rolle reprised her character Florida Evans and Thelma married Keith. On October 8 2017, the TV mother and daughter were reunited. Ja’net Dubois attended an after-party during Janet Jackson’s State of the World Tour at Lur in Los Angeles California.

On February 1, 2020, Dubois reunited with the remaining living cast of Good Times, minus Jackson. She was photographed with her former costars after attending the recent remake of the hit sitcom. Johnny Brown,(Nathan Bookman), Bern nadette Stanis,(Thelma), Ralph Carter,(Michael), and Jimmy Walker,(JJ) are pictured. Brown and John Amos, both 80 are the oldest living member of the original cast. Amos was in the live version of the hit television series but not in the photo. In Good Times Live, Tiffany Haddish performed in the role of Willona Woods, which Janet Dubois made famous. During the 1980s, the versatile entertainer owned and operated the Ja'net DuBois Academy of Theater Arts and Sciences. This was a performing-arts school in Long Island New York, that was-for teenagers. In 1992, along with Ayuko Babu and Danny Glover Dubois co-founded the Pan African Film & Arts Festival in Los Angeles. California.

Janet Dubois received an Emmy Award for her work on the TV movie "Other Women's Children and earned two Emmys for her voice=over work on the animated television series, The PJs. Dubois was said to be worth 2 million dollars of which the bulk was earned while on "Good Times'. This is pocket change in comparison to Janet Jackson whose net worth is 190 million but much better than stars who got a raw deal and die broke. The remaining cast of Good Times are all doing pretty well financially also. Bern nadette Stanis is worth 6 million, John Amos 3 million, Johnny Brown, 2 million, Ralph Carter 1 million, and Jimmy Walker, 800 thousand dollars.

Good Times continues to be popular in syndication and on streaming services. The TVOne network has been running weekend marathons of the show for over a year, Some weeknights you can catch episodes of Good Times on several channels, sometimes simultaneously. Willona and the Evans family left a lasting impression on audiences that still resonates with many people today. A complete family unit a good friend and neighbor they could depend on and the way they all took Penny into the family is so refreshing considering the kind of programming in TV today. There is no record of Ja’net Dubois left 3 children behind along with her legions of fans.