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Grady Demond Wilson, the actor best known for playing Lamont Sanford on the popular 1970s series “Sanford and Son,” has died at his home in California, according to The New York Times. He was 79.
His son, Christopher Wilson, said his father had prostate cancer.
“Sanford and Son” premiered on NBC in January 1972 and starred comedian Redd Foxx, who played the sharp-tongued junk dealer Fred Sanford. But Wilson’s Lamont provided the show’s emotional backbone — a frustrated, quick-tempered son constantly at odds with his father while keeping their messy world from collapsing.
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Demond Wilson starred as Lamont Sanford in “Sanford and Son.” (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Wilson’s character became the grounding force of the series, forever fuming at his father’s “you big dummy” digs.
While Foxx’s Fred thrived on theatrics and biting insults, Wilson’s Lamont was the show’s grounding force. The hotheaded, exasperated son snapped back with lines like, “You’ll have to excuse my father,” “Are you sure about that, Pop?” and “Hey, Pop! I’m home,” keeping the chaos in check while carrying the emotional weight of the series.
Storylines often revolved around Lamont’s frustrations and ambitions, and Wilson’s performance gave the comedy its balance — a balance that helped turn “Sanford and Son” into a cultural phenomenon.
The series ran six seasons, consistently ranking among Nielsen’s top 10 shows for its first five years and landing in the top five three times. In a 1972 feature with Ebony magazine titled “Sanford and Son: Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson Wake Up TV’s Jaded Audience,” the publication hailed Wilson as “excellent.”
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Don Bexley, Whitman Mayo, Demond Wilson, Redd Foxx, Nathaniel Taylor, Lynn Hamilton and LaWanda Page are seen in an episode of “Sanford and Son.” (BCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Image)
Reflecting on his breakthrough role, Wilson told Ebony at the time, “For me, it’s like graduating from school.”
Born Grady Demond Wilson on Oct. 13, 1946, in Valdosta, Georgia, Wilson grew up in Harlem, the son of a tailor and a school dietitian. He studied dance and theater from an early age, appearing on Broadway before making his screen debut in 1971.
That year, he appeared in Norman Lear’s “All in the Family” as one of two burglars — alongside Cleavon Little — who held Archie Bunker hostage while delivering pointed commentary on poverty, policing and race. Wilson’s other film credits included Sidney Poitier’s crime drama “The Organization” and the counterculture film “Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues.”
Even as “Sanford and Son” dominated ratings, tension simmered offscreen.
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Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford and Demond Wilson as Lamont Sanford. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Foxx temporarily walked out in 1974 over a contract dispute, and the series ended in spring 1977 with Fred and Lamont still locked in their fiery dynamic.
Wilson later starred in “Baby … I’m Back!” and “The New Odd Couple,” though neither matched the cultural staying power of his breakout role.
A ruptured appendix nearly ended Wilson’s life at age 12, a moment he later called transformative. From that day forward, faith guided him. He was raised Roman Catholic but was shaped by Pentecostal worship with his grandmother. He was ordained in the 1980s as a minister in the Church of God in Christ, dedicating himself to preaching and evangelism.
He also pursued writing, publishing “The New Age Millennium: An Exposé of Symbols, Slogans and Hidden Agendas,” his memoir “Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memoirs of the Sanford & Son Years” and several children’s books.
Wilson died of prostate cancer, his son shared. (Bobby Bank/WireImage via Getty Images)
Acting remained part of his life, with appearances in “Me and the Kid,” “Hammerlock,” a recurring role on UPN’s “Girlfriends,” and his final performance in “Eleanor’s Bench” in 2023.
Wilson was candid about his view of Hollywood.
“We’ve left the rat race and false people behind,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 1986. Reflecting on his acting career, he said, “It wasn’t challenging. And it was emotionally exhausting because I had to make it appear that I was excited about what I was doing.” In 2023, he emphasized, “Hollywood doesn’t mean anything to me. I went to a factory. For me, that’s what it was — a business. I didn’t belong there.”
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Wilson married model Cicely Johnston in 1974.
He is survived by Johnston, along with their six children — Christopher, Nicole, Melissa, Sarah, Tabatha and Demond Jr. — and two grandchildren.
Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.
