Among the many quirky characters that came and went on Sanford and Son, Bubba Bexley—Fred Sanford’s loyal, slow-talking friend—stood out as a steady, humorous presence. Played by Don Bexley, Bubba became an unexpected fan favorite, often delivering one-liners with impeccable timing. But when Don Bexley passed away in 1997, the show—long off the air—had no official platform to say goodbye. Or so we thought.
What fans never realized is that Sanford and Son quietly mourned Bubba in its own strange, subtle way—even though it ended two decades before his death.
In 1981, during a Sanford revival attempt titled Sanford (which aired without Demond Wilson and only featured Redd Foxx), one episode included a puzzling scene: Fred receives a letter, opens it, pauses, and looks devastated. He says nothing. The laugh track goes silent. Lamont isn’t there to react. The show moves on, awkwardly.
For years, fans believed the moment was just poor writing or an acting mistake. But writers later revealed the truth: the letter was meant to imply the off-screen death of a close friend—though they didn’t name him directly. The writers originally wanted to suggest that Bubba had moved away or passed, preparing audiences for his permanent absence, as Bexley was rumored to be dealing with health issues and unlikely to return to any further revivals.
But the real tribute came much later—and completely unnoticed.
In the opening scene of the final Sanford episode in 1981, Fred Sanford sits alone on the couch. The camera pans across the living room wall. For the briefest moment, there’s a black-and-white photo of Bubba hanging crookedly behind the TV set.
It was never mentioned in the script.
A prop assistant later confessed: “Redd asked us to hang it there. Quietly. He didn’t want anyone making a big deal of it. He said, ‘That’s my man. Let him be part of the house.’”
What makes this even more heartbreaking is that no one—not even network execs—noticed. The photo was never removed, but it was never acknowledged. Don Bexley hadn’t died yet, but Redd Foxx seemed to sense Bubba’s time with the show had quietly ended.
When Don Bexley did pass away in 1997, very few media outlets covered it. But among the cast and crew who remained, one of the Sanford writers mailed out a single page letter. It read:
“If Fred was the mouth, Lamont was the muscle, then Bubba was the heart—slow and steady, always there, always real.”
Don Bexley’s portrayal of Bubba gave Sanford and Son an unspoken grounding. He wasn’t flashy. He didn’t argue. He just showed up—and said what he felt.
And even though the world didn’t stop when he passed, a quiet picture in a forgotten episode remains the show’s only visible tribute.
Sometimes, TV doesn’t say goodbye with speeches or grand exits.
Sometimes, all it takes is a picture on the wall… and silence.
