In his final interview, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain described Lemon as "the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen".[6] Fellow Wilmington great Michael Jordan called Lemon a "true national treasure" and a personal inspiration in Jordan's youth.[4]
Lemon made his first basketball hoop out of a coat hanger, using an onion sack for a net and an empty Carnation milk can for a ball, with which he made his first shot.[10]
Lemon first applied to the Globetrotters 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 1978, Lemon appeared in a memorable Burger King commercial by making a tower of burgers until he found a double-beef pickles and onions with no-cheese burger.[18]
In 1980, Lemon appeared as the coach of the basketball team from The White Shadow in a series of guest skits for Order/Disorder week on 3-2-1 Contact.
In 1983, Lemon appeared on an episode of Alice entitled "Tommy Fouls Out", and in a Charmin toilet paper commercial alongside Mr. Whipple (actor Dick Wilson).
In 1996 season 2 episode 5 of Pinky and the Brain titled "Brain's Song" Meadowlark Lemon was Brain's best friend in the parody of Brian's Song.
In 2006, on episode of adult swim's The 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 show The 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.
Other work
In 1979, Lemon starred in the educational geography film Meadowlark 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 movie The 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 by Dalton & Dubarri. The song was produced by Dubarri, and released on Casablanca NB 969 in March, 1979. In The Cash Box Singles to Watch section, it was called Top 40 material by the reviewer.[20]
In 1982, Lemon was featured in the Grammy-nominated video Fun & Games, an interactive educational video produced by Optical Programming Associates and Scholastic Productions, on the then-emerging LaserDisc format.[21][22]
In 1994, Lemon was referenced in an episode of the Nickelodeon show “The Adventures of Pete & Pete”. One of the characters claimed that “...you know, in a matter of moments, we’re all gonna be famous like Meadowlark Lemon.”
Personal life
Lemon had 10 children: Richard, George, Beverly, Donna, Robin, Jonathan, Jamison, Angela, Crystal, and Caleb.[1]
^"The John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2015. Outside of Enshrinement, the John Bunn Award is the most prestigious award presented by the Basketball Hall of Fame.
^"Hall of Famers Index". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 28, 2015. See the "Category" column on the left of the page.