Nathaniel Taylor, who played Rollo in ‘Sanford and Son’, passes away

Nathaniel Taylor, the actor best known for playing Rollo Lawson, the son’s street-smart best friend on the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” has died.

Taylor died Wednesday at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles after a heart attack, his son, Kaedi Taylor, told The Associated Press on Saturday. Old Mr. Taylor is 80 years old.

Taylor’s character Rollo is the sidekick of Lamont Sanford, played by actor Demond Wilson, and often attracts the skepticism of television patriarch Fred Sanford, who thinks Rollo is a bad influence on Lamont because he had been in prison. The fast-talking but good-natured Rollo wears a colorful suit and hat and calls Fred — played by actor and comedian Redd Foxx — “Pops.”

Taylor continued to participate in other television shows and movies, then opened a performing arts workshop for young actors. But his son said Taylor never tired of people recognizing him as Rollo.

“It was an era and an era — to be on TV as a black person, it was an honor,” said Kaedi Taylor, who worked behind the scenes in television and film. “It’s an honor that people remember him.”

Nathaniel Taylor also played roles in shows like “The Redd Foxx Show,” “Police Story” and “What’s Happening” as well as Blaxpoitation films like “Dynamite” and “Trouble Man.” He reprized his role as Rollo in the 1980s spin-off “Sanford.”

Hip-hop music promoter Alonzo “Lonzo” Williams, one of Taylor’s longtime friends, said the actor was a mentor to many. “He was always there with words of wisdom, kind words and a joke to add some icing on the cake,” Williams said.

Taylor is survived by his wife, Loretta, four daughters and three sons.