Sanford and Son 

The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.

Creator:

Norman Lear

Stars:

Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson, LaWanda Page

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Redd Foxx	...	Fred G. Sanford / ... 135 episodes, 1972-1977
Demond Wilson	...	Lamont Sanford / ... 135 episodes, 1972-1977

Storyline

One of television's all-time classic sitcoms, the Norman Lear-produced "Sanford and Son" debuted just three days after the one-year anniversary of Lear's fabulously successful, "All in the Family." Fred Sanford is a cantankerous 65-year-old, black, widowed junk dealer living in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood. Helping him is his restless son, 34-year-old Lamont; Fred's beloved wife and Lamont's mother, Elizabeth, had died more than 20 years earlier. Fred's schemes and bigotry especially toward Julio, a Puerto Rican who was Lamont's friend, whites and other minorities often frustrated Lamont. Fred also showed overt disdain for his sister-in-law, Aunt Esther (the feeling was mutual). Many times, Lamont threatened to leave for meaningful work, but Fred faked a heart attack each time ("Oh, this time its real, I'm a-comin' 'Lizabeth!") as a sympathy ploy to get his son to stay. By 1977, Fred and Lamont had sold their business (stars Foxx and Wilson wanted to leave the series); it became ...

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | sister in law | sitcom | junkyard | brother in law sister in law relationship | 

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Taglines:

Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson play two guys who know the score - and how to beat the game. America, you're in for a yock...Archie, you're in for a shock (season 1)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the midst of taping episodes for the 1973-1974 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute. 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 Whitman Mayo in charge of the business. NBC sued Foxx and as part of the settlement, Foxx later returned. Foxx had taped fewer than ten episodes before Fred 'left for St. Louis.' Whitman Mayo was then given Foxx's lines, with only a couple of episodes actually written with Grady as the head of the house.

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Goofs

The exterior shot of the Sanford house/junk shop as seen in the opening credits does not match the exterior of the house/junk shop as it appeared on the show. In the opening credits shots, the house's front door is seen almost flush against the street with a very small front yard and little to no junk out in front of the house. In the show however, the Sanfords have a huge front yard with piles and piles of junk scattered about and the street is very far from the front door.

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Quotes

Aunt Esther: Shut up, foo!

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits of the episode "The Headache" (4.21), Fred and Lamont's voices can be heard. They're doing a soap opera cliffhanger parody. (Eg. Fred: "Will Lamont leave home?" Lamont: "Will you be quiet?")

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Alternate Versions

During the show's network run, a few episodes contained the "N-word". However, when the show began to appear on the TV Land cable network, the word was edited out.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Television Sitcoms of the 1970s (2013)

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Soundtracks

If I Didn't Care
Composed by Jack Lawrence
Performed by Redd Foxx
(numerous episodes)

User Reviews

Never ever duplicate a icon classic series

Epic period... Can't bring back real comedy... This is phenomenal acting all actors... God bless sandford and Esther

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sanford and Son

Filming Locations:

10659 West Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tandem Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (135 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3