SANFORD AND SON

'''Sanford and Son''' is an American sitcom that premiered on the NBC television network on January 14, 1972 and was broadcast for six seasons. The final original episode aired on March 25, 1977. Reruns were aired on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 to July 21, 1978.
The show was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son''.

Contents

Summary

Other characters

Later years of the series and 1980 revival

Fred Sanford's quotes and routines

"This is the big one!"

DVD Releases

Controversy

References in media

Cultural references in Sanford and Son

References

External links

Summary

''Sanford and Son'' starred Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a 65-year-old junk dealer in the Watts neighborhood of southern Los Angeles. His address is given as 9114 South Central Ave. Demond Wilson starred as his son Lamont, a 31-year-old (when the series began) who still lived at home. Although Fred loved Lamont, he often called him "dummy", and frequently threatened to give him "one across yo' lips".
Redd Foxx was arguably the genius of the show, playing Sanford as a sarcastic, stubborn, and argumentative antiques and junk dealer, whose frequent money-making schemes routinely backfired and created more troubles. Lamont dearly would have liked to enjoy independence but loved his father too much to leave him to his devices and schemes. Although each owned an equal share in the business and technically Fred was the boss, Lamont often found himself doing all the work and having to order his father to complete tasks and duties.
On the show's premiere in 1972, newspaper ads touted Foxx as NBC's answer to Archie Bunker, the bigoted white protagonist of ''All in the Family''.
Fred G. Sanford was a widower (he had moved to Los Angeles from St. Louis), whose wife Elizabeth had died some two decades before. Fred had raised Lamont alone and missed Elizabeth deeply. According to Fred, his son was named for Lamont Lomax, a (presumably fictional) pitcher from the Homestead Grays. Fred was also known for insulting his sister-in-law Esther, who had disapproved of Fred marrying her sister. He would often contort his face upon Esther's entrance and make disparaging remarks to her, comparing her with King Kong and Godzilla and using colorful metaphors to describe her spectacular ugliness. Despite his stubbornness, Fred would sometimes redeem himself with acts of kindness, even to those (like Esther) who he insists he doesn't like. In the last episode of the series, Fred earned his high school diploma, and was the valedictorian of his graduating class.
Earlier in the show's run, it adhered more closely to the format laid out by its' British predecessor, with Fred and Lamont often at loggerheads over various issues. Fred and Lamont were also depicted as being equally manipulative (Fred with his constant threats of "the big one" and his "arthur-itis"; Lamont with his attempts to drive a wedge between Fred and his girlfriend, Donna, who he saw as usurping his mother's place). At times, Lamont was actually depicted as the greedier of the two; for example, in one episode he refused to sell two coffins for less than what he thought they were worth, despite the fact that they clearly upset his somewhat superstitious father. As well, Lamont sometimes received his comeuppance for being disdainful of his father's habits and ways (an example of this would be the time Lamont was upbraided by a Nigerian woman he hoped to impress by "adopting" African culture; she considered his attitude towards Fred to be disrespectful). There were even moments when Lamont was shown to be naive and foolish, such as the episode where he invited his new "friends" over to play poker; his more experienced father saw right away that they were actually out to cheat Lamont, after they had gained his confidence by letting him win a few smaller-stakes games.
As the series progressed, however, it became more focused on Fred's antics and schemes, with Lamont often adopting the role of the gentler, more open-minded progressive who attempted to broaden his father's horizons. A notable example of the softening of Lamont's character is his change in attitude towards Donna, Fred's girlfriend; early in the show's run, Lamont derided her as "the barracuda" and was openly hostile towards her (to say nothing of attempting to ruin her relationship with his father at least twice), yet a episode later in the series' run saw Lamont inviting Donna out to dinner with himself and his girlfriend, remarking that it would do his reputation good to be seen with "two lovely ladies". Similarly, Fred was initially depicted as a man who, if not always ethically or culturally sensitive, had the wisdom of experience. As the show went on, Fred was seen getting into increasingly ludicrous situations, such as: faking a British accent to get a job as a waiter; convincing a white couple that an earthquake was really the "Watts subway"; taking over a play featuring George Foreman; or sneaking into a celebrity's private area, such as Lena Horne's dressing room or Frank Sinatra's hotel room. Many of these situations invariably revolved around Fred trying to make a quick buck.
One constant remained through the show, however, and that was the loyalty of father and son to each other. Even in the show's earliest episodes when one or the other left the house, seemingly for good (Lamont moved out at least twice, and at one point he even put Fred in an old folks' home), something always occurred that returned things back to normal (Lamont got homesick and worried about his father, or something didn't work out and Lamont schemed his way back in; Lamont felt lonely without his father around the house thanks to a plan Bubba and Fred hatched). Perhaps the best example of this bond between father and son occurred in the episode where a friend from Fred's past showed up and claimed to be Lamont's real father. After hearing the news, Lamont told a tearful Fred that he was "the only pop I've ever had" and as far as he was concerned, it was "always" going to be Sanford and Son (in the humorous twist that closed the episode, it turned out the friend had accidentally slept with Aunt Esther, thinking she was her sister Elizabeth).
''Sanford and Son'' was enormously popular during most of its run, and was one of the top ten highest-rated series on American television from its first season (1971-72) through the 1975-76 season. With its coveted 8pm Eastern Friday night time slot, ''Sanford and Son'' put enough of a dent into the middling audience of ABC's ''The Brady Bunch'' to drive it off the air in 1974. ''Sanford and Son'' peaked at #2 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1972-73 season, when the series was second only to ''All in the Family'' in terms of ratings.

Season	Ranking
1971-72	#6
1972-73	#2
1973-74	#3
1974-75	#2
1975-76	#7
1976-77	#27

It was produced by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, the "tandem" also responsible for ''All in the Family''. The two shows had a few things in common. They were both based on popular British sitcoms and both were pioneers of edgy, racial humor that reflected the changing politics of the time. Both series also featured outspoken, working-class protagonists with overt prejudices. ''Sanford and Son'' helped to redefine the genre of black situation comedy.

Other characters

★ 'Esther Anderson' (LaWanda Page), also known as 'Aunt Esther', is the Bible-toting sister of Fred's late wife Elizabeth. Esther is a saucy staunchly religious Baptist who finds little use for humor. Fred has an intense dislike for Esther, which she gladly returns. His trademark response to her entrance is to make an exaggerated grimace due to (in his eyes) her profound ugliness. He would then spew forth colorful insults and liken her to animals and fictitious monsters such as King Kong and Godzilla. Her usual reaction to his antics is to cringe her face and yell, "Watch it, Sucka." Sometimes, cracking from the constant barrage of insults, she would swing her purse wildly in Fred's direction whilst angrily calling him a "fish-eyed fool" or "heathen". Her long-suffering but loving alcoholic husband Woodrow (played by Raymond Allen) began appearing infrequently later in the series. Woodrow eventually 'dried out' so he and Esther could adopt a young orphan.
Outside of the fictional level, Redd Foxx and LaWanda Page had been friends since childhood, and she was his first and last choice to play Fred's sister-in-law Esther.

★ 'Grady Wilson' (Whitman Mayo) is Fred's closest friend who appears regularly on the show. Grady's catchphrase is "Good goobly goop" and is uttered by him when something good would happen or he was in a pleasant mood. Grady was Fred's 'sidekick' and would often be involved in get-rich-quick schemes concocted by Fred. When Foxx had a contract dispute with (and walked out on) the show, several episodes were filmed without him. These episodes involved Grady as the central character who was watching over the business and Lamont whilst Fred was 'away' on vacation in St. Louis. Grady is actually named after actor Demond Wilson. Demond Wilson's full name is "Grady Demond Wilson".

★ 'Bubba Bexley' (Don Bexley) is another of Fred's friends who appears frequently. Bubba is known for his infectious belly-laugh and jovial persona. Bubba is primarily a straight man to set up punchlines for Fred. His constant "Hey Fred!" drove Fred and Lamont crazy.


★ 'Rollo Larson' (Nathaniel Taylor) is Lamont's best friend. Fred will often make disrespectful remarks towards Rollo, usually stating that he thinks Rollo is a criminal, which Rollo doesn't deny. Rollo appears in the show every so often to come pick up Lamont so they can go out and chase women. Also, they sometimes go to stag films or what Rollo calls "skin flicks".

★ 'Donna Harris' (Lynn Hamilton) is Fred's on again, off again girlfriend who later becomes his fiancée. She is employed as a practical nurse. Donna is an even-tempered lady who takes in stride Fred's shenanigans and occasional trysts. She also appears to be a bit more of an upper class individual in contrast to Fred's somewhat boorish persona. Lamont, being the over-protectful son, detests Donna at first (infamously branding her as "The Barracuda"), but by Season 6 has completely warmed up to her.

★ 'Julio Fuentes' (Gregory Sierra) is the Sanfords' Puerto Rican next-door neighbor who befriends Lamont. When Julio and his family moved in next to the Sanfords, Fred took an immediate disliking to them and remarked, "There goes the neighborhood". Fred often made crude ethnic jokes about Julio and many times openly wished he would return to Puerto Rico. However, Fred stood up for Julio's nephew at his elementary school, which had threatened to drop him to a lower grade due to lack of proficiency in speaking English; Fred tutored him for some time as well. In the fifth season, Julio moved away. The Sanford's bought his former home and converted it into a boarding house named "The Sanford Arms".

★ 'Ah Chew' (Pat Morita) is a Japanese-American friend of Lamont who Fred belittled every chance he gets. Fred insults Ah Chew on numerous occasion using clichéd Oriental jokes. Fred actually befriends Ah Chew in a later episode because he wants to use him as a cook when he opens a Japanese restaurant, "Sanford and Rising Son," in the Sanford house. Despite this arrangement, Fred still hurls verbal abuse at Ah Chew.
: In the fifth season episode "Sergeant Gork", Pat Morita portrays Colonel Hiakowa, in a flashback where Fred tells Lamont's fiancee's son, Roger, of his suppposed heroism in World War II.

★ 'Smitty and Hoppy' are a pair of police officers who occasionally show up at the Sanford's residence. One officer was black, Officer "Smitty" Smith (played by Hal Williams) and one was white, Officer "Hoppy" Hopkins (played by Howard Platt). Often, Hoppy would incorrectly use slang, which Smitty would correct (e.g., "cold" instead of "cool" or "torn off" instead of "ripped off"). Conversely, the ever-professional Hoppy would deliver a speech filled with police jargon and big words, which would confound Fred and/or Lamont. Smitty would then step in and simplify it for them in a more "ghetto" manner. On rare occasions, one officer would appear without the other.

★ 'Officer "Swanny" Swanhauser' (Noam Pitlik) was originally Officer Smitty's Caucasian partner who was replaced early in the second season with Officer Hopkins. Swanny was basically the same as Smitty but his demeanor was much more serious and humorless.

★ 'May Hopkins' (Nancy Kulp) is Officer Hoppy's prim and proper mother who appeared in the fifth season. She was a retired store detective who rented a room at the Sanford Arms next door. Landlord Fred would often insult her when she paid a visit. Much like her son, Mrs. Hopkins would incorrectly use slang, but the more experienced Hoppy would correct her.

★ 'Janet Lawson' (Marlene Clark) is a divorcee Lamont began dating in the fifth season. Janet also had a young son, Roger (Edward Crawford). The Lawsons appeared occasionally until Lamont and Janet broke up indefinitely in the sixth and final season, due to Janet's ex-husband returning to town.

★ 'Melvin White' (Slappy White) is an old buddy of Fred's, who appeared in the first season.

★ 'Leroy & Skillet' (Leroy Daniels & Ernest 'Skillet' Mayhand) are a rambunctious pair of Fred's friends who like to play poker, billiards or joke around. They appeared in the second and third seasons.

★ 'Otis Littlejohn' (Matthew "Stymie" Beard) is another friend of Fred's who appeared infrequently in the third and fourth seasons

★ Frank Nelson appeared as various characters in the fifth and sixth seasons using his catchphrase "Yeeees?".

Later years of the series and 1980 revival

In the midst of taping episodes for the 1973-74 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute due to a feud with NBC in which he demanded a salary that the network claimed it could not afford. His character was written out of the series for the rest of the season. The continuity of the show explained that Fred Sanford was away in St. Louis attending his cousin's funeral and leaving his friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) in charge of the business. NBC sued Foxx and as part of the settlement, Foxx later returned. In an extreme case of coincidence, less than ten episodes before Fred "left for St. Louis" to observe the death of his cousin, his uncle Leotus Sanford died... and he had to go to St. Louis.
After the series was canceled in 1977 (due to ABC giving Foxx a big raise to do a variety show and NBC refusing to give Wilson a raise), a short-lived continuation featuring supporting characters entitled ''The Sanford Arms'' aired. Whitman Mayo starred in a spinoff series, ''Grady'', during the 1975-76 season.
In 1980-81, Redd Foxx attempted to revive his old hit with the short-lived ''Sanford'' (so named because Demond Wilson declined to reprise the role of Lamont for the new series).

Fred Sanford's quotes and routines

★ "You big dummy!"

★ "How would you like one across your lip?"

★ "This is the big one!"

★ "You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm coming to join you, honey!"

★ "Are you CRAZY?"

★ "Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone."

★ "Sanford and Son is not a name, sir. Sanford and son is a tradition, it's a way of life, it's a dynasty, it's an empire. You look around here! The greatest pile of junk in the world!

★ "Fred G. Sanford and the G. stands for {whatever word Fred felt fit the situation}"

★ "This is Fred Sanford. That's S-A-N-F-O-R-D Period.

★ (waving his fist in the air) "...I've got 5 good reasons right here!"

★ (waving his fist in the air) "...How would you like one of these where you sneeze?"

★ "What empire!?! This empire!"

★ "And don't forget about my Arthur-itis" (Arthritis) (shows gnarled hand).

★ "Old man!?! who you callin' 'old man'?"

★ "You know son, It's been a lot of years. It's been a lot of years".

★ "I'm gonna get my bud-nipper (a baseball bat) and start nippin' some bud!"

★ "Buenos tacos." (to Julio's nephew)

★ "Do unto others before they do unto you!"

★ "Back in my day, movies were movies! And stars were stars...nowadays, any joker they cut loose from a football team, they stick him in front of a camera!"

★ "Close your mouth, Bubba...you're killin' the flies!"

★ ''(to Lamont)'' "After all this hard work, 35 years of keepin' my nose to the grindstone! Wheelin' and dealin' and coordinatin'! And it finally paid off...you found a satchel full of money in an alley!"
: Lamont ''(referring to the satchel full of money)'': "I don't wanna keep this money...it makes me too nervous!"
: Fred Sanford: "Let me keep it then! When I ''don't'' have money, it makes me nervous! When I got a lot of it, it calms me down."
: Fast Fanny: "Yeah! We'll just let it all hang out and let everyone go for themselves!"
: Fred Sanford ''(leering lasciviously)'': "Yeah...and my destination is in sight!"
: Aunt Esther: "Who you calling ugly, sucka?"
: Fred Sanford: "I'm calling you ugly, 'cause I could stick your face in some dough and make some gorilla cookies!"
: Aunt Esther: "Who you calling ugly, sucka?"
: Fred Sanford: "You. I could put some tracing paper over your head, and draw me a moose face!"
: Aunt Esther: "Why should I be embarrassed? When I was born, my body was blessed by Mother Nature, Honey!"
: Fred Sanford: "Yeah Esther, And as you grew older, it was cursed by Father Time!"
: Aunt Esther: "You just a messy fool!"
: Fred Sanford: "And you just a cessy pool!"
: Aunt Esther: "Fred Sanford, the wrath of God will strike you down!"
: Fred Sanford: "...Yeah Esther, and this Louisville Slugger will knock you ''out''!"
: Aunt Esther: "Fred Sanford, you are the lowest of the low, the meanest of the mean, and the baddest of the bad."
: Fred Sanford: "And you are the ugliest of the ugly."
: Fred Sanford: "Back in your cave, you ole bat!"
: Aunt Esther: "Watch it, sucka!"
: Aunt Esther: "Fred Sanford, I want you to know that my name was in the Bible".
: Fred Sanford: "Yeah, Samson slew the Philistines with your jaw-bone."
: Aunt Esther: "Behold! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!"
: Fred Sanford ''(waving fist)'': "Esther, if you don't get outta here, there's gonna be some weeping and ''smashing'' of teeth!"
: Aunt Esther: "If there's one thing I love, it's a well-preached funeral."
: Fred Sanford: "Yeah, Esther, a funeral is just about your speed."
: Aunt Esther: "My Bible says, 'be ye not drunk with wine'!"
: Fred Sanford: "What's it say about scotch?"
: Aunt Esther: "You old fish eyed fool heathen!"
: Lamont: "Pop, why don't you act your age instead of your shoe size."
: Fred: "Son, if you don't stop talkin' to me like that, you'll feel my shoe size."
: Julio: "Mr. Sanford! Buenos Dias, huh?"
: Fred Sanford: "...And beans and disease to you, too!"
: (action Fred performed)
: Lamont: Would you STOP it!!
: Rollo: "A joke's a joke, but why do you always treat me like a criminal, Mr. Sanford?"
: Fred: "I want you to feel at home."
: Rollo: ''(showing off new suit)'': "This is a suit made by a gentleman's tailor!"
: Fred: "Wait 'til the gentleman finds out his suit is missing!"
: Rollo ''(trying to entice Fred to take a cruise for the evening)'': "Why don't you get on that boat and check out the Big Dipper like a nice old man!"
: Fred: "I ain't going nowhere--''damn'' a Dipper!"
: Rollo: "This is a .38 special, probably custom-made!"
: Fred: "I don't want it in this house, I don't care if it fires a hundred times, then starts throwing bricks!"
Another often-used theme in the show was a drawer full of various reading glasses, where Fred would open the drawer and try on various glasses until he found a pair that would work. They weren't very effective, as Fred would still have to hold the material a ways away from his face. This gag stopped after an episode in which Fred and Lamont were robbed. The robber took all of Fred's glasses, so he survived on only one or two pairs of glasses in later episodes. At some point during the fourth season, Fred got his drawer full of glasses back.
Fred would also threaten various opponents with fisticuffs, yet he was apparently too busy 'windmilling' his fists in the air to ever actually ''land'' a punch. Grady was the only person to ever directly begin to fight Fred, and his fighting style consisted of punching one fist in front of him, and one fist behind him. Fred rarely threatened anyone with anything other than his fists. If the situation was particularly bad, he might get his Louisville Slugger baseball bat, and in one occasion when Esther became particularly annoying, he took up his gun (this is notable as being possibly the one time Esther ever got scared by Fred).

"This is the big one!"

When Fred Sanford was not getting his way, he would often clutch his chest and fake a heart attack by saying words to the effect of ''"Oh, this is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm comin' to join ya, honey!"'' as a sympathy ploy. Fred often would resort to this tactic when Lamont announced plans to leave for a better profession. Lamont had long since been wise to this tactic, but always wound up staying or giving into his father's wishes.
When Foxx was rehearsing a scene on his 1991 series, ''The Royal Family'', Foxx began complaining of chest pains. His co-stars (including Della Reese) at first believed that he was reprising his old "heart attack" routine when, in fact, he was truly having a heart attack, from which he died on October 11, 1991.

DVD Releases

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released all six seasons of ''Sanford and Son'' on Region 1 DVD between August 2002 and June 2005.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The First Season	14	August 6 2002
The Second Season	24	February 4 2003
The Third Season	24	October 7 2003
The Fourth Season	24	March 30 2004
The Fifth Season	24	September 14 2004
The Sixth Season	24	June 7 2005

Controversy

''Sanford and Son'' was a daring show for its time. Some of the original material is now considered too controversial to air on network television and is routinely edited in syndication, specifically, derogatory racial references:

★ The episode "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle," written by comedian Paul Mooney, largely considered one of the funniest episodes of the series by longtime fans, was edited before being aired on the cable TV network TV Land. In the unedited version, Fred represents Lamont in traffic court as his legal counsel. At the climax of the episode, Fred confronts the white traffic policeman who wrote Lamont the ticket. ''"Hey, look here,"'' Fred asks the policeman, ''"why don't you arrest any white people?"'' When the policeman answers, ''"Well I do,"'' Fred gestures to the court observers, who are all black, and asks, ''"Well where are they? Look at all the niggas in here!"'' Upon uttering this statement, the live studio audience went crazy with laughter and applause. Redd Foxx had to pause for the crowd to settle down before delivering the coup de grace: ''"There's enough niggas in here to make a Tarzan movie!"'' In the TV Land version of this episode, Fred's questioning of the policeman abruptly ends after ''"Well where are they?"'', evidently because the network feared viewers would be offended. This creates a kind of continuity problem, as viewers are left wondering why the (black) judge is so angry at Fred for having created so much commotion in the courtroom.

