Redd Foxx was the heart of Sanford and Son—brilliant, foul-mouthed, and unpredictable. But one infamous on-set incident pushed the show to the brink—and almost cost him his job for good.
It happened during Season 3. Tensions had been building between Foxx and the producers over money. Foxx believed, not unreasonably, that his success had turned NBC’s fortunes around. But when his demands for a pay raise were denied, everything exploded.
According to insiders, Foxx arrived on set late one afternoon, already agitated. During a rehearsal, he stopped mid-scene, threw down his script, and stormed off the set, shouting, “You can’t work me like a dog and pay me like a janitor!”
What followed was chaos. Foxx disappeared from the set for five days. Production halted. Writers scrambled to rewrite scenes without Fred Sanford. NBC executives threatened legal action.
But the real shock came when Foxx returned—with a lawyer, a demand for back pay, and a threat to walk off the show for good unless things changed.
Behind closed doors, showrunners caved. Foxx received a major raise and more creative control. But his behavior didn’t sit well with some of the cast, including co-star Demond Wilson, who reportedly clashed with Foxx over the disruption.
The fallout from that week changed the energy of the set forever. While the show continued, cracks had formed—and they never fully healed.
To fans, Foxx remained the hilarious junk dealer. But to those behind the camera, he was a ticking time bomb wrapped in genius. And for one unforgettable week, the bomb nearly went off.
