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Many of our fellow Old Schoolers probably remember when “J.J” brought his pregnant girlfriend, “Henrietta,” home to meet his parents and inform them of his marriage plans. “Florida” and “James” were already against the marriage, but when “Henrietta” showed up with a VERY pregnant belly, the look on their faces was priceless! The actress is now-69 year old Tina Andrews, whom you may also know from “Days of Our Lives,” “Roots,” and many other roles throughout the ’70s and early ’80s.

After Tina experienced many unfair treatments of minorities in the entertainment industry- such as the time she was kicked off of “Days of Our Lives” after two years (1975-1977), because her character and her Caucasian co-star, represented the first interracial TV couple ever- she then made it her mission to do something about it and what she became is impressive…

TINA ANDREWS ON LOSING EVERYTHING AFTER SUCCESS

After her acting career in the ’70s, Tina revealed that by the mid-’80s, her money was lookin’ funny, after becoming an out-of-work actress and aspiring screenwriter; working a job she hated – answering phones at a law firm:

“I watched my first Mercedes drive down the street. [she laughs]…Literally everything that I felt was important to me — materialistically — from my having been an actress ends up in a storage bin on Western Avenue in Hollywood. And the most important big ticket items were all foreclosed upon or repossessed. So all I ended up with was a legal pad and pen and my imagination. And that’s when I say: Thank God for Alex Haley because he became my second mentor,” says Tina Andrews. – January Magazine

ALEX HALEY TO THE RESCUE

During her lowest point, Tina never gave up on her dreams and continued writing her movie scripts and books. Then shockingly, Alex Haley (whom she’d worked with on his film, “Roots”) called her at her law firm job, out of the blue, with a writing opportunity for his then-upcoming biopic. Tina was ecstatic and quit her job that same day.

“I flew down to work with Mr. Haley [in Tennessee] where he had his 165-acre farm. He had eight houses [and I stayed in one of them] and we sat side by side hashing out what was going to be the first installment for this PBS project. Unfortunately the project didn’t happen because…he died in the middle of it, so it didn’t happen.” Source

After Haley’s death, Tina kept pushing, and today at age 71 she’s still going strong…

WHAT TINA ANDREWS DOES NOW

Tina Andrews is a very successful SCREENWRITER, AUTHOR, FILM PRODUCER and DIRECTOR. She was mentored by the one and only Alex Haley (creator of the miniseries, “Roots”) and below are some of her writing and/or producer credits:

• The film, “Why Do Fools Fall In Love” (starring Halle Berry, Vivica Foxx, Larenz Tate and Lela Rochon) about singer, Frankie Lymon’s life.
• TV miniseries, “Sally Hemings: An American Scandal,” which was the first time ever that the story of President Thomas Jefferson’s longtime love affair with his slave, Sally Hemings; and the children was explored in mainstream media.
• “Coretta,” a theatrical play documenting the life of Coretta Scott-King.
• The film version of “Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.”
• The stage play, “Buckingham.”
• Books: “The Hollywood Dolls,” “Charlotte Sophia: Myth, Madness and the Moor”

It’s always a beautiful thing to see an Old School celeb’ still doing great things today. Tina Andrews is a perfect example of that.

A lot has been happening in R. Kelly’s life as of late, to say the least. The latest turn of events in the  recently-convicted “Seems Like You’re Ready” crooner’s life is the revelation that he and his long-time girlfriend, Joycelyn Savage, are engaged to be married…so says she. However, her parents are calling BS on the situation.

On a side-note, the likely sobering thought for the 55-year-old R&B star and his woman is that Kelly will be in prison longer than his 26-year-old girlfriend/fiancee’ actually existed on this earth thus far. Anywho…

Details Of Joyeclyn Savage’s Engagement Claims In Letter To Judge

The news of Joycelyn’s and R. Kelly’s engagement has now surfaced by way of a letter Joycelyn submitted to the judge on her “fiance’s” behalf. According to ENews, Joycelyn wanted to make it clear to the judge that she is not a “victim”…as her parents have long claimed she is.

Via E!News: In a letter to a judge dated on June 13 [2022] and recently obtained by E! News, aspiring singer Jocelyn Savage shared that she and the R&B singer are engaged and asked the court to hand down a more lenient prison sentence in his case. The letter was filed by Kelly’s legal team ahead of his sentencing.

