If you close your eyes, you can still hear that funky, strutting Quincy Jones theme music. You can see the rusted-out 1951 Ford F1 pickup truck and hear Redd Foxx clutching his chest, screaming about "the big one" to his late wife Elizabeth. It’s been decades since the junkyard gates closed, but the Sanford and Son cast members remain some of the most enduring figures in television history.
Why? Because they weren’t just playing characters. Most of these guys were seasoned veterans of the "Chitlin' Circuit," brought together by a fluke of casting that almost didn't happen.
Redd Foxx wasn't even the first choice. Cleavon Little—the guy from Blazing Saddles—was supposed to be the lead. He turned it down, suggested Foxx, and the rest is basically sitcom history. But when the cameras stopped rolling in 1977, the real-life stories of these actors took turns that were way more dramatic than anything Norman Lear ever wrote for a script.
Redd Foxx: The King of the Junkyard
Honestly, Redd Foxx was a walking contradiction. He played a 65-year-old man when he was only 49. To get that iconic Fred Sanford shuffle, he wore specially weighted shoes that forced him to waddle. He named the character after his brother, Fred G. Sanford, who had passed away years before the show began.
The fame was massive, but the money was a nightmare. At one point, Redd was the highest-paid actor on TV, but he lived a lifestyle that made his paycheck look like pocket change. He loved the Ink Spots, fancy cars, and apparently, not paying the IRS. By 1989, the government literally raided his home in Las Vegas and took almost everything he owned—right down to his jewelry.
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His death was the ultimate, tragic irony. In 1991, while rehearsing for a new show called The Royal Family, he collapsed. His co-stars, including Della Reese, thought he was doing his famous "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you!" heart attack bit. He wasn't. He died at the hospital later that night at 68.
Demond Wilson: The Son Who Walked Away
Demond Wilson played Lamont, the "big dummy" who was usually the only adult in the room. Before he was a TV star, Wilson was a Vietnam veteran who earned a Purple Heart. He and Redd had an incredible chemistry, but behind the scenes, things were... complicated.
Wilson actually found out the show was ending from a newscaster in an NBC hallway. Redd had walked out over a contract dispute, and that was basically it.
After a couple of short-lived sitcoms like The New Odd Couple, Demond did something nobody expected. He quit Hollywood. He’d made a vow as a kid after a near-death experience with a ruptured appendix, and in 1984, he became an ordained minister.
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If you look for him today, you won't find him at many Hollywood reunions. He spent decades working with former prison inmates through his organization, Restoration House of America. He also wrote a pretty biting memoir called Second Banana, where he didn't hold back about how the Sanford and Son cast members were treated by the networks.
The "Bronze Goddess of Fire" and Aunt Esther
You cannot talk about this show without mentioning LaWanda Page. As Aunt Esther, she was the only person who could go toe-to-toe with Fred. Their insults were legendary. "Watch it, sucker!" was a national catchphrase.
But here is what most people get wrong: LaWanda wasn't a "church lady" in real life. Far from it.
Before the show, she was a fire-dancer and a raunchy stand-up comic. She was literally billed as "The Bronze Goddess of Fire." She could light cigarettes with her fingertips and swallow flames. Redd Foxx had known her since they were kids in St. Louis, and he basically forced the producers to hire her. She was so nervous during her audition that they almost fired her, but Redd threatened to quit if she didn't stay.
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The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
The depth of the Sanford and Son cast members extended far beyond the family. You had Grady, Bubba, and Rollo—characters who felt like real people you'd actually find in a neighborhood in Watts.
- Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson): He was so popular he got his own spin-off, Grady. It didn't last, but Mayo became a cult icon. He even appeared in a music video for the band The Flaming Lips later in life. He passed away in 2001.
- Don Bexley (Bubba): A real-life close friend of Redd Foxx for over 50 years. He was even a pallbearer at Redd's funeral. He lived to be 87, staying creative and writing scripts until his death in 1997.
- Nathaniel Taylor (Rollo): Lamont’s best friend and the guy Fred never trusted. Taylor worked as a mentor for young actors and opened a performing arts studio before he passed in 2019.
- Gregory Sierra (Julio): The Puerto Rican neighbor Fred loved to hate. Sierra was a powerhouse actor who went on to star in Barney Miller. He died in 2021.
Why the Cast Matters Today
A lot of people think Sanford and Son was just a "black version" of the British show Steptoe and Son. Technically, that's true. But the Sanford and Son cast members turned it into something uniquely American. They brought the rhythms of the Chitlin' Circuit to prime-time NBC.
They weren't just reading lines; they were improvising and bringing decades of Black vaudeville experience to a medium that hadn't seen it before. It’s why the show still feels fresh in reruns. The jokes about old age, poverty, and family friction are universal, but the delivery was pure Redd Foxx.
Moving Forward with the Legacy
If you're a fan of the show or a collector of 70s TV history, here are a few ways to keep the legacy alive:
- Read the source material: Pick up Demond Wilson's book Second Banana. It provides a raw, non-Hollywood look at what happened behind the scenes.
- Watch the spin-offs: If you can find episodes of Sanford Arms or the 1980 revival Sanford, they are fascinating (if failed) attempts to recapture the magic without the full original cast.
- Listen to the albums: Seek out the old comedy records by Redd Foxx and LaWanda Page. Just a heads up: they are way, way more "R-rated" than anything allowed on 1970s television.
- Support the archives: The Paley Center for Media and other archives keep the original tapes. Seeing the high-definition restorations of these episodes shows just how much detail went into the set and the performances.
The junkyard might be gone, and most of the cast has passed on, but the impact they left on comedy is permanent. They didn't just make a show; they made a culture.