Sanford and Son is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son, which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to 1974.
Known for its edgy racial humor, running gags, and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC’s answer to CBS’s All in the Family. Sanford and Son has been hailed as the precursor to many other African-American sitcoms. It was a rating hit throughout its six-season run, finishing in the Nielsen top ten for five of those seasons.
While the role of Fred G. Sanford was known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, the role of Lamont Sanford was that of Fred’s long-suffering, conscientious, peacemaker son. At times, both characters involved themselves in schemes, usually as a means of earning cash quickly to pay off their various debts. Other colorful and unconventional characters on the show included Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Lawson.
Plot of the Sitcom
Sanford and Son stars Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford, a widower and junk dealer living at 9114 South Central Avenue in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and Demond Wilson as his son Lamont Sanford. In the show, Fred moved to South Central Los Angeles from his hometown St. Louis during his youth.
After the show premiered in 1972, newspapers touted Foxx as NBC’s answer to Archie Bunker, the bigoted white protagonist of All in the Family. Both shows were adapted by Norman Lear from BBC programs. Sanford and Son was adapted from Steptoe and Son and All in the Family from Till Death Us Do Part.
An earlier pilot for an American version of Steptoe and Son was produced by Joseph E. Levine in 1965. It starred Lee Tracy and Aldo Ray as Albert and Harold Steptoe. This version was unscreened and did not lead to a series. The pilot was released on DVD in the UK in 2018.
Characters
Fred Sanford
Redd Foxx plays Fred G. Sanford, portraying him as a sarcastic, streetwise, irascible schemer whose frequent get-rich-quick ideas routinely backfired. His son Lamont longs for independence but loves his father too much to move out and leave him unsupervised. Though each owns an equal share in the business, Lamont often finds himself doing all the work and demanding that his father contribute to the effort, which he rarely does. Fred often insults his son, usually calling him “dummy”. Despite their disagreements, the two share a close bond and regularly come to each other’s aid.
Fred’s wife Elizabeth died before the events of the series, around 1950. In a running gag in the series, during times of distress, Fred looks up (as to heaven) with his hand across his chest, faking a heart attack and saying, “This is the big one, Elizabeth! I’m coming to join ya, honey,” but Lamont knows that it is merely a dramatic ploy. Fred raised Lamont alone and misses Elizabeth deeply.
Fred Sanford was named after Foxx’s real-life brother Fred Sanford, Jr.
Lamont Sanford
Demond Wilson plays Lamont Sanford, Fred’s son who has little patience for his father’s antics. Lamont sometimes receives his comeuppance for disdaining his father’s habits. He is occasionally shown as naïve and foolish, for example, being cheated by a group of card sharps and falling for a scam involving an antique commode. Lamont continuously seeks to rise above his station and experience life outside of the junkyard.
Fred says that his son was named Lamont Lomax, a pitcher for the Homestead Grays. In one episode, Lamont asks why he has no middle name, and Fred tells him that Lamont is his middle name because Fred and Elizabeth had never decided on a first name. However, in the third episode of the first season, Lamont is revealed to be named Lamont Grady Sanford.
Sanford and Son was enormously popular during most of its run and was one of the top 10 highest-rated series on American television from its first season (1972) through the 1975–76 season.
Sanford and Son put enough of a dent into the audience of ABC’s The Brady Bunch to drive it off the air in 1974. Sanford and Son peaked at No. 2 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1972–73 season and the 1974–75 season and the series was second only to All in the Family in ratings during those years. By the 1974–75 season, Sanford and Son’s lead-in helped the entire NBC Friday night lineup place in the coveted bracket of the Top 15 shows (Chico and the Man, following Sanford and Son at 8:30 p.m., ranked No. 3 for the season, while the police dramas The Rockford Files and Police Woman, which aired later in the evening, ranked at No. 12 and No. 15 respectively).
The show’s ratings dipped substantially in its final season, though it was still quite popular at the time of its cancellation.
In 2007, Time magazine included the show on its list of the “100 Best TV Shows of All Time”.
Theme music
Titled “The Streetbeater”, the theme music was composed by Quincy Jones through A&M Records and released on record in 1973. Although the song did not reach Billboard status, it has maintained mainstream popularity and is featured on Jones’s greatest hits album.[9] The song has also been featured on series such as Scrubs and The Simpsons.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released all six seasons of Sanford and Son on Region 1 DVD between August 2002 and June 2005, with a Complete Series box set following in 2008.