“My name is Joycelyn Savage, and I’m Robert Kelly’s fiancé,” she began in letter. “I’m writing this letter in support of Robert in advance of his sentencing, so I can explain to the court that I’m not the victim that the government has portrayed me to be.”

Joycelyn also described her relationship with Kelly as “amazing,” and added that R. Kelly is “best thing that’s ever happened to me.” There’s more…

“We have a very special connection and are deeply in love, [wrote Joycelyn]. … Robert is not the monster that the government has described him to be. The Robert I know is very sweet, gentle, and kind. .. He’s very determined and focused on his goals, and the things that have been said about him, with me and other women being held against our will is absolutely untrue.”

Joycelyn also wrote that “it breaks my heart that the government has created a narrative that I’m a victim.”

“I’m a grown woman, and can speak for myself which is why I wanted to provide this letter to the court,” she added. “[Kelly] is a great man, with a great heart and deserves to be home with his loved ones who are ready to support him.”

Joycelyn wrote her letter to the judge two weeks prior to R. Kelly being sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of all nine charges he was facing — including bribery, racketeering, coercion, enticement and sex trafficking. So, it seems that her letter had zero affect on the judge’s sentencing at that time.

Joycelyn’s Parents Claim Engagement Is BS

According to Joycelyn Savage’s parents, her engagement to R. Kelly is hella suspect. Below, is what their attorney stated on their behalf, regarding Joycelyn’s engagement claim…

Via TMZ: Gerald Griggs, an attorney for Savage’s parents, tells TMZ … she never made the engagement known to the family, and they’ve never even spoken about the possibility beforehand.

Griggs tells us he finds it odd Savage didn’t testify about it under oath, and instead slipped it into the letter submitted to the court. Savage’s family “strongly doubts” the engagement story … and are wishing to reconnect with her to get the full story.

They do admit it isn’t unusual she wouldn’t make it known to her parents — Griggs says she hasn’t really spoken to them since she left to be with Kelly.

As y’all already know, Joycelyn Savage was the one girlfriend (Kelly had several at once) who has stood by his side during his many legal battles. Not quite sure if Joycelyn will continue to be her man’s ride-or-die ‘fiancee’ for the duration of his 30-year bid…but only time will tell.

Ever since the passing of our beloved Aretha Franklin in 2018, many interesting details surfaced — or rather, re-surfaced about her family. This go ’round, the topic of her famous pops, Rev. C.L. Franklin — and what Ray Charles once revealed about him — will probably make you say, “Say what now?!! Come again?” At least that’s what it did to us.

Anywho, Ray Charles once exposed shocking details of the wild sex parties Rev. Franklin (pictured below with Aretha) reportedly had with his fellow church folk. Don’t take our word for it though, see what Mr. Charles revealed in a biographical book…

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Ray Charles Spilled The Beans About Aretha’s Dad

In an interview for the biography, “Respect: The Life Of Aretha Franklin,” Ray Charles chopped it up with the book’s author, David Ritz, about his days hanging out with his friend, C.L. Franklin.

Aretha’s dad was a well respected preacher, who rubbed elbows with soul artists- like Ray Charles, Billy Preston and several Motown stars- as well as civil rights activists and spiritual leaders- including Dr, Martin Luther King, with whom he was great friends . Many stars oftentimes visited C.L.’s Detroit home and along the way, the reverend developed a reputation for being the ‘promiscuous preacher’ who reportedly cheated on his wife (Aretha’s mother) many times.

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Back then, Ray Charles was known for being a wild cat who had plenty of women, but he admitted that even he was outdone by the alleged sex parties C.L. and his church members threw. According to the biography, Charles says that when he visited C.L.’s New Bethel Church in the after-hours, he realized the church was pretty much a worshipping spot by day, but a haven for sex orgies by night:

“When it came to pure heart singing, they were motherfu***s. When it came to pure sex, they were wilder than me – and that’s saying something. In those days I had a thing for orgies, but I had to be the only cat in the room with two or three chicks.”

