50 Fun Facts About Sanford and Son

On which network did Sanford and Son air from 1972 to 1977?

It was seen as the network's answer to CBS's All in the Family.

Sanford and Son was adapted from which British sitcom?

Norman Lear adapted both it and All in the Family from BBC shows.

Who played Fred G. Sanford?

Fred Sanford was actually the name of the comedian's own father and brother.

Who played Lamont Sanford?

A Vietnam veteran wounded with the 4th Infantry Division, he later played Oscar Madison in The New Odd Couple.

What business do Fred and Lamont run?

Their address was 9114 South Central Avenue in Watts.

In which Los Angeles neighbourhood is the Sanford business located?

Fred had moved there from his hometown of St. Louis in his youth.

Which city did Fred Sanford move to Los Angeles from?

It was also Redd Foxx's real hometown; a St. Louis Walk of Fame star was awarded in 1992.

What was the name of Fred's late wife, whom he addresses during his fake heart attacks?

He would clutch his chest and announce 'this is the big one'.

What insult did Fred routinely fling at Lamont?

He also faked 'arthur-itis' in his hand to get out of work.

Who played Fred's Bible-toting nemesis Aunt Esther?

She had known Redd Foxx since elementary school in St. Louis and once worked as a fire dancer.

What act did Aunt Esther's actress perform before comedy, swallowing flames and lighting cigarettes with her fingers?

She began performing at 15 in St. Louis.

Who played Fred's friend Grady Wilson?

He effectively starred in six episodes when Redd Foxx walked off the show in 1974.

Grady's surname on the show was borrowed from what?

Lamont's actor was born Grady Demond Wilson.

What was the name of the Sanfords' Puerto Rican neighbour, played by Gregory Sierra?

Sierra went straight from the role to Barney Miller as Detective Chano.

Which future Karate Kid star had a recurring role as Ah Chew?

He also played Arnold on Happy Days.

Who composed the show's theme, 'The Streetbeater'?

It appeared on his 1973 album You've Got It Bad Girl and later on his greatest hits.

The theme's main melody is played on which instrument?

Tommy Morgan performed the composite part on several of them.

Which rapper sampled 'The Streetbeater' on her 2005 debut album Arular?

The track was U.R.A.Q.T.

What make and year is the Sanfords' pickup truck?

It was later restored by an Ohio classic-car dealership and displayed in Cleveland.

The star walked off the show during the 1973-74 season over what?

He was earning $19,000 an episode and wanted a 25% ownership stake; Tandem sued for $10 million.

How was Fred's absence explained on screen during Foxx's 1974 walkout?

Grady was left in charge of the house.

Foxx's 1974 settlement raised his pay to $25,000 an episode to match which actor?

He also got 25% of the producers' net profits.

What did the media report was at the heart of Foxx's final dispute with NBC in 1977?

ABC lured him away to host The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, ending the series.

Where does Sanford and Son rank as its best Nielsen finish?

It peaked there in 1972-73 and 1974-75, behind only All in the Family.

Which ABC family sitcom did Sanford and Son help drive off the air in 1974?

It aired in the so-called Friday night death slot and still finished in the top ten five times.

Which sitcom followed Sanford and Son at 8:30 on NBC's Friday lineup and ranked No. 3 in 1974-75?

The two police dramas later that night ranked 12th and 15th.

Which production company made Sanford and Son?

Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin's company also made All in the Family; Yorkin handled the day-to-day running.

Where was the show taped?

The distance from Lear's other Tandem shows meant he was less involved day to day.

How many seasons did Sanford and Son run?

Time magazine put it on its list of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time in 2007.

What was the short-lived 1977 spin-off featuring the supporting cast after Foxx left?

It ran for just a month, from September 16 to October 14, 1977.

Who was the new lead character in Sanford Arms?

Theodore Wilson played the widowed Army buddy of Fred trying to turn the rooming house next door into a hotel.

In the 1975-76 spin-off Grady, where does Grady move to live with his daughter?

It was cancelled after ten episodes.

When Foxx revived the character in Sanford (1980-81), where had Lamont gone?

Demond Wilson refused to return, so Fred got a new partner, jovial Texan Cal Pettie.

Which actor refused to reprise his role in the 1980 revival Sanford?

He later became a minister, fulfilling a childhood vow after a ruptured appendix nearly killed him.

What was the star's birth name?

He was known as the King of the Party Records for his more than 50 comedy albums.

The show's star washed dishes in Harlem alongside which future civil rights leader in the 1940s?

Both had reddish hair, so Foxx was 'Chicago Red' and his friend 'Detroit Red'.

Which award did the star win during the show's run?

He was also nominated for three Emmys.

How did the show's star reportedly dodge the World War II draft?

The trick caused heart palpitations.

In which 1989 Eddie Murphy film did the show's star appear?

Murphy wrote, directed, produced and starred in it.

Where was the storefront seen in the opening credits actually located?

It stood on West Magnolia Boulevard, nearly 16 miles from the fictional Watts address.

The British original's rag-and-bone men lived on which fictional street?

Galton and Simpson set it in Shepherd's Bush, London.

Who played the father and son in the British original?

The show began as 'The Offer', a 1962 episode of Comedy Playhouse.

An unscreened 1965 American pilot of the British original starred which pair?

Joseph E. Levine produced it; it finally surfaced on a UK DVD in 2018.

Which Beverly Hillbillies actress appeared on the show as May Hopkins?

She was Miss Jane Hathaway on the CBS hit.

Which of these was NOT one of the cops who dropped by the Sanford house?

Hoppy, Smitty and Swanny were played by Howard Platt, Hal Williams and Noam Pitlik.

Which magazine put Sanford and Son on its 2007 list of the 100 Best TV Shows ever?

The show finished in the Nielsen top ten five times during its six-season run, despite airing in the so-called Friday night death slot.

Who played Fred's pal Bubba?

The character shared the actor's own surname, much as Grady Wilson borrowed the first name of Demond Wilson.

Which Tandem Productions partner handled the day-to-day running of Sanford and Son?

Lear was tied up with All in the Family, Maude and other shows taped in Hollywood, while Sanford and Son was recorded across town at NBC Burbank.

How large was the lawsuit Tandem Productions filed against Redd Foxx during his 1974 walkout?

Foxx, then earning $19,000 an episode, had demanded a 25 percent ownership stake; the dispute was settled that June.

Which game show did daytime Sanford and Son reruns replace on NBC's 10am slot in June 1976?

They were the first daytime sitcom reruns on NBC since Make Room for Daddy left the schedule in 1965, and later shifted to noon.