Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son is a show about an African American father and son who own a junkyard. The main characters are Fred G. Sanford (Redd Foxx) and Lamont Sanford (Demond Wilson). The men live together in a beat up house full of junk. Fred and Lamont depend on each other a great deal. Fred is a widow and Lamont, though grown, has never been married.

Lamont wants a life of his own and continually tries to break-free from Fred. Fred always seems to win in the end though. Lamont has a great deal of love for his father, but does not understand his often bigoted ways. For instance, Fred is ever ready with a snide comment about the Puerto Rican that lives next door. Fred has an ongoing battle with his sister-in-law Esther (LaWanda Page), which makes for the shows funniest moments.

Lamont and Fred buy and sell junk in order to survive. They live in a rough neighborhood in South Central, Los Angeles, California. The show was filmed from 1972 to 1977. Television shows such as this were generally geared towards bringing about public awareness about bigotry and hatred. Sanford and Son is a comedy that covered very serious issues of the day.

Lamont is more enlightened than Fred about the world they live in. He pushes his father to open his mind and heart to other cultures, but generally fails miserably at actually changing Fred's opinion. Lamont is the one with the level-headedness to keep the business running smoothly. If he catches Fred attempting to get rich quick, he puts a stop to it as fast as possible. In reality, Lamont runs the business, including finding and buying junk to sell.

Fred is, for all intents and purposes, retired from the business. That does not stop him from constantly coming up with new ways to make fast cash. He would, if not for Lamont, con every person who walked through the door. He ultimately gets caught and reprimanded by his honest son. Fred often tries to make his son feel guilty by grabbing his heart and acting as though he is having a heart attack. As he grabs his heart, he yells out, Elizabeth, I coming. It is one of the most famous and beloved longstanding quotes throughout the show's history.

All in all, Sanford and Son is an excellent comedic show to watch. The content can be a little too involved for small children to watch though. It was a genius weekly sitcom that thrives as one of America's most beloved television shows.