Fred Sanford was a trash-talking, fast-scheming, big-hearted grouch. But Redd Foxx, the man behind the character, was far more complex — and his real-life personality would have stunned most fans.
While Fred was stingy and sarcastic, Redd Foxx was known in Las Vegas as one of the most generous (and reckless) spenders in showbiz. He once paid for an entire restaurant’s meals because “they looked broke.” He bought cars for friends, bailed strangers out of jail, and ran up a mountain of unpaid taxes.
“He gave away more money than he ever earned,” said a friend.
Behind the scenes of Sanford and Son, Foxx was a king — but also a source of tension. He clashed with producers over script quality, and once walked off set for two weeks demanding higher pay. “He knew his worth,” said co-star Demond Wilson. “And he wasn’t afraid to fight for it.”
But off-camera, Foxx hid deep pain. Multiple failed marriages. Financial ruin. And a falling-out with Wilson that lasted decades.
The most shocking detail? Foxx was never close with the cast. He kept to himself, flew back to Vegas whenever he could, and partied with Rat Pack legends more than with NBC stars.
And when he died of a heart attack in 1991 — on a film set, joking that he was “having a big one” like his Fred Sanford character — few Sanford and Son crew members were in touch with him.
He made America laugh. But in real life, Redd Foxx wasn’t chasing punchlines.
He was searching for peace.
