Basketball superstar, Meadowlark Lemon, of Harlem Globetrotters fame, is dead at age 83. No cause of death has been released. According to reports, Lemon died Sunday, in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Harlem Globetrotters tweeted a picture of Lemon in his prime, accompanied by the statement: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Meadowlark Lemon. He was 83. #RIPMeadowlark.” It it currently pinned to the Harlem Globetrotters’ Twitter profile.
Later, the Globetrotters shared a video of clips featuring Lemon dazzling and entertaining fans on the court, mugging for the cameras, and teasing referees.
From Variety:
Dubbed the “Clown Prince of Basketball,” Lemon joined the Globetrotters in 1954 at age 22, appearing in more than 16,000 games in 97 countries until leaving the team in 1978 over a contract dispute. He then formed his own comedy basketball teams — the Meadowlark Lemon’s Bucketeers, the Shooting Stars and Meadowlark Lemon’s Harlem All-Stars — and continued to play into his 70s.
Lemon co-starred with McLean Stevenson in the NBC comedy series “Hello, Larry” in 1979-1980, and he logged guest shots on shows ranging from “Alice,” “Diff’rent Strokes,” “Here’s Boomer” and “Scooby Doo,” to numerous talk shows and Globetrotters TV specials. He was also in demand for commercials, appearing in blurbs for such blue-chip brands as Ford Motor Co., Burger King, Pepsi, Sears, Dr. Pepper, Tropicana and the U.S. Postal Service, among many others.
On the big screen he costarred in the 1979 comedy “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh,” about a hapless basketball team, and appeared in 1981’s “Modern Romance.” In his later years Lemon became an ordained minister and had a regular series on Trinity Broadcasting Network.
In the Hanna-Barbera Harlem Globetrotters cartoon, which first aired on CBS, Lemon was voiced by Scatman Crothers. It was later rerun on NBC as The Go-Go Globetrotters. Watch the opening sequence:
Crothers also voiced Lemon on the CBS animated series, The New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Lemon starred in the children’s variety show, Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, also on CBS. Watch a video of the opening and closing of the show, below.
Ordained as a minister, later in life, Lemon leaves his wife, Dr. Cynthia Lemon, and ten children.
Please share your memories, in the comments.
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