LaWanda Page Movies

Like his previous smash hit All in the Family, producer Norman Lear's NBC sitcom Sanford and Son was based on a British original, in this instance Steptoe and Son, the story of an elderly, irascible cockney junk dealer and his cloddish bachelor son and business partner. In the initial development stages, Sanford and Son was to have been about a pair of Jewish men, but it was finally decided to transform the characters into African-Americans -- and in so doing, veteran "Chitlin Circuit" standup comedian Redd Foxx was catapulted to superstardom. Debuting January 14, 1972, the NBC series cast Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford, a 65-year-old L.A. junk dealer who ran a ramshackle salvage business in the backyard of his home. The cranky, mercenary Fred was satisfied with his lot in life, which was more than could be said for his 34-year-old son, Lamont (Demond Wilson), who was forever seeking out strategies to escape the junk business and go off on his own -- and, hopefully, to find himself a wife. The wily elder Sanford would have none of this, and devised all manner of schemes and subterfuges to keep Lamont from leaving. His favorite ploy was to feign having a heart seizure, whereupon he would look heavenward and "call out" to his late wife, "I'm comin', Elizabeth! This is the big one! I'm comin'!" Inasmuch as this charade fooled no one -- least of all Lamont -- one wondered if the younger Sanford really was that hepped out about leaving after all, or whether he felt secure in his shabby environs.

Although none of the series' supporting characters appeared on every episode, most were seen frequently enough to qualify as regulars. During season one, Fred hung out with his old buddy Melvin (Slappy White), and throughout the series he palled around with Bubba Bexley (Don Bexley). Beginning in 1973, Whitman Mayo was seen as Fred's crony Grady Wilson, who virtually became the series' star later on during Redd Foxx's frequent defections from the show due to salary and other squabbles with the producers. (Mayo himself virtually disappeared from Sanford and Son during the 1975-1976 season when he was spun off into his own sitcom, Grady.) Other recurring characters included eccentric police officers Swanhauser (Noam Pitlik), Smith (Hal Williams), and Hopkins (Howard Platt); Lamont's friend Rollo Larson (Nathaniel Taylor); restauranteur Ah Chew (Pat Morita); rival junk man Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra); Fred's off-and-on lady friend, Nurse Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton); and Lamont's girlfriend and later fiancée, Janet Lawson (Marlene Clark). The one "standout" supporting character was Aunt Esther Anderson (LaWanda Page), who constantly quoted Scripture and who expressed her disapproval of Fred's shenanigans by giving a good solid punch once in a while (in some early episodes, Beah Richards appeared in a similar role as Aunt Ethel). With the departure of both Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson at the end of the series' sixth season, Sanford and Son was canceled September 2, 1977, to be "reborn" twice, first in the form of the spin-off series The Sanford Arms in the fall of 1977, then as the short-lived 1980 offering Sanford, with Redd Foxx in his original role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Consulting a psychic, Lamont (Demond Wilson) discovers he is a Double Libra. As such, it is in Lamont's best interests to be nicer to his crotchety old dad Fred (Redd Foxx). Meanwhile, Fred passes out after eating some spoiled collard greens. Awakening to find Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) praying over him, and Lamont behaving in an uncharacteristic kind and loving fashion, Fred is convinced that he is at death's door (exclaiming, "I'm comin', Elizabeth!"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faced with mounting debts and a depleted bank account, Fred and Lamont Sanford (Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson) try to solve their problems by throwing a big party -- and charging admission. The plan runs into a hitch when a pair of gangsters invade the festivities. Coming to the rescue are the redoubtable Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) and her "raiders" (actually her church-lady pals). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Still riding high in the ratings, Sanford and Son returned to its by then traditional Friday-night NBC time slot for a third successful season on September 14, 1973. The basic premise -- crotchety old Fred Sanford running a rundown Los Angeles junk business with his restless son Lamont -- was still firmly in place, as were many of the familiar regulars: Redd Foxx as Fred; Demond Wilson as Lamont; LaWanda Page as Fred's pious, abrasive sister-in-law Aunt Esther; Lynn Hamilton as Fred's off-and-on fiancée, nurse Donna Harris; Don Bexley as Fred's wheeler-dealer buddy Bubba Hoover; Nathaniel Taylor as Lamont's foolhardy crony Rollo Taylor; Hal Williams and Howard Platt as local beat cops Smitty and Hoppy; and Gregory Sierra as the Sanfords' Puerto Rican neighbor and business rival, Julio Fuentes. The most prominent of the new recurring characters was Whitman Mayo as Grady Wilson, Fred Sanford's best friend and severest critic. Grady came in very handy when, in the middle of season three, Redd Foxx walked off Sanford and Son due to a well-publicized contractual dispute with the series' producer (of Foxx' many demands, the press chose to focus on the most trivial: the actor insisted that a window be installed in his dressing room). It was then hastily explained that Fred Sanford had gone on an extended trip to St. Louis, leaving Grady in charge of Sanford and Son Salvage -- and as temporary head of the Sanford household. Despite the temporary defection of its star, Sanford and Son continued to reap excellent ratings. By the end of the 1973-1974 season, the series ranked as the third most popular American TV program. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lamont (Demond Wilson) is sick and tired of his dad Fred's (Redd Foxx) grouchiness in general and hostility toward other minority groups in particular. Hoping to change his dad's attitude, Lamont invites a sensitivity group to the Sanford house. Without going into any further details, let it be said that Fred proves to be challenge of Everest-like dimensions. Pat Morita makes his first series appearance as the Sanfords' Japanese neighbor, Ah Chew. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Is Lamont (Demond Wilson) really the son of Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx)? That's the disturbing question raised when Fred's old acquaintance "Big Money Grip" Madlock (Sonny Jim Gaines) insists that he is Lamont's actual father, and that Fred had been cuckolded in his own house years before. Only Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) knows the whole story -- and in this instance, she "knows" in the Biblical sense. Originally slated to air on December 7, 1973, this episode was bumped forward to January 4, 1974. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Watching over the Sanford home while Fred is out of town, Grady (Whitman Mayo) has vowed to honor Fred's requests to the letter. At first, this doesn't bother Lamont (Demond Wilson), especially since Grady bars Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) and her church-lady pals from congregating in the living room. But when Grady refuses to allow Lamont to have any women over (lest he indulge in an "orgy"), the younger Sanford blows his stack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Grady (Whitman Mayo) is nervous when Lamont's ex-convict friend Herman (Ron Glass) spends the night. This nervousness extends to Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), who at the suggestion of Lamont (Demond Wilson) hires Herman to work for her -- then fires him when she learns of his criminal past. Redd Foxx (Fred Sanford) does not appear in this episode due to an ongoing contract dispute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While house-sitting for Fred (Redd Foxx), Grady decides to make a salad with the "parsley" growing in Fred's backyard garden. What Grady doesn't know (in fact, what Fred didn't know) is that the attractive-looking plant is not parsley but marijuana. Perhaps this explains why, a few hours later, Grady, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page), and even the local cops are in such "high" spirits. This was one of several Sanford and Son episodes filmed while Redd Foxx was absent from the series due to a contract dispute. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beginning its fifth successful season on Friday, September 12, 1975, Sanford and Son was essentially the mixture as before with most of the familiar regulars firmly in place. His well-publicized contract disputes more or less receding into memory, Redd Foxx was back as cantankerous Watts junk dealer Fred Sanford, with Demond Wilson as his long-suffering son and reluctant business partner Lamont. Also returning were LaWanda Page as Fred's explosively prudish sister-in-law Aunt Esther, Lynn Hamilton as Fred's sometimes fiancée Donna Harris, Don Bexley and Nathaniel Taylor as family friends Bubba and Rollo, and Hal Williams and Howard Platt as police officers Smitty and Hoppy. Conspicuously absent from the fifth-season roster were three actors who had departed for other sitcoms: Gregory Sierra (Julio Fuentes), who had moved to Barney Miller; Pat Morita (Ah Chew), who had transferred to Happy Days; and, most notably, Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson), now starring in his own spin-off series, Grady. However, despite his new leading-man workload, Mayo would continue to make token Sanford appearances as Grady, returning to the series on a more or less regular basis after Grady (the series) folded in the spring of 1976. Additions and emendations to the Sanford format included the arrival of Marlene Clark as Janet Lawson, a widowed mother with whom Lamont would fall in love, and Edward Crawford as Janet's young son Roger. Also, Fred and Lamont Sanford would try to amplify their income by managing a boarding house, the Sanford Arms, which introduced as steady stream of recurring characters -- and also set the stage for the ultimate conclusion of Sanford and Son at the end of 1977. That denouement was still part of the distant future by the conclusion of the series' sixth season, during which Sanford ranked as America's seventh most popular weekly series. Fans were particularly gratified that NBC chose to rerun selected episodes on Wednesday evenings from April to August 1976, under the title The Best of Sanford and Son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Donna Harris (Lynn Hamilton) is tired of being the erstwhile fiancée of Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx). When Fred again balks at the thought of matrimony, Donna issues an ultimatum: Either Fred marries her immediately, or she'll accept the proposal of another man. Can it be that Fred's hesitancy is due to reverence for his late wife Elizabeth, or is he merely suffering from that common malady known as "cold feet"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this opening episode of Sanford and Son's fifth season, a team of Russian scientists announce that a seismic fault runs smack in the middle of the Sanfords' house. A series of small earthquakes subsequently sets Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) a-tremble in more ways than one. Certain he will meet his doom in the inevitable "Big One," Fred packs his bags and heads off to Las Vegas -- where, of course, he runs smack-dab into an aggregation of celebrities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Splitting up with her husband, Woodrow (Raymond Allen), after a row, Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page) moves in with Fred and Lamont Sanford (Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson). Fred tolerates Esther's presence when he believes that she only intends to stay the night. But when it becomes clear that she plans to remain in the Sanford home for six months, the better to establish separate residency for a divorce, Fred schemes to bring Esther and Woodrow back together -- and out of his hair. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide