Comedy Legends Codexery

Redd Foxx

Stand-up comedian and actor known for Sanford and Son.

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Redd Foxx

Coast Artists Inc. (management); photographer: John E. Reed, Hollywood. · via Wikipedia: Redd Foxx · Public domain

On the sitcom Sanford and Son, Foxx played the character Fred G. Sanford, and he also earned the nickname "King of the Party Records."[1]

Key facts and history

Foxx was raised on Chicago's South Side by his mother, grandmother, and a minister after his father left the family.[2] Foxx dodged the World War II draft by eating soap to cause heart palpitations before his physical.[3] Foxx won a Golden Globe Award for his role on Sanford and Son and received three additional nominations.[4][5] He filed for bankruptcy in 1983, and the IRS seized his Las Vegas home and vehicles in 1989.[6][7]

Foxx was a student at DuSable High School in Chicago alongside Harold Washington, who later became the city's mayor.[2] During the 1940s, Foxx became acquainted with Malcolm Little (who later changed his name to Malcolm X) when both were employed washing dishes in Harlem.[1] Dinah Washington, a singer, urged Foxx to relocate to Los Angeles, and after he did, Dootsie Williams saw his performance, which led to his major career breakthrough.[8] The NBC network first aired Sanford and Son on January 14, 1972, and the show continued for six seasons.[9]

What the cited sources add

The same source states that TV producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin discovered Foxx after seeing his performance in the film Cotton Comes to Harlem.[10] According to a Q&A with Demond Wilson, Wilson saw Foxx only once after Sanford and Son ended, circa 1983, and found him "less than affable."[11] Wilson stated he had no animosity toward Foxx for quitting the show, but was hurt that he learned about it from a newscaster.[11] A People magazine article reports that Foxx once earned $4 million in a single year but lost his fortune through lavish spending and bad management.[12][13]

According to the awards database, Foxx received a Golden Globe award in 1973 and was nominated for the same award in 1974, 1975, and 1976.[5]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ravo, "Redd Foxx, Cantankerous Master of Bawdy Humor, Is Dead at 68", The New York Times, October 13, 1991 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Starr, "Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story", Applause Theatre & Cinema, September 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Starr, "Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story", Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, 2011 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Redd Foxx", GoldenGlobes.org; "Redd Foxx", Emmys.com; St. Louis Walk of Fame, "St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees", stlouiswalkoffame.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. "Redd Foxx", GoldenGlobes.org. facts only, no text reused. goldenglobes.com
  6. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "After the IRS Comes to Collect, An Angry Redd Foxx Starts Playing to An Empty House", December 18, 1989 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Stars and their Foreign Cars", Johnson Publishing Company, September 1976 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Goodman, "Redd Foxx exits, laughing", People, October 28, 1991 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Fear Redd Foxx Has Blown His Wife, TV Show", Jet, May 9, 1974, p. 12 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Rich, "Sanford and Son", October 9, 1998. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
  11. "Q&A With Demond Wilson", BeachcomberDestin.com, January 15, 2014. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Redd Foxx" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "TV's Redd Foxx Divorce Trial Set For Jan. 6; His Costs Soar To $150,000", Jet, December 5, 1974, p. 15; "Redd Foxx Must Pay Wife Until Divorce Trial", Jet, August 13, 1981, p. 53; "Redd Foxx To Pay Ex-Wife $300,000 After Divorce", Jet, October 1, 1981, p. 56 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Goodman, "Redd Foxx exits, laughing", People, October 28, 1991. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Redd Foxx (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In which place was Redd Foxx born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is St. Louis, Missouri, U.S..

2. In what year did Redd Foxx die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1991.

3. In what year was Redd Foxx born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1922.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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