Nearly 50 years after its final episode, EW is revisiting the stars of one of the defining sitcoms of the 1970s.

What happened to the Sanford and Son cast? See what became of the influential sitcom’s stars

Nearly 50 years after its final episode, EW is revisiting the stars of one of the defining sitcoms of the 1970s.

June 30, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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The 'Sanford and Son' cast' in 1974's 'The Surprise Party,' kicking off season 4. Credit:

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Although it was based on the British sitcom *Steptoe and Son*, it’s fair to say *Sanford and Son *quickly became its own thing as a result of its star — stand-up comedian turned actor Redd Foxx. With his incomparable voice and delivery, not to mention his way with timing, Foxx and costar Demond Wilson took the show into the upper reaches of the Nielsen ratings.

*Sanford and Son* ran for six seasons, spawning two spinoffs (*Grady* and *Sanford Arms*) as well as a sequel series (*Sanford*). While none managed to match the success of the original, they helped keep its memory alive beyond its original run. Even now, the series continues to be popular on streaming services and syndication.

All the cast members have passed away by now, but ** is taking a look at where their careers took them after the conclusion of *Sanford and Son*.

Redd Foxx (Fred Sanford)

Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford / Foxx on 'The Royal Family' in 1991.

Everett; CBS via Getty

Redd Foxx put the “Sanford” in *Sanford and Son*, playing Fred, co-owner of a junk store and salvage yard in Watts, Calif., with his son, Lamont. The combination of racial humor, father-and-son dynamics, and Foxx’s delivery made the series a hit, successfully transforming the popular comic into a full-fledged actor.

Foxx was already a legendary figure on the stand-up circuit. He began forging an acting career with *Cotton Comes to Harlem *(1970) before his sitcom made him a bona fide TV star. As the series began winding to a close, he scored his first big-screen leading role in *Norman… Is That You?* (1976), alongside Pearl Bailey.

For the most part, however, the St. Louis native stuck with stand-up and television. After *Sanford and Son* concluded its run in 1977, he spent a season hosting his own variety show, *The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour*, after which he revived his Fred Sanford character for *Sanford*, which ran for two seasons and 26 episodes.

In 1986, Foxx returned to television to headline *The Redd Foxx Show*, playing Al Hughes, a NYC newsstand owner who adopts a teenage girl (Pamela Adlon), but the series only lasted 13 episodes. He later teamed with Dick Van Dyke for the TV movie *Ghost of a Chance*, then joined forces with Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor for the former’s directorial debut, *Harlem Nights *(1989).

The legendary comic’s last credit was the CBS series *The Royal Family*, which Murphy created and which reunited Foxx with his *Harlem Nights* costar Della Reese. During the show's first season, however, Foxx suffered a heart attack during a rehearsal in late 1991 and died at the hospital. He was 68.

Demond Wilson (Lamont Sanford)

Demond Wilson as Lamont / Wilson at the Chiller Theater Expo in 2016.

Everett; Bobby Bank/WireImage

Demond Wilson played Lamont, Fred’s only son, otherwise known as “you big dummy.” While there’s no question about his love for his father, Lamont has limited tolerance for Fred’s loud mouth and frequent shenanigans, and he isn’t afraid to express his annoyance.

Wilson started his acting career after returning from his U.S. Army stint in Vietnam, first in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions, then stepping in front of the camera for films like *The Organization* (1971) and *Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues* (1972). He also appeared in episodes of *Mission: Impossible* and *All in the Family*.

It was the latter series — and producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin — that led to Wilson being cast on *Sanford and Son*. Indeed, he even served as the sole lead in 1974 when Foxx walked off the series over a salary dispute. When the star left the show altogether in 1977, Wilson was offered the opportunity to take over again as sole lead.

He declined that offer, however, and with good reason: He’d already secured a deal for his own CBS series, *Baby… I’m Back!* Alas, the midseason replacement only lasted for 13 episodes before the network gave the show its walking papers.

