The popular American sitcom Sanford and Son ran for six seasons, and was a groundbreaking show for African American comedy. However, what happened behind the scenes was even more interesting than what aired on TV. Find out more about the cast of the show, poor treatment by the network, and scandals on the set.
CBS Seriously Regretted Passing on This Show
While another Norman Lear show, All in the Family was on of CBS’s major hits, the network took a pass on Sanford and Son—and it’s safe to say they regretted that choice. Executive Producer Bud Yorkin claimed he was unable to get any interest from the network. However, CBS’s then-president Fred Silverman remembers things a little differently.
“We had All in the Family on the air and Bud and Norman [Lear] came in with the idea, and it was called Steptoe and Son,” he said. “They failed to mention that Redd Foxx was on it, or that it was going to be a black show. … I said, ‘Well I don’t understand, you are selling us a show we already have.” He later admitted, “It was one of the stupidest things I did at CBS.”
The Camera Added 10 Years for Redd Foxx
When Redd Foxx started playing the cantankerous character Fred Sanford, he was just 49 years old. The actor donned makeup to make himself play the part of his 65-year-old character. Much to the chagrin of Foxx, many people thought he was his character’s age in real life.
In addition to getting into character with makeup, Foxx also gave his Fred Sanford his distinctive walk using an unusual method. The actor wore weighted shoes to achieve his off-kilter shuffle-waddle. It’s hard to believe Foxx wasn’t a card-carrying AARP member while on the show, but pictures from off the set at the same time show a much younger man.
Demond Wilson Is an Ordained Minister
After Demond Wilson’s breakout role as Lamont Sanford, he starred in the short lived CBS comedy Baby I’m Back, and in the ABC sitcom The New Odd Couple. He’s made a few TV appearances since. However, Wilson left most acting jobs behind to pursue a higher calling.
In 1984 Demond Wilson became an ordained minister, fulfilling a childhood vow he took after his appendix ruptured and almost killed him at age 13. Since becoming ordained, Wilson has focused on religious projects. He’s written several Christian books.
None of the Actors Thought the Show Would Last
Sanford and Son lasted 6 seasons for a total of 138 episodes, but before the show began, none of the stars thought it would last. Demond Wilson was asked to take on the role of Lamont Sanford by producer Bud Yorkin, but apparently, he needed to be convinced by his co-star Redd Foxx.
“I thought about it long and hard and decided to take a chance,” said Wilson. “Redd and I thought we could grab some quick cash plus notoriety, the move on to the next project.” Instead the show was a huge commercial and critical success. Sanford and Son also paved the way for many shows that would follow.
Redd Foxx Loved the Ink Spots
Throughout the show, Redd Foxx’s character Fred Sanford often sang songs by The Ink Spots, a rhythm and blues group that gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. This character trait was inspired by Foxx’s own love of the group.
However, the royalties for songs by The Ink Spots were astronomical, and NBC refused to pay the cost. Instead, Redd Foxx paid for them out of his own pocket. Fred Sanford’s favorite song to sing on the show seemed to be “If I Didn’t Care” which was recorded by The Ink Spots and featured Bill Kenny. The song was released in 1939.
Wilson’s Memoir Reveals Shocking Treatment
Demond Wilson released a memoir called Second Banana: The Bitter Sweet Memoir of the Sanford & Sons Years in 2009. The memoir isn’t meant to be a tell-all or get-even memoir, but Wilson does reveal the truth about how he and Redd Foxx were treated at NBC.
“We were breaking ground, we were making history, [but] when we first came to NBC, we didn’t even have dressing rooms, except on a shoot day,” he wrote. “We were dressing in the men’s room When our first show aired… [the ratings] went through the ceiling and then Redd and I started dealing with them like men. Redd and I were making history and they tried to deal with us like we were third-class field hands.”
Demond Wilson’s Non-Profit Work
In 1995, Demond Wilson started a non-profit called Restoration House of America. “Restoration House was formed for the rehabilitation of first time prison offenders. We offer GED and college courses, but mostly teach entrepreneurial skills,” said Demond in a 1996 interview. The idea first sparked when Demond and Redd used to go entertain in prisons.
“You have a lot of men who stray from the truth and from the law, but they’re not bad people.” At the time, Demond identified with the prisoners, as he carried guilt from bad decisions he had made in his life, but he believed that one day he’d be free from it all and wanted to give that hope to others in similar predicaments.
Quincy Jones Said the Show Would Flop, But Took a Check from It Anyway
Quincy Jones was a popular composer at the time Sanford & Son was getting ready to air. He was crossing over into mainstream audiences due to his work with Frank Sinatra a couple years before the creation of the show.
The producers of Sanford & Son sought to bridge cultural gaps and thought Jones would be perfect to write the theme song. He agreed, but only after he made sure producers knew what they were getting into with Redd Foxx. Said Jones: “not one word out of that comedian’s mouth is appropriate for NBC.” The song was called “Streetbeater.” “I just wrote what he looked like. It sounds just like him, doesn’t it?” Jones remarked.
The Bronze Goddess of Fire
LaWanda Page was a favorite on and off the set of Sanford & Son. Aunt Esther was known for her catch phrase, “Watch it, Sucka!” The attitude she displayed in her role was fitting to who LaWanda was in real life, but her attire… not so much. LaWanda Page started her career as a dancer.
The men who became her fans dubber her “the Bronze Goddess of Fire.” When dancing, she would light cigarettes without using a lighter, simply by the touch of her fingertips. Then she would swallow that fire and create an illusion that her body was going up in flames. Funny how she almost lost her role in Sanford & Son because of her shyness.
Sanford & Son Affected LaWanda Page’s Health
For the first 20 years of her career, LaWanda Page made her money off her appearance. Her top priority was to maintain her health and physique. When she accepted the role of Aunt Esther, it lead to more opportunities with the same types of roles.
