Sanford and Son/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Ear Worm: The theme song.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Grady Wilson began as a guest character --played by a different actor-- and was then reimagined and eventually took over the show for a time when Redd Foxx walked. Aunt Esther (Fred's late wife's sister) first appeared in a second-season episode and essentially became a regular from that point forward.
  • Funny Aneurysm Moment: Redd Foxx's death from a real heart attack make Fred's fake ones hard to watch, let alone laugh at.
  • Seasonal Rot: The final season has its share of problems including a Vacation Episode in Hawaii that features Fred and Lamont running for their life from jewel thieves, a multitude of guest stars and an especially bizarre episode centered around Fred (played by Redd Foxx) entering a contest to meet his idol... Redd Foxx.
    • Arguably, the marker for the rot is the end of the third season, when Grady took over for Fred due to Red Foxx's contract negotiation problems. After that, the plots began to get more divorced from reality, the celebrity cameos became more common and the dreaded episodes with a message started getting made.
  • So Bad It's Good: As Sanford and Son progressed and rose higher in the ratings, Foxx used his newfound clout to force the producers into hiring his old "chitlin' circuit" colleagues (most of whom were NOT trained actors, and it showed) for roles on the series leading to Brother Chuck moments in the second season when sensible Aunt Ethel (another of Elizabeth's sisters played by Beah Richards), Slappy (Fred's original foil) and Officer Swanhauser (Smitty's original partner played by prolific sitcom director Noam Pitlik) were written out and replaced with over-the-top counterparts. However, the broad antics and occasional wooden line-readings are part of the charm of the series, and Redd Foxx picked up the slack admirably when needed.
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Julio Fuentes, Grady, Bubba and Aunt Esther