You know the bit. Fred Sanford clutches his chest, looks up at the ceiling, and screams for his late wife. "It’s the big one! I’m comin’ to join ya, Elizabeth!" It was the most iconic gag in 1970s television. But in a twist of fate so cruel it felt scripted by a dark comedy writer, that very joke became the reason people didn’t rush to save his life.
The official Redd Foxx death date is October 11, 1991.
He was 68 years old. Honestly, he wasn't even supposed to be "old" yet, but years of hard living, chain-smoking, and the crushing stress of a $3.6 million IRS debt had taken their toll. He was on the set of his comeback show, The Royal Family, rehearsing a scene with Della Reese. Then, he collapsed.
The Irony of the Big One
It happened during a break in rehearsals at Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Redd Foxx fell to the floor. For several seconds—long, agonizing seconds—the cast and crew just stood there. They laughed. They thought he was doing "the bit."
It’s easy to blame them now, but you've got to understand the context. Foxx was a prankster. He had spent years conditioning the American public to laugh at his fake heart attacks. When he actually grabbed a chair and slumped to the ground, his co-stars figured he was just trying to break the tension of a long rehearsal.
Della Reese was the first to realize something was wrong. She went over to him and realized he wasn't breathing right. He wasn't joking. The "Big One" had finally arrived, and it wasn't for laughs this time.
What happened at the hospital?
Paramedics rushed him to the Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. He never regained consciousness. He died at 11:45 PM that evening. The cause was officially listed as a massive heart attack.
The irony is thick. The working title for his new show? It was actually Chest Pains before they changed it to The Royal Family. You can't make this stuff up. It’s the kind of detail that makes you wonder if the universe has a really twisted sense of humor.
The Debt and the IRS Shadow
A lot of people think Redd Foxx died a wealthy man because of Sanford and Son. Wrong. He died broke. Actually, worse than broke—he was millions in the hole.
The IRS was relentless. They had raided his Las Vegas home in 1989, taking everything. They took his cars, his jewelry, and even his furniture. They literally stripped the man of his dignity while he watched.
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- Tax Debt: $3.6 million at the time of death.
- Asset Seizure: The IRS famously took his "party record" royalties.
- The Funeral: Eddie Murphy actually stepped in to pay for the funeral because Redd’s estate was so depleted.
Foxx was trying to work his way out of that hole. That’s why he was on the set of The Royal Family. He needed the paycheck. The stress of trying to outrun the government at nearly 70 years old likely contributed to his heart failing.
Clearing Up the Misconceptions
Some people swear they saw him die on live TV. That's a classic "Mandela Effect" or just a confusion with other on-stage tragedies. He did not die during a broadcast. He died during a rehearsal.
There's also a rumor that he died because nobody helped him for ten minutes. That's a bit of an exaggeration. While there was a "brief moment" where people thought he was kidding, the delay wasn't long enough to be the sole cause of death. A massive coronary of that scale is rarely survivable outside of a surgical suite, and even then, the odds are garbage.
Where is he buried?
If you're ever in Las Vegas and want to pay your respects, he’s at Palm Eastern Cemetery. He loved Vegas. It was his home base for decades, even when the IRS was breathing down his neck. He’s buried right next to his mother, Mary Sanford Carson.
The Complicated Legacy
Redd Foxx wasn't just a sitcom star. He was the "King of the Party Records." Before he was Fred Sanford, he was a raunchy, unapologetic stand-up who paved the way for Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy.
He was also a man who struggled. He married four times. He fought with producers. He was "cantankerous," as the New York Times put it in his obituary. But he was also deeply loved by his peers. When he died, the comedy world lost its North Star.
Key Takeaways from the Redd Foxx Story
To really understand the weight of the Redd Foxx death date, you have to look past the date itself and see the man’s final years.
- Check your health: Stress and hard living are silent killers. Foxx was a legendary smoker and lived a high-octane life that caught up to him.
- Legacy isn't money: He died with zero dollars but a legacy that influenced every Black comedian who came after him.
- The IRS doesn't play: Foxx’s story is a cautionary tale about financial management in Hollywood.
- Irony is real: Dying while doing your most famous "fake" act is a level of poetic tragedy few ever reach.
If you want to honor him, don't just remember the day he died. Go find some of his old "party records" or watch an episode of Sanford and Son. See the man who was so funny that even when he was dying, people were still waiting for the punchline.
To dive deeper into the history of 1970s television, you should research the production of Sanford and Son and how Redd Foxx fought for higher wages for his co-stars, a move that was unheard of at the time. You can also look into the legal battles over his estate that lasted for decades after 1991, which shed light on how his intellectual property was managed after his passing.