Find out what ‘Sanford and Son’ star Redd Foxx’s real name is.
Redd Foxx may not be as familiar a name to 2020 audiences as he was in the 1970s. However, it’s safe to say that anyone who’s loved television lately can thank him for his service.
The late actor and comedian was famous for his no-holds-barred approach to comedy when the standards were often puritanical. However, while Redd Foxx is his stage name, his real name is reminiscent of the sitcom that made him famous.
Redd Foxx has a successful career
According to his website, Foxx was John Elroy Sanford in 1922. Named after baseball player Jimmie Foxx, the future comedian left home at age 13 and played washboards with a Chicago band to pay the rent. .
However, after the band broke up, he moved to New York City. On the train to his new location, he meets a man named Malcolm Little. While saying that John Sanford met Malcolm Little might confuse people, saying that Foxx met Malcolm X, Little’s more famous name, seems too good to be true.
In New York, Foxx began performing in nightclubs on the Chitlin Circuit, a comedy group known for being more accommodating to black comedians like him. He has made a name for himself as one of the most successful stand-up comics in America.
He began appearing on television and selling records at a steady pace. After making his screen debut in Cotton Comes to Harlem, Norman Lear signed Foxx for the new sitcom Sanford and Son.
Sanford and Son’s run made Foxx a household name. He appeared on the show until 1977 after a reported contract dispute over dressing rooms with windows caused him to leave. He continued to work for the rest of his life.
After leaving Sanford and Son, he pursued a film career, appearing in hits like Eddie Murphy’s Harlem Nights alongside his good-natured Della Reese. After seeing the couple on the big screen, CBS reunited Reese and Foxx on The Royal Family. It was considered his big comeback, but it is now known as one of the last things he did.
Foxx’s death
Foxx was on the set of The Royal Family, making his cast and crew laugh mid-rehearsal when tragedy struck. He fell to the ground while clutching his chest. It was a gesture that became a staple of his act in Sanford and Son.
However, this time it was true. Studio spokeswoman Rachel McCallister spoke about his tragic death.
“They were rehearsing on set and goofing off, and Redd almost broke everyone up when he collapsed,” she told the LA Times at the time. “At first they all thought he was joking, and then they called the paramedics.”
It was too late. A comedy and television icon has died. Yet thirty years after his death, Foxx remains one of the most important names in comedy. While the name we all know him by may be a stage name, it is a name that commands solemnity and reverence no matter where it is mentioned.
It’s all in one name
Foxx went by a few names before finding the one that made him famous. According to Get.TV, Malcolm X called him Chicago Red, a nickname Malcolm X gave him because of their similar red hair. The others started calling him Foxy. He eventually combined these two nicknames into the name by which everyone now knows him.
It’s a name that carries considerable weight. Even Jamie Foxx remembered it when he chose his own name out of fear of being transgender. However, Foxx’s legacy goes beyond any name. He changed television and comedy forever. Although the outcome was tragic, the journey there helped illuminate the paths thirty years after he clutched his chest for the last time.
