Demond Wilson Movies

Police detective Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) returns to finds himself in hot water with the police over his acceptance of help from a neighborhood anti-drug group. The group has done some things which are far from textbook legal, such as stealing and destroying a large shipment of drugs. Though they pulled off their robbery without loss of life, a corpse is found at the scene of the heist. Tibbs, now suspended from the force, uses their help to string together clues which enable him to break up a large drug ring. This is the third movie made starring Poitier and based on John Bail's novels In The Heat of the Night and They Call Me Mister Tibbs. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Archie's insistence upon purchasing a gun to protect his household backfires when a couple of burglars named Coke and Horace break into the Bunker household. Keeping Archie at bay with his own gun, the two thieves reveal a lot about themselves -- and, in the course of the evening, genially encourage the disingenuous Edith to compose an impromptu ditty about her life. The burglars are played by Tony award-winning actor Cleavon Little and relative newcomer Demond Wilson, who on the strength of this performance was cast as Lamont in the Norman Lear-produced sitcom Sanford and Son. Written by Lee Kalcheim, "Edith Writes a Song" was first telecast on October 9, 1971. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

After scaring off a burglar, Lamont (Demond Wilson) and Rollo (Nathaniel Taylor) discover that the crook has left his gun behind. They'd like to turn the weapon over to the police, but are afraid to do so. Thus, our heroes try to sell the gun without getting in trouble with the authorities -- a project doomed to disaster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Rather than shell out good money at the dentist's office, Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) tries hypnosis to cure a toothache. When this inevitably fails, son Lamont (Demond Wilson) orders Fred to pay a visit to a free dental clinic. But even here, Fred refuses to plant himself in the chair unless he is taken care of by a black dentist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) panics when his son Lamont (Demond Wilson) falls in love with Alice (Emily Yancy), the daughter of Fred's old flame Juanita (Ja'net DuBois). The reason? Juanita has just told Fred that Alice is his own daughter. This episode was co-written by comedian Richard Pryor and Paul Mooney, whose later collaborations included the children's series Pryor's Place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fooling around with his son Lamont's newly (and expensively) purchased antique gun -- which dates back to the Revolutionary War -- Fred (Redd Foxx) accidently fires the weapon into the window of his neighbor Goldstein (Leo Fuchs). Ensuing circumstances convince Fred that he has killed his neighbor, and this after the whole neighborhood witnessed him arguing with the man. There is nothing to do but destroy the extremely valuable "evidence." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred's cousin Grady (Albert Reed) pays a visit, accompanied by his new wife Margaret (Marguerite Ray) and stepdaughter Betty Jean (Gladys Perry). Anxious to divest himself of the corpulent Betty Jean, Grady offers a dowry of 10,000 dollars to any eligible bachelor that will take her off his hands. With visions of moneybags dancing in his head, Fred (Redd Foxx) sets about to match up Betty Jean with his own son Lamont (Demond Wilson) -- a matrimonial strategy foiled by a prime example of "reverse psychology." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Recuperating from a broken arm suffered in an accident, Fred (Redd Foxx) is unable to do any housework. To alleviate the problem, Fred's son Lamont (Redd Foxx) agrees to hire a maid -- at bargain prices. The inimitable Mary Wickes guest-stars as abrasive housekeeper Mary, who, need we add, turns out to be no bargain at all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this variation on the old "Man Who Came to Dinner" routine, Fred and Lamont Sanford (Redd Foxx, Demond Wilson) kick a homeless man named Gus (Liam Dunn) out of their junkyard. Pretending to be injured, Gus threatens to sue unless the Sanfords tend to his every need. Figuring that the bum is faking, Fred plots to expose his scheme. This was one of several Sanford and Son episodes written by Ilunga Adell, then a 20-year-old alumnus of Joseph Papp's Public Theater. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A confirmed hit in its inaugural 14-episode season, the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son returned to its familiar Friday-night berth for a second batch of 24 episodes beginning September 15, 1972. In true "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" tradition, producer Norman Lear made virtually no changes in the series' winning format. Cantankerous junk dealer Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) was still umbilically joined to his cash-poor salvage business; Fred's son Lamont (Demond Wilson) was still seeking a way out of the family trade and into a more lucrative profession; and Fred continued to prevent Lamont from leaving by a variety of methods, primarily by staging highly suspicious "heart attacks." The only significant differences between Sanford's first and second seasons were manifested in the supporting cast. Hal Williams continued to make periodic appearances as police officer Smith (aka "Smitty"), albeit with a new partner, Officer Hopkins (Howard Platt), who was immediately nicknamed "Hoppy." The Sanfords' circle of friends was more or less solidified, with the departing Slappy White (as Melvin) replaced by Fred's somewhat shady crony Bubba Hoover (Don Bexley), and Lamont Sanford gaining a new chum in the person of reckless Rollo Larson (Nathaniel Taylor). More significant additions -- at least in providing grist for the comedy mill vis-à-vis Fred Sanford's endless personal insults -- included Gregory Sierra as the Sanfords' new neighbor and business rival, Puerto Rican junk dealer Julio Fuentes and especially LaWanda Page as Aunt Esther, Fred's contentious, Bible-thumping sister-in-law (Page was a slightly younger and more volatile replacement for Beah Richards, who had made a handful of appearances as Aunt Ethel). Also, Lynn Hamilton continued popping up from time to time as Fred Sanford's erstwhile fiancée, nurse Donna Harris. As with season one, some of the episodes seen during Sanford and Son's second season were adapted from scripts previously telecast on the series' British prototype Steptoe and Son, but these were fewer and farther between than in previous months. And also as with season one, Sanford sustained its enormous popularity, ranking as the second most popular TV series in America (another Norman Lear effort, All in the Family, was first). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lamont (Demond Wilson) is convinced that he has lucked upon a bargain when he spends 20 dollars on what he is told is a rare antique commode. What our hero doesn't realize is that he is being played for a sucker by a team of clever con artists. This Sanford and Son episode was adapted from "The Three Feathers," a 1970 installment of the series' British prototype Steptoe and Son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) is jealous when his son Fred (Demond Wilson) begins spending more and more time with the Sanfords' Puerto Rican neighbor (and business rival) Julio Fuentes (Gregory Sierra). After Fred announces plans to accompany Julio on a weekend visit to Tijuana, Fred goes into his "don't leave your poor, sick father alone" monologue. This fails to move Lamont, so Fred begins cooking up a few more devious strategies to keep his son at home. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide