'' is a television
Sitcom , the
American remake of the
British sitcom ''
Steptoe And Son ''. ''Sanford and Son'' first aired on the
NBC Television Network on
January 14 ,
1972 and was broadcast for six seasons until the final original episode aired in
March 1977 (repeat episodes were broadcast until
September 2 ,
1977 ).
Reruns were aired on NBC's daytime schedule from
June 14 ,
1976 to
July 21 ,
1978 .
''Sanford and Son'' starred
Redd Foxx as
Watts, Los Angeles, California , junk dealer Fred G. Sanford.
Demond Wilson also starred as his son Lamont, a 28-year-old (when the series began) who still lived at home. Although Fred loved Lamont, he often called him "dummy", and frequently threatened to give him "one across the lips".
Redd Foxx, whose real name was John Sanford, was arguably the genius of the show, playing Sanford as a
Sarcastic , stubborn, and argumentative antiques and junk dealer whose frequent money-making schemes routinely backfired and created more troubles. Lamont dearly would like to live an independent life, but loves his father too much to see him left to his own devices and schemes. Upon the show's premiere in 1972,
Newspaper ads touted Foxx as NBC's answer to
Archie Bunker .
Fred G. Sanford was a
Widower ; his wife Elizabeth had died some two decades before. Fred had raised Lamont alone and missed Elizabeth deeply.
''Sanford and Son'' was enormously popular during most of its run, and was one of the top ten highest-rated series on
American Television from its first season (1971-72) through the 1975-76 season. ''Sanford and Son'' put enough of a dent into the middling audience of ''
The Brady Bunch '' to drive it off the air in
1974 . ''Sanford and Son'' peaked at #2 in the
Nielsen Ratings during the 1972-73 season, when the series was second only to ''
All In The Family '' in terms of ratings.
It was produced by
Norman Lear and
Bud Yorkin , the team responsible for ''All in the Family''. The two shows had a few things in common. They were both based on popular British sitcoms, and both were pioneers of edgy, racial humor that reflected the changing politics of the time. ''Sanford and Son'' helped to redefine the genre of black situation comedy.
Showing up in many episodes was Lamont's Aunt Esther (played by
LaWanda Page ). One of her trademarks was that she was a devout
Baptist , and exhibited behaviors Fred saw as "
Bible -thumping". Fred criticized Esther frequently for many reasons, ranging from her incessant talk about the Bible to constant comparisons to
Godzilla and
King Kong because of how ugly Fred thought she was. His trademark response to her presence was to squint as to avoid looking at her. Her reaction, invariably was to tell Fred to "Watch it, sucka." Sometimes, she would go berserk and try to hit him with her purse or call him "fish-eyed fool" and "heathen".
Fred's friends Bubba Bexley (
Don Bexley ) and Grady Wilson (
Whitman Mayo ) showed up regularly, as did Lamont's shady friend Rollo Larson (
Nathaniel Taylor ).
Lynn Hamilton was shown infrequently as Fred's nurse girlfriend Donna Harris. Julio Fuentes (
Gregory Sierra ), Lamont's friend and the Sanford's neighbor, also showed up from time to time, about whom Fred made frequent ethnic jokes.
From time to time, two police officers, one black (Officer "Smitty" Smith (
Hal Williams )) and one white (Officer "Swanny" Swanhauser (
Noam Pitlik ), later replaced by Officer "Hoppy" Hopkins (
Howard Platt )) would come by the Sanford house. Often, Swanny/Hoppy would incorrectly use
Slang , which Smitty would correct (e.g., "cold" instead of "cool" or "torn off" instead of "ripped off"). Or, conversely, the ever-professional Hoppy (or Swanny) would deliver a speech filled with jargon and big words, which would confound Fred and/or Lamont. Smitty would then step in and simplify it for them in a more "ghetto" manner.
Officer Hoppy's prim and proper mother, a former
Store detective, rented a room at the Sanford Arms next door. Landlord Fred would often insult her when she paid a visit. She was played by
Nancy Kulp .
as Lamont Sanford.]]
as Fred Sanford.]]
In the midst of taping episodes for the 1975 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute due to a feud with NBC in which he demanded a salary that the network claimed it could not afford. His character was written out of the series for the rest of the season. The continuity of the show explained that Fred Sanford was away in St. Louis attending his cousin's funeral and leaving his friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) in charge of the business. Foxx later returned.
After the series was canceled in 1977 (due to
ABC giving Foxx a big raise to do a
Variety show and NBC refusing to give Wilson a raise), a short-lived continuation featuring supporting characters entitled ''
Sanford Arms '' aired.
Whitman Mayo starred in a spinoff series, ''
Grady '', during the 1975-76 season.
In 1980-81, Redd Foxx attempted to revive his old hit with the short-lived ''
Sanford '' (so named because Demond Wilson declined to reprise the role of Lamont for the new series).
- "You big dummy!"
- "How would you like one across your lip?"
- "Ohhh...this is the big one. You hear that Elizabeth? I'm comin' to join you, honey!"
- "Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone."
- "Sanford and Son is not a name, sir. Sanford and son is a tradition, it's a way of life, it's a dynasty, it's an empire. You look around here! The greatest pile of junk in the world!
- "Fred G. Sanford and the G. stands for {whatever word Fred felt fit the situation}"
- "This is Fred Sanford. That's S-A-N-F-O-R-D Period.
- (waving his fist in the air) "..I've got 5 good reasons right here!"
- "What empire?! This empire!"
- "And don't forget about my arth-a-ritis" (showing gnarled hand).
- "Old man, who you callin' 'old man'?"
:Aunt Esther: Who you calling ugly, sucker!!
:Fred Sanford: I'm calling you ugly, I could stick your face in some dough and make some gorilla cookies.
:Aunt Esther: Fred Sanford, the wrath of God will strike you down!
:Fred Sanford: And this Louisville slugger will knock you out!
:Lamont: Pop, why don't you act your age instead of your shoe size.
:Fred: Son, if you don't stop talkin' to me like that, you'll feel my shoe size.
Another often-used theme in the show was a drawer full of various
Reading Glasses , where Fred would open the drawer and try on various glasses until he found a pair that would work. (In one episode, one pair worked specifically with a marked deck of cards that Fred used to win back money that Lamont lost to a trio of
Card Shark s.)
Fred would also threaten various opponents with fisticuffs, yet he was apparently too busy 'windmilling' his fists in the air to ever actually ''land'' a punch.
When Fred Sanford was not getting his way, he would often clutch his chest and fake a
Heart Attack by saying words to the effect of "Oh, this is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm comin' to join ya, honey!" as a sympathy ploy. Fred often would resort to this tactic when Lamont announced plans to leave for a better profession. Lamont had long since been wise to this tactic, but always wound up staying or giving into his father's wishes.
When he was rehearsing a scene on his
1991 series, ''
The Royal Family '', Foxx began complaining of chest pains. His co-stars (including
Della Reese ) at first believed that he was reprising this old "heart attack" routine when, in fact, he was truly having a heart attack, from which he died on
October 11 , 1991.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all six seasons of ''Sanford and Son'' on
Region 1 DVD between
August 2002 and
June 2005 . There are currently no plans to release the spin-off series ''Sanford Arms'' or ''Sanford'', although this may occur in the future.
Sanford and Son was a daring show for its time. Some of the original material is now considered too controversial to air on network television. The episode "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle," written by in here to make a Tarzan movie!" This entire scene was cut from the episode, evidently because the network feared viewers would be offended.
- Fred Sanford's hair and beard are fake. In Season 5 episode "The Director," Fred "shaves" his hair and beard off. In Season 6 episode "TV Addict," Fred's hair is oddly very white, the only such instance that he wears this color.
- Though Fred Sanford celebrated his 65th birthday in the second episode, in real life Redd Foxx was still in his forties when the series began.
- Fred's favorite drink was Ripple. He would often combine Ripple with other drinks. Example: Cream + Ripple = Cripple.
- Fred's favorite song was "If I Didn't Care" by the Ink Spots .
- The theme song of ''Sanford and Son'' became a topic in the pilot episode of '' Malcolm & Eddie ''. Tow truck driver Eddie Sherman ( Eddie Griffin ) ponders what ''Sanford's'' theme song would've sounded like if it had lyrics to it. A very memorable verse begins:
::''Fred Sanford''
::''Fred Sanford had a son and a truck''
::''And a son named Lamont...''
- In addition, Eddie comes up with another verse, which includes the phrase "Shady Grady" a popular nickname of Grady Wilson.
- The theme of ''Sanford and Son'', called "The Streetbeater," is written and performed by Quincy Jones , famous jazz musician and song writer. A long version is found on Quincy's ''Greatest Hits''.
- On the TV Show King Of The Hill , exterminator Dale Gribble 's favorite television program is Sanford and Son, and The Streetbeater is frequently heard.
- One of Fred's nicknames on the show is "Ready Freddy," which could be a play on words between "Redd" and "Fred."
- One episode had Fred go on The Gong Show , a famous 1970s game show.
- Whitman Mayo's character "Grady Wilson" is actually named after actor Demond Wilson (Lamont Sanford). Demond Wilson's full name is "Grady Demond Wilson." In one episode Lamont is revealed to have no first name--his middle name is actually "Lamont"--and Fred suggests " Menudo " (his favorite dish) as a potential name. However, in an episode from the first season, "Here Comes The Bride, There Goes The Bride", Lamont's full name is given as "Lamont Grady Sanford".
- There were actually two Gradys. The first was a tall, Bald fellow who appeared as a one shot in ep. 207, "The Dowry". He was Fred's cousin and dearest childhood friend. The second, the shorter, greyer, and more stooped Grady best known to viewers, first appeared the following season ("This Little TV Went to Market", ep. 303).
- Despite Grady's appearance as a gray and feeble man, ostensibly well into his sixties, actor Whitman Mayo was only 42 when he first played him.
- Fred originally came from St. Louis , Missouri , which was the birthplace of series star Redd Foxx.
- The character Fred Sanford was named after Redd Foxx's brother; Sanford is Foxx's real last name.
- Redd Foxx played a dual role as himself and as Fred Sanford in Season 6 episode "Redd Meets Fred." There was a casting call for actors who looked like Foxx for a film project, and Fred decided to audition. Fred wins the competition. Although one of the prizes is a week-long stay with Foxx, the episode never mentions if Fred will hang out with Redd for a week.
- This was the only Norman Lear-produced sitcom that didn't air on CBS.
- Redd Foxx and LaWanda Page had been friends since childhood and she was his first and last choice to play Fred's sister-in-law Esther.
- At ECW's One Night Stand PPV, wrestler John Bradshaw Layfield uses the "Elizabeth! This is the big one!" heart attack routine as a response to Paul Heyman's insulting shoot promo.