“The gospel people didn’t think that way,” Charles continued. “The cats liked it with the cats and the chicks liked it with the chicks and no one minded mixing it up this way or that. I got a kick outta seeing how God’s people were going for it hard and heavy every which way. I was just surprised to see how loose they were.”

Singer, Billy Preston, Agreed With Ray

“Nothing From Nothing” soul singer, Billy Preston, also backed Ray’s claims in the book. Preston was cool with C.L. Franklin back then and here’s what he told Ritz about those days:

“It was the church crowd where the vibe was wide open. It was anything goes. In the community outside the church, gay men were called sissies. But inside the church, a lot of the music was created by gay men. In the church you were almost proud to be part of the gay elite of musicians.” -Billy Preston

Franklin Family Controversies

There have always been controversies surrounding C.L. Franklin. Aretha joined her father’s traveling gospel ministry at age 12. However, according to what her brother, Cecil,  all of his siblings – including Aretha – were exposed to some form of drinking and/or drug activity while living with their father, who raised them as a single parent after their mom left him:

Via Daily Mail: [Cecil] admitted that his father [C.L. Franklin] and siblings had all operated in a world of stimulants. “Whether it’s wine, whiskey or weed, the stuff has always been around us.”

Throughout the years, many have wondered if Aretha’s past issues with men- such as having a baby at 12 and another at 14 years old, abusive relationships, and more- were the result of the fast life she witnessed under the helm of her famous pops. That’s a valid assumption, but one thing is for certain: throughout it all, Aretha found a way to reach a level of greatness that very few get to see in their lifetimes. Her life story, and that of her renowned Father, are reminders that celebrities aren’t perfect people…they’re simply perfectly flawed human beings, just like the rest of us.

We all know and love Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson as a couple. Tina oftentimes posts pics of her and Richard in marital bliss, and they are in love! In researching that story, we noticed that Richard’s daughter was linked to a wealthy music family!

Bianca Lawson Is Richard Lawson’s Daughter…

Bianca Lawson’s now a 43-year-old actress best known for her roles on Saved by the Bell, Sister, Sister, and The Steve Harvey Show, and most recently in Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Queen Sugar. But it’s her mom that Richard Lawson married back in 1978.

If Her Mom Doesn’t Look Familiar…

 

Her face may not be familiar, but Bianca’s mom is the niece of the famed Berry Gordy. Denise Gordy, is the daughter of George and Rosemary Gordy and she’s the biological mother of Marvin Gaye III (born 1966) by Marvin Gaye!

In case you missed our prior report, here it is:

Anna Gordy’s niece, Denise Gordy – the woman who was allegedly underaged when she reportedly gave birth to Marvin Gaye III, the ‘adopted’ son of singer, Marvin Gaye, and his then-wife, Anna Gordy.

Anna Gordy’s and Marvin Gaye’s pregnancy/birthing scandal was supposedly pre-arranged by the couple, because Anna — who was 17 years older than husband, Marvin — reportedly couldn’t conceive by that time.

According to the biographies, Anna Gordy — with her husband, Marvin Gaye’s approval — allegedly faked her pregnancy for the media and claimed that she’d given birth to Marvin III. However, years later Marvin Gaye revealed in his biography, “Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye,” to author David Ritz, that their son, Marvin III, was really “adopted.” The book released in 1985, a year after Marvin’s death. According to several reports, that’s when Marvin Gaye III learned his true identity – that allegedly: his biological mother, Denise Gordy, is not his ‘cousin’; his ‘adoptive mom,’ Anna Gordy, is his great-aunt; and his ‘adoptive father,’ singer Marvin Gaye, is his biological father…allegedly.

Thus, Marvin Gaye III is actually the (alleged) biological brother of “Queen Sugar” actress, Bianca Lawson. Bianca is the daughter of legendary actor, Richard Lawson. Richard is the husband of Tina Knowles, and the step-dad of Beyonce and Solange! Ain’t that some tea…or shall we say, some “Lemonade” for ya?!!

I tell, we learn something new ’round here everyday, ILOSM fam.’

Remember McFadden & Whitehead – the cats who gave us the 1979 classic, “Ain’t Know Stopping Us Now?” That song is still off the hook today, isn’t it?!! While most soul music lovers know their songs, many don’t know that both of them passed away within two years of each other.

Passed Away 2 Years Apart- Murder & Illness

On May 11, 2004, John Whitehead (pictured above, right) was fatally shot to death in what cops believe is a case of mistaken identity. He was outside his Philadelphia home working on a car when two gunmen shot at him multiple times and ten fled the scene. He was 55 years young.

On January 27, 2006, Gene McFadden (pictured above, left) died of liver and lung cancer after battling the disease for two years. He was 56 when he passed away and he left behind his wife Barbara, two sons, and two daughters.

As teenagers, McFadden & Whitehead formed a group, called The Epsilons, were discovered by Otis Redding and toured with him up until he and 4 of the 6 members of the band, The Barkay’s tragic death in a 1967 plane crash.
The duo went on to join Philly International Records, and wrote several hits, including “Back Stabbers” for the The O’Jays, “I’ll Always Love My Momma”, “Bad Luck”, “Wake Up Everybody”, “Where Are All My Friends”, “The More I Get, The More I Want”, and “Cold, Cold World”. They also worked with a list of soul music heavy hitters such as Freddie Jackson, Gloria Gaynor, Teddy Pendergrass, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Gladys Knight, Melba Moore, The Jackson 5, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Lou Rawls, Archie Bell & The Drells, Jerry Bell and The Intruders.

Hopefully, their families are getting publishing and royalty checks from McFadden & Whitehead’s hard work.

With all that they’ve accomplished, we’re not sure why this wasn’t covered more in mainstream media at the time of their deaths, but McFadden & Whitehead’s legacies definitely deserve their proper acknowledgement.

McFadden & Whitehead may not have been “newsworthy” enough for the mainstream corporate news programs to cover, but they will FOREVER be etched into the hearts of us, soul music lovers. May they continue to rest peacefully.

We all remember “Heathcliff Huxtable’s” Pops, “Russell Huxtable,” right? Although he was a prominent actor long before delivering those clever lines to his “Huxtable” family, it’s his The Cosby Show role that is most memorable.

The former Cosby actor passed away at age 91 on November 17, 2017. However, his legacy will continue to live on.

In fact, part of his legacy is his family lineage. What most of us weren’t aware of is that his cousin is a sultry ’80s R&B legend, who gave us some solid slow jams back in the day. She always had one of the most distinctive voices in music and you know her very well if you’re an Old School R&B lover. Get your scroll (down) on to see who she is…

Who’s His Famous Cousin?

She is none other than…*drumroll please*…

The beautiful, late singer, Phyllis Hyman. As you know, “Russell Huxtable’s” real name is Earle Hyman, and he and Phyllis are second cousins. They kept this old school fun fact kind of quiet back then, although I’m not sure why. Maybe they wanted to each build a name for themselves without having to be in the shadow of the other. Whatever the reason, we still thought it was pretty cool old school info to know.

Not sure if Earle Hyman had any musical gifts, like his cousin. Nevertheless, even if he didn’t, it was still entertaining to see him playing the trombone in that one Cosby Show episode.

Watch One Of Earle Hyman’s Last Interviews & Learn A Few Interesting Fun Facts About Him

Some of you may recall how “Russell Huxtable” used to oftentimes quote Shakespeare at random whenever he was trying to give some of his wise advice. Turns out, he was no stranger to Shakespeare at all and that the Cosby writers used to write those lines specifically with Earle in mind. They knew he knew Shakespeare like the back of his hand. That’s what he’d studied since the age of 13 and performed over 500 times in theatrical plays. He developed a huge following in Norway because of this and even earned the prestigious Medal of St. Olav for his theatrical stage work there.

Earle Hyman also spent so many years in Norway after The Cosby Show, that he became a fluent speaker of the Norwegian language. Below, he briefly talks about how Shakespeare became his ticket up out of the hood.

RECENT INTERVIEW WITH EARLE HYMAN

FYI: Earle Hyman may not have been a singer like his cuz,’ Phyllis Hyman, but he still put his voice to good use in a different way. He was the voice of “Panthro” on the popular 90’s cartoon, Thundercats.

And there you have it people! We learn something new everyday around here.