The Georgia native bounced back in 1982 when he was given the chance to act alongside former *Barney Miller* star Ron Glass in *The New Odd Couple*, tackling the Oscar Madison role. This, too, was short-lived, getting canceled after one season, and Wilson stepped away from acting for a number of years, focusing instead on writing Christian books.

He popped back up on the radar in 2004 for a handful of episodes of the UPN sitcom *Girlfriends* and later toured in the play *The Measure of a Man* with Nina Nicole. His last credited onscreen appearance was a handful of episodes of the drama series *Eleanor’s Bench*.

Wilson was 79 when he died of complications from prostate cancer in 2026. He was survived by his wife of 52 years, Cicely Johnston, and their six children.

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LaWanda Page (Aunt Esther)

LaWanda Page as Aunt Esther / Page at a screening of 'The Original Kings of Comedy' in 2000.

Everett; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

As Aunt Esther, LaWanda Page played Fred’s nemesis to perfection, being the butt of his one-liners yet regularly showing she could give as good as she got.

Page was already well known in the stand-up world, having been described as both “The Black Queen of Comedy” and simply “The Queen of Comedy.” It’s also worth mentioning, for those who don’t already know it, that Page worked “blue,” as was the phrase back then — which in her later career often shocked those who only knew her from *Sanford and Son*.

The acclaimed comedian was actually on the cusp of retiring from show business before Foxx called and asked her to read for the part of Aunt Esther, a decision that completely changed the course of her career. In addition to *Sanford and Son*, Page returned for both spinoffs. In between, she appeared in episodes of *Starsky and Hutch* and *Diff’rent Strokes* and became a regular on *Detective School*.

The Cleveland native also revived her stand-up career, recording two albums during her Sanford run: *Watch It, Sucker!* and *Sane Advice*.

In her post-*Sanford* career, Page expanded her film résumé with the Scott Baio/Willie Aames comedy *Zapped!*. In addition to the horror film *Mausoleum *(1983), she later made appearances in a wide variety of comedies, including *My Blue Heaven *(1990), *Shakes the Clown *(1991), *CB4 *(1993), *Friday *(1995), and the Wayans family’s *Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood *(1996).

She also continued to book guest work on such series as *Family Matters*, *Martin*, and *Dream On*. Perhaps most interestingly, she contributed spoken word to a handful of songs on RuPaul’s 1993 debut album, *Supermodel of the World*, including the hit single “Supermodel (You Better Work).”

Following complications from diabetes, Page died of a heart attack in 2002. She was 81 years old.

Don Bexley (Bubba Bexley)

Don Bexley as Bubba in season 6 / Bexley as Bubba in season 4.

Everett; NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Don Bexley played Fred's pal, Bubba. It was his breakout television role. Prior to that, he prospered as a stand-up comedian, working with such notable names as Milton Berle and Henny Youngman and, perhaps most impressively, becoming one of the first Black stand-ups to do the hotel circuit in the Borscht Belt.

Bexley first worked with Foxx on *Cotton Comes to Harlem*, a team-up that spurred the latter to sway producers to hire Bexley for* Sanford and Son*.

During the show’s run, the veteran comic also appeared in the film *Sparkle *(1976). Once the series concluded, he continued to work steadily, popping up in episodes of *Laverne & Shirley*, *Cheers*, *Hill Street Blues*, *T.J. Hooker*, and *Hunter*, as well as the Jeff Goldblum / Cyndi Lauper film *Vibes *(1988).

One of his later TV roles was an episode of *The Royal Family*, appearing as an old friend of Foxx’s character, Al Royal, who attends Al’s funeral. (Appropriately, Bexley was an honorary pallbearer at Foxx’s actual funeral.)

After injuring his hip in 1996, Bexley left Los Angeles and moved to Virginia to live with a friend who served as his caregiver. He died of heart and kidney failure in 1997 at age 87.

Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson)

Whitman Mayo as Grady / Mayo in his spinoff, 'Grady'.

NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty (2)

Fred had many friends, but arguably none made a more substantial impact than Grady, played by Whitman Mayo. It’s a reasonable argument to make, given that he’s the only supporting character who scored his own sitcom (short-lived though it may have been), and the only one who appeared in two *further* spinoffs of the series.

Mayo was predominantly a stage actor until Norman Lear saw him at the New Lafayette Theater in New York City and offered him the role of Grady. In between *Sanford Arms* and *Sanford*, he appeared in the Barbra Streisand/Ryan O’Neal rom-com *The Main Event* (1979) and on episodes of *Starsky and Hutch*, *Vega$*, *Diff’rent Strokes*, and *Lou Grant*.

*After Sanford*, he continued to split his time between TV (*Hill Street Blues*, *In the Heat of the Night*, *Full House*) and films including *D.C. Cab* (1983) and *Boyz n the Hood* (1991).

The New York native gained renewed popularity in 1996 when Conan O’Brien went on a quest to have him appear on *Late Night*, even setting up a “Grady Hotline.” The bit paid off: Mayo appeared on the show to rapturous applause. He went on to appear in episodes of *The Cape*, *Kenan & Kel*, and *ER*.

Mayo was 70 when he died of a heart attack in 2001 at — wait for it — Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta.

Nathaniel Taylor (Rollo Larson)

Nathaniel Taylor as Rollo / Taylor at the Chiller Theater Expo Winter in 2017.

NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty; Bobby Bank/Getty

Nathaniel Taylor played Lamont's buddy Rollo, an ex-con Fred regularly believed was still a criminal despite his claims to the contrary.

Taylor also reprised his role on two of its spinoffs — *Sanford* and *Grady* — and briefly re-teamed with Foxx for a few episodes of *The Redd Foxx Show* before his character was recast.

Taylor had actually been an electrician before becoming an actor, but after landing the starring role in the 1969 TV movie *Listen to the Man*, he began pursuing acting full time. He appeared in episodes of *The Bold Ones* and *The Bill Cosby Show* as well as the films *Trouble Man* (1972) and *Black Girl* (1972) before securing *Sanford and Son*.

He also appeared in *Willie Dynamite* (1973), *Passing Through *(1977), and Steve McQueen’s final film, *The Hunter *(1980). His ’70s TV resume includes appearances on *Adam-12*, *Harry O*, and *Police Story*.

Later in his career, the St. Louis native had a recurring role on *What’s Happening!!* and booked a 1985 episode of *227*. In 1986, however, he was arrested in L.A. on burglary charges. After that, he stopped acting, but opened a performing arts studio for young actors.

Taylor died due to complications from a heart attack in 2019 at the age of 80. He was survived by his wife, Loretta, and seven children.

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Lynn Hamilton (Donna Harris)

Lynn Hamilton as Donna / Hamilton at the 40th anniversary of 'The Waltons' in 2011.

Everett; Bennett Raglin/Getty

Although she first appeared on the show as a landlady named Miss May Hopkins, Lynn Hamilton is best known for playing Fred's staggeringly tolerant girlfriend (and occasional fiancée), Donna Harris. The character was also a nurse, which proved useful whenever Fred claimed to be having a heart attack.

Hamilton got her start on Broadway in the 1959 production of *Only in America* and later performed Shakespeare for producer Joseph Papp. But it wasn’t until the early ’70s that she started making a concerted effort to shift to on-camera work.

After performances in such films as *Brother John *(1971), *Buck and the Preacher *(1972), and *Lady Sings the Blues *(1972), Hamilton landed her role on *Sanford and Son*.

In addition, she was a recurring presence on *The Waltons *from 1973–1981 as Verdie Foster while also appearing in the films *Hangup* (1974) and *Leadbelly* (1976).

The Mississippi native continued to work steadily throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, particularly in the soap operas *Dangerous Women* and *Generations*. She also had guest spots in everything from *227 *and *Moesha *to *NYPD Blue *and *The Practice*.

Hamilton died in 2025 at the age of 95.

Where can I watch Sanford and Son?

*Sanford and Son* is currently available to stream on Peacock and Tubi.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”