When Lamont gets a traffic ticket, Fred convinces him to fight it in court, where the poor man's Perry Mason steps up to defend his son against the system.
Lamont becomes annoyed that Fred is constantly playing old blues records featuring a band named Blind Mellow Jelly. Then, he finds out the records are rare and could be worth several hundred dollars.
A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants.
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 ...Written by
Brian Rathjen <briguy_52732@yahoo.com>
Lawanda Page was a dancer and a chorus girl when she first started out in show business. She was nicknamed "The Bronze Goddess of Fire" because she lit cigarettes with her fingertips, swallowed fire and touched flaming torches to her body. In a nod to this, Aunt Esther does a show in the junkyard with Fred, and lit his cigarette with her fingertip. See more »
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. See more »
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?") See more »
Alternate Versions
On video and DVD releases of the episode, "Blood is Thicker Than Junk", about 3 minutes of footage is removed. They edit the scene of Lamont getting up and purposely breaking the interviewer's pencil before leaving. It then cuts to the scene of Fred trying to lift a heavy trunk then in comes the man Fred later hires. On all video and DVD releases, at the employment office right after the interviewer gives Lamont his new job, it cuts right to Fred and his new employee talking. See more »
Highly hilarious and dominant television show from the mid-1970s that continues to have a great following even today (despite some detractors who take the show way too seriously). California African-American widower/junk dealer Redd Foxx (one of the most under-rated entertainers of his time) and his only son (Demond Wilson) argued and got into every odd-ball situation one could fathom during their six years in prime-time (from 1972-1977). The series was an answer to "All in the Family". It showed the differences and similarities between white blue-collar society and the working class African-American. It also was a coast war as "All in the Family" took place on the Atlantic shore while "Sanford and Son" took place on the Pacific. The supporting cast (led by the priceless LaWanda Page as Foxx's sister-in-law) was used in well-calculated ways to add to the program's comedic momentum. Never dull, never slow, never boring and never sorry, "Sanford and Son" is one of those shows that just seems to stand the test of time. 5 stars out of 5.
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Highly hilarious and dominant television show from the mid-1970s that continues to have a great following even today (despite some detractors who take the show way too seriously). California African-American widower/junk dealer Redd Foxx (one of the most under-rated entertainers of his time) and his only son (Demond Wilson) argued and got into every odd-ball situation one could fathom during their six years in prime-time (from 1972-1977). The series was an answer to "All in the Family". It showed the differences and similarities between white blue-collar society and the working class African-American. It also was a coast war as "All in the Family" took place on the Atlantic shore while "Sanford and Son" took place on the Pacific. The supporting cast (led by the priceless LaWanda Page as Foxx's sister-in-law) was used in well-calculated ways to add to the program's comedic momentum. Never dull, never slow, never boring and never sorry, "Sanford and Son" is one of those shows that just seems to stand the test of time. 5 stars out of 5.