Ja’Net DuBois, who played the vivacious neighbor Willona Woods on the 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and composed and sang the theme song for another TV comedy, “The Jeffersons,” died Feb. 17 at her home in Glendale, Calif.
Ms. DuBois’s song “Movin’ On Up” provided a joyous intro to “The Jeffersons” during the show’s run on CBS from 1975 to 1985. On “Good Times,” which aired on the same network from 1974 to 1979, she played the single, sexy neighbor and best friend to star Esther Rolle’s Florida Evans.
As Willona Woods, Ms. DuBois showed off more of her dramatic skills when a young Janet Jackson joined the show as an abused child named Penny; Ms. DuBois’s character adopted Penny, and the story line also forged a long, close relationship between Ms. DuBois and Jackson, who would go on to become a music star; she cast Ms. DuBois as her mother in her 1986 “Control” video.
Ms. DuBois, who had a prolific career in TV, won 1999 and 2001 Emmy Awards for her voice work on the animated WB series “The PJs.”
Reportedly born Jeanette (sometimes spelled Jeannette) DuBois in Brooklyn, she started her career in theater and appeared in the 1964 Broadway musical “Golden Boy.”
Her film credits include “Diary of a Mad Housewife” (1970), “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” (1988) and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003).
Ms. DuBois also was a co-founder in 1992 of the Pan African Film and Arts Festival.
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