★ When Fred returned from St. Louis, his family and friends held a party for him, and at Rollo's request for "cheers", Fred responded, ''"Yippy yippy, yay yay, look who got out of jail today!"'' When Rollo asked for cheers again, Fred said, ''"Bim bam boom, somebody get this nigga outta my room!"''

★ In the episode "Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe", the show dealt with an old friend called Grip returning to meet Fred and claiming he was Lamont's true father. When he first presented the news to Esther (who had previously enjoyed his company), she jumped up and yelled, ''"What did you say, nigga?"'' The laugh following this was long and loud. In syndication, the line is altered to ''"What did you say, sucka?"''

★ In "Here Comes The Bride, There Goes The Bride", Fred also utters that the bride's family looks like a ''"bunch of jive niggas"'' (also edited/removed by TV Land).
All such scenes were restored in the DVD releases.
In Season 6, in the episode "Fred Meets Redd" (in which Fred Sanford meets Redd Foxx amidst a Redd Foxx Lookalike Contest held at NBC Studios), Fred reads in the newspaper that one element of the grand prize was a free ticket to see Foxx's (fictional) movie, ''Windows Are a Pane of the Glass''. However, if you look/listen closely, you will notice that Redd Foxx later overdubbed what he actually said during the taping: "''Windows Are a Pain of the Ass''," which clearly made Demond Wilson and Whitman Mayo laugh. The "windows" movie is a tongue-in-cheek reference to Foxx's demand to have windows for his office, a factor that had led to his temporary enstrangement at the end of Season 3.

References in media

★ Cult show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' often referenced Sanford and Son when "riffing" on a film. For example, if a junky old truck was shown onscreen, the characters sometimes launched into a rendition of the S&S theme song. Crow T. Robot (as voiced by Bill Corbett) was particularly notable for quipping "Elizabeth, I am coming. I am coming, Elizabeth" in a deadpan manner during a death scene, and also was fond of shouting "GRADY!" in a Fred Sanford-like voice, whenever a character onscreen said a word that sounded even the remotest bit like "Grady!"

★ On ''M.I.A.'s'' rap tune "Uraqt" she samples the riff and Sanford saying ''"You big dummy."''

★ In ''Will and Grace'', when Grace prepares for a competitive design title, she becomes extremely stressed, in the process trashing the apartment. When Will and Jack enter the apartment and discover the mess, they begin singing the theme of ''Sanford and Son'' and Will slaps Jack and says ''"shut up dummy!"''

★ In ''Friends'', when Chandler discovers Monica's extremely messy and disorganized closet, he shouts ''"I married Fred Sanford"'' and begins humming the theme tune of the show.

★ On the TV Show ''King of the Hill'', exterminator Dale Gribble's favorite television program is ''Sanford and Son'', and "The Streetbeater" is frequently heard. In the episode "The Texas Skilsaw Massacre", there is a Fred Sanford poster (pretending to have a heart attack and saying "I'm comin', Elizabeth) on his wall (hiding the end of Dale's tunnel to Hank's kitchen.)

★ In a Nike basketball commercial featuring LeBron James as "The Lebron's," Wise LeBron comments on Athlete LeBron's dunk saying, "Ain't been nothin' good like that since ''Sanford and Son''."

★ At the ''ECW One Night Stand'' PPV, wrestler John Bradshaw Layfield uses the ''"Elizabeth! This is the big one!"'' heart attack routine as a response to Paul Heyman's insulting shoot promo.

★ In ''World of Warcraft'', two orcs who run a salvage shop in Orgrimmar are based on Fred Sanford and his son Lamont, and are named Dran Droffers and Malton Droffers. Dran Droffers talks and acts like Fred Sanford, who runs a junk dealership similar to Fred's. Finally, "Dran Droffers" is an anagram of "Fred Sanford" and his son "Malton" of "Lamont".

★ In the Sierra On-Line game '' there are two junk dealers in the bazaar based upon Fred and Lamont. The character based upon Fred has a red fez and goes by the name An Forda, and refers to Lamont's character as his dummy son.

★ The television show ''Scrubs'' makes many references to ''Sanford and Son''. Both JD and Turk admit to ''Sanford and So''n being one of their favorite shows and the theme song can often be heard in the background of their apartment. Also Turk humms the theme of Sanford and Son in the episode "My Life in Four Cameras".

