"Sanford and Son" (1972)TV series 1972-1977

Writers:

Woodie King Jr. (writer)
James R. Stein (writer) (1972-1973)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

14 January 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

African American | Based On British TV Series | Junkyard | Remake | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 28	9:30 AM	TVLAND	The Barracuda	#1.10
Tue. July 29	9:30 AM	TVLAND	TV or Not TV	#1.11

Cast

Redd Foxx	...	Fred G. Sanford / ... (135 episodes, 1972-1977)
Demond Wilson	...	Lamont Sanford (135 episodes, 1972-1977)

Runtime:

30 min (135 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Studio 4, NBC Studios - 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Bud Yorkin Productions

Trivia:

The character Fred Sanford was named after 'Redd Foxx' 's brother.

Quotes:

[Esther sees Fred with a lollipop]
Aunt Esther: You just suck on that sucker, sucka.

Movie Connections:

Featured in TV's Illest Minority Moments Presented by Ego Trip (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The Streetbeater

Fred is soooo funny! soooo funny... one more time...

Forget Lamont, Grady, Donna, those two neighborhood policemen... Unlike most great TV sitcoms, this one does need great supporting characters to make you want to watch it (though it does have the Aunt Esther - who is addictive - and, to a lesser extent, Rollo). What it does have is Fred, Fred, Fred and more Fred!!! Redd Foxx is genius. Men hardly ever make me laugh, I guess their common experience is not something I am able to relate to on that level. Though I am male... I can't place my finger on it, but Fred is funnier than any other TV comic I can think of. In my opinion, he blows Lucy, Archie and Carol out of the water. (Roseanne doesn't even qualify, she's disgusting. Seinfield is funny, but doesn't have the whole world of experience to back him up and he's not as likeable.) The characters on the Mary Tyler Moore Show are the most well-developed I have ever seen and I love every single one of them, they are like a second family to me. And Jennifer Saunders is genius in her ability to pinpoint a certain species of the overaged juvenile delinquent. The show is not clever or sophisticated or even particularly well-written, but Fred is beyond criticism. I guess being a cranky (yet very lovable, though I would never tell Fred that!) poor, older black man gives him the advantage of having been through it all and his observations are guileless and unassuming and hilarious. (Actually, the lines that Fred gets are great sometimes, I think he must have written some of them himself. There is truth in Fred's character.) I guess that's what makes "Sanford and Son" so special, Redd Foxx obviously brings much of himself to Fred. I think that Fred never tries for laughs, because he knows he doesn't have to. He just has to be himself. Though Lucille Ball could be very funny, she was always acting, always knowing that she was funny, which can be awful for comedy. Fred is so completely straightforward and honest in his delivery that people (at least those of us who love him) are caught off guard. I am startled at how many times an episode can make me laugh. (Even make me smile, Fred's facial expressions and the way he walks are enough to pick me up. And, I have to say, "Sanford and Son" has the best TV theme song EVER! Before I die, I want to learn to play it on the harmonica.) I have NEVER started to laugh uncontrollably from anything from a TV show (except maybe Absolutely Fabulous). But Fred never fails to get me rolling... And of course the best humor is what we can truly relate to, the stuff that lets our anger, our pain off the hook, and that is exactly what I get from Fred. Being a poor black man, growing up in the 1940's, Redd Foxx had to find some way to make some sense out of the world, some way to make it work for him. His viewpoints are a truly blunter than blunt take on the way life is. Fred has no need to pretend, he is way past caring about what anybody thinks about him. Unlike Archie Bunker, who is a complete buffoon, not to mention bursting with hate for every single person around him, Fred is not stupid or crude or aggressive. He may hate Aunt Esther (priceless!!!), but he loves his son, his dead wife, and his male friends. He also shows, from time to time, that can have some class and he can be sentimental. (Like the episodes where he reads aloud the birthday card his son has given him, or he asks Lamont to take the day off so they can go fishing together or the times when he speaks to his beloved dead wife. These things just make Fred more real and endearing to me. And there is never a cloying moment in the entire show.) Fred is just a sweet old man who has long earned his right to his opinions, and he can't be bothered with any form of pretense. I can't think of anybody else (besides some of my friends in real life) who are as honest in their humorous observations as Fred is. I guess that's why I can watch this show three times a day. Watching Fred is like visiting the most fun, easy-going friend I could ever hope for.