11. FRED SANG ALONG TO THE INK SPOTS BECAUSE FOXX WAS A HUGE FAN.
Foxx was initially an aspiring singer.
12. FOXX WALKED OFF THE SHOW DURING SEASON THREE.
For the final six episodes of the third season, Grady was put in charge of the business while Fred Sanford was in St. Louis attending his cousin’s funeral because Foxx had walked off the show. Foxx and his physician claimed the actor was suffering from “nervous exhaustion, claustrophobia, and calcification between the fifth and sixth vertebrae in his back” thanks to the show, and his marriage of 17 years was falling apart because of his busy schedule. NBC and Tandem Productions claimed Foxx “appeared at the studio flaunting a pearl-handled revolver” and had already received a salary bump up to $25,000 an episode, from his initial $6000. Tandem Productions sued Foxx and Wilson—who had joined Foxx at the start of season four out of solidarity—for $10 million, claiming breach of contract.
13. THERE were A FAILED SPINOFF AND TWO FAILED REVIVALS.
Before Sanford and Son ended its run, Grady moved out of Watts and in with his daughter in Westwood in Grady (1975-1976), a spinoff that lasted just 10 episodes.
After Sanford and Son ended 1977, NBC tried to keep the party going without Foxx, who left to do a variety show on ABC, and Wilson, who refused to keep the show going due to a salary dispute. In Sanford Arms, Phil Wheeler (Theodore Wilson) moved into Fred and Lamont’s house after the two moved to Arizona. Phil and his two teenage children attempted to turn the rooming house next door into a successful hotel. Grady, Bubba (Don Bexley), and Esther also appeared. It lasted for four episodes.
Sanford(1980-1981) brought back Foxx, but Wilson again refused to reprise his role. The events of Sanford Arms were ignored, and this time Lamont left to work on the Alaska Pipeline. He was replaced in the business by Cal Pettie (Dennis Burkley), an optimistic Texan. NBC canceled it after 19 episodes, burning off the final seven over the summer of 1981.
14. THE SANFORD AND SON SALVAGE TRUCK WAS PURCHASED FOR $3500.
Foxx had kept the 1951 Ford F1 at his own Las Vegas home after the original series ended, returning it briefly to NBC for Sanford. At an auction, Bill Milks bought it, and Donald Dimmitt of Dimmitt’s Salvage in Argos, Indiana purchased it from Milks in 1987 for $3500.
15. WHEN FOXX SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK ON THE SET OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, HIS CO-STARS THOUGHT HE WAS DOING THE BIT FROM SANFORD AND SON.
Foxx collapsed on October 11, 1991, during rehearsals for his new sitcom, The Royal Family. “They were rehearsing on the set and clowning around, and Redd was sort of breaking people up when he collapsed,” a spokeswoman for the show told The Los Angeles Times. “They all thought he was joking around at first, and then they called the paramedics.”
Credits: mentalfloss.com