Meadowlark Lemon | |
|---|---|
 Lemon with the Harlem Globetrotters in 1975 | |
| Born | Meadow Lemon III[1] (1932-04-25)April 25, 1932 |
| Died | December 27, 2015(2015-12-27) (aged 83) Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, actor, minister |
| Known for | TheHarlem Globetrotters |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 10 |
Meadowlark Lemon (bornMeadow Lemon III;[1] April 25, 1932 – December 27, 2015),[2] was an Americanbasketball player, actor, andChristianminister. For 22 years, he was known as the "Clown Prince" of the touringHarlem Globetrotters basketball team.[3] He was a 2003 inductee into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Ordained in 1986, in 1994 he started Meadowlark Lemon Ministries inScottsdale, Arizona.[4][5]
In one of his final interviews, basketball legendWilt Chamberlain described Lemon as "the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen".[6] Fellow Wilmington greatMichael Jordan called Lemon a "true national treasure" and a personal inspiration in Jordan's youth.[4]
Lemon was born inWilmington, North Carolina and attendedWilliston Industrial School, graduating in 1952.[7][8] He then matriculated atFlorida A&M University, but was soon drafted into theUnited States Army and served for two years in Austria and West Germany.[7][9]
Lemon made his first basketball hoop out of a coat hanger, using an onion sack for a net and an emptyCarnation milk can for a ball, with which he made his first shot.[10]
Lemon first applied to theGlobetrotters in 1954 at age 22, finally being chosen to play in 1955. In 1980, he left to form one of his Globetrotters imitators, the Bucketeers.[11] He played with that team until 1983, then moved on to play with the Shooting Stars from 1984 to 1987. In 1988, he moved on to "Meadowlark Lemon's Harlem All Stars" team. Despite being with his own touring team, Lemon returned to the Globetrotters, playing 50 games with them in 1994.[12]
In 2000, Lemon received theJohn Bunn Award,[13] the highest honor given by theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame outside induction.[14] He was inducted into theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003.[13][15]
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In the 1970s, an animated version of Lemon, voiced byScatman Crothers, starred with various other Globetrotters in theHanna-Barbera animated cartoon seriesHarlem Globetrotters.[16] The animated Globetrotters also made three appearances inThe New Scooby-Doo Movies.
Lemon appeared alongsideFred "Curly" Neal,Marques Haynes and his other fellow Globetrotters in a live-action Saturday-morning television show,The Harlem Globetrotters Popcorn Machine, in 1974–1975, which also featuredRodney Allen Rippy andAvery Schreiber.[17]
In 1978, Lemon appeared in a memorableBurger King commercial by making a tower of burgers until he found a double-beef pickles and onions with no-cheese burger.[18]
in 1979, Lemon guest-starred in an episode of theNBC televisionanthology series$weepstake$.
In 1980, Lemon appeared as the coach of the basketball team fromThe White Shadow in a series of guest skits for Order/Disorder week on3-2-1 Contact.
In 1983, Lemon appeared on an episode ofAlice entitled "Tommy Fouls Out", and in a Charmin toilet paper commercial alongsideMr. Whipple (actor Dick Wilson).
In 1996 season 2 episode 5 ofPinky and the Brain titled "Brain's Song" Meadowlark Lemon was Brain's best friend in the parody ofBrian's Song.
In 2006, on episode of adult swim'sThe Boondocks entitled "The Itis", the name of Meadowlark was used as the name of the park that Ed Wuncler I mentions an interest in purchasing from the state.
In 2009, on FOX's TV showThe Cleveland Show, the name of Meadowlark Lemon was used for a dog's name, a pet for the character of Rallo Tubbs. The dog died in the second episode.
In 1979, Lemon starred in the educational geography filmMeadowlark Lemon Presents the World and joined the cast in season two of the short-lived television sitcom,Hello, Larry, to help boost the show's ratings. In the same year, he played Rev. Grady Jackson in the movieThe Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. It was several years before he actually became an ordained minister.[19]
He recorded a song, "My Kids" which was written byDalton & Dubarri. The song was produced byDubarri, and released onCasablanca NB 969 in March, 1979. In TheCash Box Singles to Watch section, it was called Top 40 material by the reviewer.[20]
In 1982, Lemon was featured in the Grammy-nominated videoFun & Games, an interactive educational video produced by Optical Programming Associates and Scholastic Productions, on the then-emergingLaserDisc format.[21][22]
Lemon had 10 children: Richard, George, Beverly, Donna, Robin, Jonathan, Jamison, Angela, Crystal, and Caleb.[1]
Lemon was born Meadow George Lemon but had his name legally changed to Meadowlark Lemon in 1969.[23]
Aborn-again Christian, Lemon became an ordained minister in 1986 and received aDoctor of Divinity degree fromVision International University inRamona, California, in 1988. He was also featured as a gospel singer in severalGaither Homecoming videos.[24] In his last years, he took up residence inScottsdale, where his Meadowlark Lemon Ministries, Inc. is located.[19]
Lemon died inScottsdale, on December 27, 2015, at the age of 83. No cause of death was given.[25]
Outside of Enshrinement, the John Bunn Award is the most prestigious award presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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