While Sanford and Son often made audiences laugh with its perfect father-son bickering, behind the scenes, the relationship between Redd Foxx (Fred Sanford) and Demond Wilson (Lamont) was anything but comedic.
According to multiple sources close to the production, the two actors had a rollercoaster of a working relationship. Early seasons were marked by camaraderie and mutual respect, but fame and money soon changed everything. Redd Foxx, who felt he was the true star of the show, reportedly demanded more creative control and higher pay. When producers agreed, Wilson felt increasingly sidelined.
Tension peaked during Season 4 when Wilson arrived late to set multiple times and began refusing certain lines. Some crew members recall days where the two wouldn’t even speak off-camera. A script rewrite reportedly had to be done overnight after Wilson refused to deliver a joke he deemed “demeaning.”
What fans didn’t see was the close call in 1975—when Wilson allegedly quit mid-season after a heated argument over a scene that he believed portrayed Lamont as weak. It took hours of negotiation and a promise of better character arcs to lure him back.
Even more shocking? Wilson later revealed in interviews that he felt “used” by the network and admitted to feeling “resentful” toward how the show revolved entirely around Foxx. “I was more than a straight man,” he once said. “But that’s all they wanted me to be.”
Though the two actors reconciled years later, the cracks behind their on-screen chemistry tell a deeper story—one of artistic differences, bruised egos, and the price of becoming an icon.
The laughter on-screen masked a brewing storm that almost destroyed one of TV’s most beloved duos.
