2009 Black History Month: Favorite Black TV Characters (#23)

By: Luke Florence

My Favorite Black TV Characters

#23 - February 6th - Redd Foxx as "Fred Sanford" - "Sanford and Son"

There has to be something special about a show that ended eight years before I was even born, to have a character off of said show make this list. That special character was Fred Sanford, from the 1970s hit show Sanford and Son. The premise was simple. Fred and his son, Lamont, owned a junk yard. From Fred scamming up ways to make money, to his interactions with Lamont's Aunt Esther, laughs were always present.

Watching re-runs on television from an early age, I became an instant fan of Redd Foxx. The timing of his humor was impeccable, his fearlessness of not being politically correct was cutting edge, and his one-liners will never be forgotten. Sanford and Son was well ahead of its time, and a big part of that came from Foxx's character, Fred Sanford. There has never been another show like it, and there never will be. Sanford and Son was a classic.

One way of determining how great a show was, is to see how many other shows pay homage to it. The list of current and former television shows that have referenced Sanford and Son are a mile long. They include, but are not limited to, Scrubs, King of Queens, Friends, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and That 70s Show. Not a bad lineup at all.

The biggest reason I enjoyed Fred Sanford was because his comedy had no limits. He was crude, stubborn, sarcastic, and didn't care. He said what was on his mind, and whatever came out usually had me rolling. One of his patented phrases was calling his son Lamont "a big dummy," and faking heart-attacks on a regular basis, yelling, "Here I come Elizabeth (his wife who died before the series started), this is the big one!"

And how about the theme song? It is considered, by TV critics, as one of the most memorable theme songs in the history of television. I searched high and low for a clip, but could not find it. My apologies.

But, at the end of the day, Fred was loyal to Lamont. Their father-and-son relationship was special, sacred and strong. Even though they butted heads constantly, they would always end up stronger at the end of it all. At the very core, this was a show about the father-son bond.

What hurts Redd Foxx's ranking on this list is that I haven't watched Sanford and Son in quite some time. It has probably been at least a decade. But make no mistake, his presence on this list was no accident.

Hint for #22: This guy is the Michael Jordan of reality TV physical challenges.

As always, please make sure to read Barnes' blog (over on my sidebar) to get his take on my list.

Until tomorrow, "read it, roll it, hole it."