★ Nelly's song "Heart of a Champion" features a lyric saying ''"Do you hear that Elizabeth, here comes the big one!"'' when speaking about making money.

★ ''MADtv'' did a parody of ''Sanford and Son'' where Fred Sanford (Jordan Peele) goes searching for items left behind by victims of Hurricane Katrina.

★ ''Saturday Night Live'' did a parody of ''Sanford and Son'' on the Season 31 episode hosted by Tom Hanks where Fred Sanford and his son, Lamont, are Colin and Michael Powell (Colin was played by Kenan Thompson while Michael was played by Finesse Mitchell).

★ The theme song of ''Sanford and Son'' became a topic in the pilot episode of ''Malcolm & Eddie''. Tow truck driver Eddie Sherman (Eddie Griffin) ponders what ''Sanford's'' theme song would've sounded like if it had lyrics to it. A very memorable verse begins:
:: ''Fred Sanford''
:: ''Fred Sanford had a son and a truck''
:: ''And a son named Lamont...''
In addition, Eddie comes up with another verse, which includes the phrase "Shady Grady" a popular nickname of Grady Wilson.

★ On ''The Simpsons' episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", actor Troy McClure says to the audience, "You might remember me from such TV spinoffs as ''Son of Sanford and Son'' and ''AfterMannix''".

★ In the movie ''Shrek 2'', Donkey goes through the ''"This is the big one!"'' routine while being affected by the magic potion.

★ ''Masta Killa's song "Old Man" has O.D.B. saying in the background ''"you big dummy!"''

★ ''Ghostface Killah'' mentions the series in two of his songs. In "Ghostface" ("Under my wing like Sanford and Son") and "Shakey Dog" ("These fuckin' maricons on the couch watchin' ''Sanford and Son''")

★ In the movie ''Daredevil'', Foggy Nelson says that their office looks like the set from ''Sanford and Son'', and that he's waiting for Lamont to walk through the door.

★ In the 1997 film ''Metro'', when lead actor Eddie Murphy (portraying a police officer) is presented with his work vehicle--an older model red pickup truck that resembles the 1951 Ford F-1 used in the series--he makes the joke ''"Oh, come on, now. Who am I, Redd Foxx?"''

★ In an episode of ''Franny's Feet'', a PBS kids television show, Franny meets two magpies named Sanford and Grady who collect various odds and ends; their names are a reference to Fred Sanford and Grady Wilson and their hobby is a reference to the junk shop.

Cultural references in Sanford and Son

★ Fred's favorite song was "If I Didn't Care" by The Ink Spots. Redd Foxx paid the royalties for use of the song, and others by them, because he loved the group so much and because NBC wouldn't pay for it themselves, claiming the cost was too high. Fred sang the song (to growing audience enthusiasm) through the show's run, especially whenever he got in front of a television camera.

★ Fred's favorite television series was NBC's soap opera ''Days of our Lives'', which was mentioned in many episodes. In one episode, Fred explained to an acquaintance that he watched the drama about little Mike Horton's paternity play out over several years.

★ One of Fred's favorite athletes was Jackie Robinson; at one time Lamont referred to Fred having seen ''The Jackie Robinson Story'' numerous times.

★ Fred's favorite movies were monster movies. He frequently referred to Godzilla like movies staring a creature known as Gort. He also referred to horror films with patently fake titles, such as "Teenage Frankenstein Meets the Acne Doctor".

★ The instrumental theme song of ''Sanford and Son'' is called "The Streetbeater", and is written and performed by Quincy Jones, famous jazz musician and song writer. A long version is found on Quincy's ''Greatest Hits''.

★ Famous guests of the show include: Della Reese, B.B. King, Lena Horne and George Foreman. Many famous actors including Pat Morita, Nancy Kulp, Liam Dunn and Scatman Crothers also played roles from time to time.

★ The series was recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and was the only Lear-produced program that was produced there.

★ The truck driven in the series is a 1951 Ford, which is still functional as of July 2006 and used by its owner, Donald Dimmitt of Dimmitts Auto Salvage, a real-life junk dealer in Marshall County, Indiana.^[1]

References

1. http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/News01/607260319

External links

★

★ Fred Sanford Soundboard

★ epguides.com: "Sanford and Son"

★ "Sanford and Son" fan page

★ ''Sanford & Son'' on TVLand.com