Redd Foxx - Biography, TV Work, Filmography

Comedian and television actor, born in St Louis, Missouri, USA. A gravelly voiced and furrow-faced comedian, for years he had a near legendary reputation for his scatalogical humour to be heard only in venues frequented by African-Americans. Then the television sitcom ‘Sanford and Son’ (1972–7) catapulted him to fame and fortune. Although he retained his popularity with audiences, no other show ever fared as well, and he fell into heavy debt and died while filming another television sitcom, ‘The Royal Family’.

Biography

Foxx was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised on Chicago's South Side. According to Malcom's autobiography, Foxx was a dishwasher in the speakeasy where Malcolm worked as a waiter (While Little was known as "Detroit Red" from having grown up in Michigan, Foxx was dubbed "Chicago Red", due to his reddish hair and complexion.

Foxx gained notoriety with his raunchy nightclub act. Foxx paved the way for later black comedians such as Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock. Foxx used his starring role on Sanford and Son to help get jobs for his friends such as LaWanda Page, Slappy White, and Noriyuki "Pat" Morita. Foxx also battled with producers Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin for higher paychecks and creative control of the show.

In 1977, Sanford and Son was cancelled and Foxx struck out on his own by starring in a short-lived variety show, but by the early 1980s he was back playing Fred Sanford in a brief revival/spin-off, Sanford. Foxx had numerous battles with the IRS that culminated in a 1989 "raid" in which agents seized his house and assets (and even some of the jewelry right off his body). Foxx appeared to be making a comeback with the 1991 series The Royal Family, in which he co-starred with his long-time friend Della Reese when a fatal heart attack felled him on the set. Ironically, one of Foxx's best-known comic bits on Sanford and Son was faking a heart attack and calling out to his deceased wife Elizabeth saying "this is the big one...I'm comin' to join ya, honey."

Trivia

Redd Foxx has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Foxx openly criticized younger comedians such as Eddie Murphy for not coming to his aid financially when the IRS was pursuing his fortune. Reportedly, when Foxx had his fatal heart attack on the set of The Royal Family, the rest of the crew thought he was faking it again, even when he collapsed to the ground unconscious.

TV Work

Sanford and Son (1972-1977) The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour (1977-1978) Sanford (1980-1981) Viva Shaf Vegas (1986) The Redd Foxx Show (1986) (cancelled after 4 months) Ghost of a Chance (1987) The Royal Family (1991)

Filmography

All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960) Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) Norman...