Sanford and Son made its debut on NBC on January 14, 1972. Demond Wilson, who died last Friday (January 30), played Lamont Sanford on the show, the long-suffering son of irritable junkman Fred G. Sanford, made famous by Redd Foxx. The chemistry between the two lead actors was integral to the series’ success and is a big reason it remains popular today. Whether or not that would’ve been the case if the producers had landed their first choice for Lamont, however, is a matter of debate.
While being interviewed by the Associated Press for Sanford and Son’s 50th anniversary in 2022, Wilson revealed that the producers of the show had considered Richard Pryor for the part before he came in to audition. “I said, ‘C’mon, you can’t put a comedian with a comedian. You’ve got to have a straight man.’ Dick Martin was the nut, Dan Rowan was the straight guy,” Wilson explained, referring to the stars of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Speaking of Laugh-In, one of the regulars on that show, Johnny Brown, was apparently a contender to play Lamont at one point as well.
It makes a lot of sense for Pryor to have been in the running, though, as he and Foxx had known each other for years by the time Sanford and Son was being developed. Foxx’s comedy club in Los Angeles provided Pryor with the artistic freedom he needed to develop his stand-up act during the early stages of his career, but Foxx would eventually grow frustrated with Pryor for not showing up when he was scheduled to perform. Pryor also reportedly did so much cocaine with Foxx while performing at his club that he said it felt like the two were competing in “the coke Olympics.” It isn’t clear if any of that factored into Pryor not getting the Sanford and Son gig, but his drug use did prevent him from playing the sheriff in Blazing Saddles a couple of years later.
Although Pryor never appeared on Sanford and Son, he would go on to co-write two episodes with his longtime collaborator, Paul Mooney, in 1972. He remained friends with Foxx and was on the dais when Foxx was roasted for a 1974 ABC special that never aired (Pryor was evidently pretty tipsy while the show was being filmed). Pryor and Foxx would, of course, link up again for Eddie Murphy’s lone directorial effort, Harlem Nights, in 1989, which would end up being Foxx’s final film.
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