Abandoned soundstage reveals perfectly preserved TV history
Television history enthusiasts are buzzing after the discovery of a fully intact Sanford and Son set inside a sealed soundstage on the old NBC lot in Burbank, California.
The set — complete with Fred Sanford’s iconic couch, the cluttered junkyard office, and even a prop TV still tuned to 1970s programming — had been locked away and forgotten since the show wrapped production in 1977. Workers renovating the building stumbled upon the space while dismantling a false wall, revealing what looked like a time capsule from the golden age of sitcoms.
“I felt like I had stepped right into an episode,” said crew member Tony Ramirez, who found the hidden stage. “You could almost hear Redd Foxx yelling, ‘You big dummy!’ in the background.”
NBC has announced plans to restore the set and open it for public tours, potentially turning it into a permanent exhibit dedicated to classic American television. Fans online are already calling it “the Smithsonian of sitcoms.”