She had to gain weight to maintain character and her demanding schedule led to a decline in her health. LaWanda started smoking heavily with the Sanford & Son cast and was eating late at night after rehearsals and filming would ended. Those habits eventually lead to her death in 2002. She died at the age of 81, from complications with her diabetes.
The Switch To Mainstream
Back when Redd Foxx was still on the rise, his life would change for the better in 1966. It was that year he played the Aladdin Hotel. He was the first African American comic to be a headliner in Las Vegas.
He used his earnings to open up the Redd Foxx Club in Los Angeles. It was here that he ended up inspiring future comics like Richard Pryor. “He was the epitome,” Nesteroff quotes Pryor as saying. “He was doing it all – being himself on stage, pulling no punches, a totally no-BS act.”
And The Winner Is…
When you’re good, it doesn’t take long for your greatness to be recognized. Sanford and Son was almost instantly popular when the show first came out. When the first season ended in April 1972, it was ranked number six in total viewers. That isn’t half bad.
The show was so good that Redd Foxx received his first Emmy nod for Best Actor in a Comedy Series in three months time. He would end up losing to Carroll O’Connor from All in the Family. Foxx would be nominated two more times but he lost both times.
A True Pioneer
When trying to get into entertainment, you usually have a “big break”. For Redd Foxx, his big break came when he and fellow comic Slappy White opened up for Dinah Washington who was a prominent blues singer in the early ’50s.
Not too far in the future, his solo act (which was very raunchy) became the norm in African American clubs and on explicit records for parties. “Foxx released the first authentic recordings taken from the nightclub stage,” Kliph Nesteroff wrote in The Comedians: Drunks. “By the early 1960s, everyone was in the game. Comedy records were a national phenomenon.”
Redd Foxx’s Shocking Death
Redd Foxx was famous for faking heart attacks on Sanford and Son, but on October 11, 1991, the actor suffered a real heart attack. Foxx was on a break from rehearsals for The Royal Family when he suffered a heart attack on set.
Foxx was about to do an interview when Della Reese noticed him on the ground. Foxx repeated “Get my wife,” before being taken to the Queen of Angels Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center where he died at the age of 68. The irony of his cause of death makes the story that much more shocking. Foxx was outlived by his wife and mother.
LaWanda Page Was Almost Fired
It’s hard to imagine the role of the critical, Bible-toting sister-in law of Fred Sanford, Aunt Esther, being played by anyone but LaWanda Page, but that was almost the case. Page was too nervous to give producers an audition they liked, but Redd Foxx insisted she was the only woman for the role.
Page and Redd Foxx had a friendship that started in their pre-teens. They attended school together in St. Louis, and when they both decided to enter comedy, they supported each other throughout their careers. It’s a good thing Foxx insisted Page was right for the role, because her squabbles with Fred Sanford drew in greater ratings for the show.
Redd Foxx Walked Off
In the middle of taping episodes for the 1973-1974 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show because of a salary dispute. At the time, Foxx was earning $19,000 per episode, but argued the show’s high ratings justified more. As a result, Fred Sanford was written out of the rest of the season.
Fred’s absence was explained by him attending a cousin’s funeral. His friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) was left in charge. NBC sued Foxx saying he violated his contract by walking out. As part of the settlement, Foxx returned to the show. Despite airing in the Friday night death slot, the show managed to peak at #2 in the ratings.
The Fate of the Salvage Truck
The famous Sanford and Son Salvage truck was a 1951 Ford F1. For a while Red Foxx kept the truck at his home after the series ended, but returned it to NBC for the spin-off Sanford. The truck was later purchased at an auction by bill Milks, and then Donald Dimmitt of Dimmitt’s Salvage in Indiana purchased it in 1987 for $3500.
The car was later purchased by Jeff Canter, the owner of BlueLine Classics, a car dealership in Ohio. It has been preserved by BlueLine Classics and is proudly displayed in the showroom as well as at car shows.
The Spin-Offs Flopped
After Sanford and Son was canceled in 1977, a spin-off show came on the air. The supporting characters, including Grady, Aunt Esther, and Bubba, appeared in the short-lived Sanford Arms, but Norman Lear stepped down. It wasn’t the first attempt at a spin-off; during the 1975-1976 season, Whitman Mayo also starred in the spin-off Grady.
Redd Foxx even attempted to revive the show in 1980-1981 with the short-lived Sanford, but Demond Wilson refused to return to his role as Lamont Sanford in the new series. None of the Sanford and Son spin-offs were ever able to recreate the magic or the high ratings of the original series.
The Show That Killed The Brady Bunch
Sanford and Son didn’t just achieve high ratings in a Friday night time slot—it also went down in history as the “show that killed The Brady Bunch.” Sanford and Son peaked at #2 in the Nielson ratings during the 1972-1973 season and the 1974-1975 season. It was second only to another Norman Lear show, All in the Family.
On its fifth season in the same Friday night time slot, the popular sitcom The Brady Bunch went off the air in 1974, since many viewers were tuning into Sanford and Son instead. Both shows have achieved great syndication success and continue to air on TV.
What’s in a Name?
Several characters in Sanford and Son were named after real life people. Fred Sanford was named after Redd Foxx’s brother, who died five years before the show premiered. Giving his character his brother’s name was a touching way for Foxx to pay tribute.
Lamont Sanford also got his name form someone in Foxx’s life—Lamont Ousley—one of the two other teenagers who made up a washtub band Foxx formed after dropping out of high school. The character Grady Wilson, played by Whitman Mayo, was even named after another actor on the show, Demond Wilson. Wilson’s full name is actually Grady Demond Wilson.
