Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son
Genre	Sitcom
Based on	Steptoe and Son by Ray Galton Alan Simpson
Developed by	Bud Yorkin Norman Lear (uncredited)
Starring	Redd Foxx Demond Wilson
Theme music composer	Quincy Jones
Opening theme	"The Streetbeater"
Composer	Quincy Jones
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	136 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Bud Yorkin Norman Lear (uncredited)
Producers	Aaron Ruben (1972–1974) Bernie Orenstein and Saul Turteltaub (1974–1977)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22–24 minutes
Production company	Tandem Productions
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	January 14, 1972 (1972-01-14) – March 25, 1977 (1977-03-25)
Related
Sanford Arms Sanford Steptoe and Son Grady

Sanford and Son is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC 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 racial humor, running gags, and catchphrases, the series was adapted by Norman Lear and considered NBC's response to CBS' All in the Family. Sanford and Son has been hailed as the precursor to many other black American sitcoms. It was a hit through its six-season run, finishing in the Nielsen top ten for five times.

The series follows Fred G. Sanford, known for his bigotry and cantankerousness, and Lamont Sanford, his long-suffering, conscientious, peacemaker son. Both characters are occasionally involved in get-rich-quick schemes to pay off their various debts.

The show also includes characters Aunt Esther, Grady Wilson, Bubba Bexley, and Rollo Lawson.

Plot

Fred (seated) and Lamont Sanford

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 programmes. 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

Main

• Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford
• Demond Wilson as Lamont Sanford

Recurring

• LaWanda Page as Esther Anderson
• Whitman Mayo as Grady Wilson
• Nathaniel Taylor as Rollo Lawson
• Lynn Hamilton as Donna Harris
• Gregory Sierra as Julio Fuentes
• Pat Morita as Ah Chew
• Howard Platt as Officer Howard "Hoppy" Hopkins
• Hal Williams as Officer "Smitty" Smith
• Noam Pitlik as Officer "Swanny" Swanhauser
• Nancy Kulp as May Hopkins
• Marlene Clark as Janet Lawson
• Slappy White as Melvin
• Leroy Daniels and Ernest 'Skillet' Mayhand as Leroy & Skillet
• Matthew "Stymie" Beard as Otis Littlejohn
• Arnold Johnson as George "Hutch" Hutton
• Davis Roberts as Dr. Caldwell
• James Wheaton as Nelson B. Davis
• Alvin Childress as Reverend Trimble
• Mary Alice as Frances Victor
• Allan Drake as Rodney Victor

Episodes

Main article: List of Sanford and Son episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired		Rank	Rating
			First aired	Last aired
1	14		January 14, 1972 (1972-01-14)	April 14, 1972 (1972-04-14)	6	25.2
2	24		September 15, 1972 (1972-09-15)	March 16, 1973 (1973-03-16)	2	27.6
3	24		September 14, 1973 (1973-09-14)	March 29, 1974 (1974-03-29)	3	27.5
4	25		September 13, 1974 (1974-09-13)	April 25, 1975 (1975-04-25)	2	29.6
5	24		September 12, 1975 (1975-09-12)	March 19, 1976 (1976-03-19)	7	24.4
6	25		September 24, 1976 (1976-09-24)	March 25, 1977 (1977-03-25)	27	20.3

Reception and cancellation

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".

Ratings

Sanford and Son was a ratings hit through its six-season run on NBC. Despite airing in the so-called Friday night death slot, it managed to peak at No. 2 in the ratings (behind All in the Family, and ranked less than one ratings point behind All in the Family during the 1974–75 season).

Season	Time slot (ET)	Rank	Rating	Households
1971–72	Friday at 8:00-8:30 PM	No. 6	25.2	15,649,200
1972–73		No. 2	27.6	17,884,800
1973–74		No. 3	27.5	18,205,000
1974–75		No. 2	29.6	20,276,000
1975–76		No. 7	24.4 (Tied with Rhoda)	16,982,400
1976–77	Friday at 8:00-8:30 PM (Episodes 1, 3–11, 13–25) Friday at 8:30-9:00 PM (Episode 2) Tuesday at 8:00-8:30 PM (Episode 12)	No. 27	20.3	14,453,600

Production notes

The series was produced by Norman Lear's and Bud Yorkin's Tandem Productions, which was also responsible for All in the Family. The two shows 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. However, Sanford and Son differed from All in the Family and other Norman Lear shows of the era in that it lacked the element of drama. Sanford and Son helped to redefine the genre of black situation comedy.

Because of Lear's commitments to his other concurrent series, and the distance between NBC Studios in Burbank where Sanford and Son were taped and the Hollywood locations of other Tandem shows, such as All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, and One Day at a Time, which were recorded at CBS Television City or Metromedia Square, he did not have as much day-to-day involvement with Sanford and Son as with the other Tandem series, leaving the show-running to Yorkin.

While taping episodes for the 1973–74 season, Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute, though he cited health issues. His character was written out of the series for the remaining six episodes of the season, and it was explained that Fred Sanford was away in St. Louis attending his cousin's funeral, with friend Grady (Whitman Mayo) in charge of the home. Foxx, who had been earning $19,000 per episode, equivalent to $130,408 in 2023, sought a 25% ownership stake in the series. Tandem Productions fought back with a $10 million lawsuit. The dispute was resolved in June 1974, with Foxx receiving $25,000, equivalent to $171,589 in 2023, per episode, to equal Carroll O'Connor's All in the Family pay, plus 25% of the producers' net profits.

Although Foxx was still absent for production of the first three shows of Season 4, NBC aired his return as the season premiere and delayed showing the previously taped episodes. In 1977, rival network ABC lured Foxx away with a large sum to host his variety show, The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, ending Sanford and Son, which had been gradually declining in the ratings. The media reported that the dispute between Foxx and NBC was over the lack of a dressing-room window.

An exterior shot of the NBC Burbank lot was featured in the Season 5 episode "Steinberg and Son". The storefront, seen only in the opening credits, stood at 10659 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, nearly 16 miles from the Sanfords' fictitious 9114 South Central Avenue address in Watts. This same storefront, minus the "Sanford and Son" sign, can also be seen in Emergency! in a 1973 episode titled "Alley Cat".

The pickup truck depicted in the series is a 1951 Ford F1. It was purchased at auction after the series ended and was later leased back to NBC for the spin-off shows Sanford Arms and Sanford. It has changed hands a few times over the years, eventually purchased by a real-life junk dealer, Donald Dimmitt of Dimmitt's Auto Salvage, in Argos, Indiana. In 2014, the truck was purchased from Dimmitt's by Tim Franko and Jeff Canter, owners of BlueLine Classics, a classic car dealership in North Royalton, Ohio, who restored the truck to its true condition as seen on the TV series and currently display it in the dealership's showroom. It has since been on display in locations within Cleveland.

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. The song has been featured on series such as Scrubs and The Simpsons.

Legacy

After the series was canceled in 1977, a short-lived continuation featuring the supporting characters titled Sanford Arms aired. Whitman Mayo starred in a short-lived spin-off series, Grady, during the 1975–1976 season.

In 1980–1981, Foxx attempted to revive the show with another short-lived series titled Sanford, but Demond Wilson refused to reprise his role as Lamont Sanford for the new series.

Home media

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.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
First Season	14	August 6, 2002
Second Season	24	February 4, 2003
Third Season	24	October 7, 2003
Fourth Season	25	March 30, 2004
Fifth Season	24	September 14, 2004
Sixth and Final Season	25	June 7, 2005
Complete Series	136	October 28, 2008

External links

• Sanford and Son at IMDb
• Sanford and Son at epguides.com