“Sanford and Son” was a colossal hit for NBC in the 1970s as well as show creator Norman Lear’s response to his other hit show “All in the Family.” Both series followed a grumpy patriarch whose bigoted perspectives often frustrated their more progressive children, depicting the generation gap between baby boomers and their more traditional parents. The sitcom followed Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and his son Lamont (Demond Wilson) who ran a junkyard in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Sanford and Son” laid the foundation for numerous series with predominantly Black casts that followed in the wake of its success. Ted Bergman, a scriptwriter for “Sanford and Son,” argued the sitcom was groundbreaking because it “started a trend toward more realism in television. Things were being talked about that were not being talked about before” (via Emmy magazine). However, a Black writer and critic named Eugenia Collier said otherwise in an article for The New York Times, calling the series “white to the core” while arguing that it perpetuated damaging racial stereotypes.
Despite criticisms, “Sanford and Son” remained in the top 10 every season, and helped reshape the television landscape, leading to more representation of Black characters. Although the series ended in 1977, it has lived on through syndication and streaming. Considering it left the airways so long ago, you may have forgotten who starred in the series. Keep reading as we pay tribute to the “Sanford and Son” actors you may not know passed away.
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford was born in St. Louis on December 9, 1922, and moved to Chicago at age 13. Three years later, he moved to Harlem, where he befriended the man who would become Malcolm X while working together. In Harlem, he also began performing comedy in Black venues and on the Chitlin Circuit, under the stage name Redd Foxx.
In the ’50s, Foxx moved to Los Angeles and made raunchy party records. In the ’60s, he found mainstream success doing stand-up in Las Vegas. Although Foxx is best known for his lead role as Fred Sanford on the hit series “Sanford and Son,” he is widely regarded as a stand-up comedy trailblazer. “No one expected me to be on television because I had a reputation from the party records as X-rated, but that’s the type of humor I liked,” he said in an interview.
Foxx died of a heart attack at age 68 in 1991, during rehearsals on the set of his CBS series “The Royal Family.” In response to news of his death, Slappy White told The New York Times, “The comedy world is going to miss him. He broke a lot of barriers.” Friends remember Foxx for his generous nature, as Ruth Brown told NYT: “Redd would do anything for a friend.” Unfortunately, this generosity coupled with his lavish lifestyle led to Foxx declaring bankruptcy, and having property seized by the IRS.
LaWanda Page
LaWanda Page was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 19, 1920, but was raised in St. Louis — where she was childhood friends with Redd Foxx. She began dancing in her teens and performed with a fire dancing act on the Chitlin Circuit, earning her the nickname “the Bronze Goddess of Fire.” In the 1960s, Page transitioned from dancing to comedy after moving to LA and joining the comedy group Skillet, Leroy & Co.
Her big break came when Foxx secured Page an audition for the role of Aunt Esther on “Sanford and Son.” She became an audience favorite, playing Fred’s sharp-tongued, bible-thumping sister-in-law. She reprised the role in both short-lived spin-offs, “Sanford Arms” and “Sanford,” and she continued acting after her time playing Aunt Esther ended. Throughout her career, Page advocated for fair pay for Black performers. She died from diabetes complications in 2002 when she was 81.
Nathaniel Taylor
Nathaniel Taylor was born on March 31, 1938, and shared his birthplace of St. Louis with Redd Foxx. Taylor worked as an electrician before he was cast as Lamont’s best friend, Rollo, in “Sanford and Son.” Taylor starred in 32 episodes of the hit series and reprised his role in the short-lived spin-off “Sanford.” Taylor continued acting in shows like “What’s Happening!!” and “227,” and blaxploitation films like “Willie Dynamite” and “Trouble Man.”
Taylor later founded a performing arts studio in Los Angeles where he taught acting. He died at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles of a heart attack in 2019. He was 80 years old. Taylor’s son Kaedi said his father enjoyed being recognized as Rollo: “It was a time and an era — just to be on TV as a black man,” Kaedi told The Los Angeles Times. “It was an honor for people to remember him.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alonzo “Lonzo” Williams, a music promoter and friend of Taylor, said, “He was always there with a wise word and a kind word and a joke to put a little icing on it.”