When we think of Sugar Ray Leonard (66), we think of the icon, the boxing champ, the brotha with one of the fastest footwork capabilities of his era. However, what we don’t think of when we see Sugar Ray, is a man who was once violated and sexually abused when he was a young boxer training to become the greatest. The timing may sound a tad bit odd, but when you read his story, you’ll understand the true pain and inner conflict that this man had to endure. We applaud him for his brutal honesty.

Sugar Ray Details His Sexual Assault

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Sugar Ray Leonard says he was sexually abused by his boxing coach starting at the age of 15. He released his autobiography, “The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring,” in 2011, detailing what exactly happened to him.

He first did an extensive interview with The New York Times, stating that his Olympic boxing coach forced him to engage in sexual acts with him, as well as strange acts with a fellow teen boxer at that time:

Via Big Think: According to the summary in the New York Times, Leonard first became suspicious when the coach had him and another fighter take a bath together and watched them from across the room. He was about 15 years old at the time.

Several years later, the article doesn’t say exactly how many, the coach got Leonard alone in a car and gave a speech about how important winning a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics would be for Leonard’s career, and proceeded to unzip Leonard’s fly and sexually assault him.

Leonard was flattered, filled with hope, as any young athlete would be. But he writes: “Before I knew it, he had unzipped my pants and put his hand, then mouth, on an area that has haunted me for life. I didn’t scream. I didn’t look at him. I just opened the door and ran.”

He adds that when he first decided to discuss the incident in the book, which is written with Michael Arkush, he offered a version in which the abuser stopped before there was actual contact. [NYT]

Why He Finally Shared His Story

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At the time of his NYTimes interview, Sugar Ray admitted that he was initially too ashamed to give his writer the real version of what happened to him, so he told him that the trainer had stopped before anything sexually transpired. However, he says it was former “Diff’rent Strokes” actor, Todd Bridges,’ heart wrenching interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that suddenly made him have a change of heart about telling his true story:

“After watching the actor Todd Bridges bare his soul on Oprah’s show about how he was sexually abused as a kid, I realized I would never be free unless I revealed the whole truth, no matter how much it hurt,” wrote Sugar Ray.

Like we always say, here at ILOSM, celebrities have achieved high levels of greatness in their careers. However, just like us regular folks, they are still perfectly flawed human beings, who have to deal with heartaches, tragedies, and traumas as well. Again, we salute Sugar Ray Leonard for sharing his story with the world…hopefully this will help someone else.

Although beloved actor, Sherman Hemsley, played the loud and outspoken “George Jefferson” on the The Jeffersons, in real life he was a very shy brotha, who preferred to keep his personal life ultra private. Unfortunately, after he passed away on July 24, 2012 at age 74, that privacy was invaded when the intense drama among his loved ones came to a head. In fact, the battling caused Sherman’s body to lay embalmed in a refrigerator at an El Paso, TX funeral home for over THREE months before he was finally laid to rest.

The reasons for that has everything to do with a dispute over his will, a fight for his estate, a surprise brother, gay rumors, and friends. Yeah, it was a really jacked up situation, but one man who was reportedly close to Sherman, spoke out to clear up the drama.

Hemsley’s Will Dispute
Six weeks prior to his passing Sherman had written the will for his estate, which was valued at $50,000.00. Soon after he died, a friend named Flora Enchinton was listed as the sole beneficiary. In his will, Sherman- who was never married and had no kids- referred to Flora as his “beloved partner.”

Flora stated that she was not only Sherman’s manager, but that she lived with him for over a decade and that they were close friends for 20 years.

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Hemsley’s ‘Brother’ Reportedly Surfaced
After the will was filed a man, named Richard Thornton, came outta the woodwork, claiming to be Hemsley’s brother and contested the will. That is what ultimately stalled Sherman Hemsley’s burial and memorial service for three months.

Sherman’s friend, Flora Enchinton , then publicly contested Thornton’s validity:

Via ABC 7 News El Paso- “It is disgraceful,” Flora Enchinton said. “It is sad. This was a man with dignity.”I have never heard of anyone with the name of Richard Thornton in the 20 years I have known Sherman. … This is not what Sherman would have wanted. … Sherman left very worried about me, about me staying alone, what was going to happen me being alone if he was gone. That’s what worried him the most. I guess maybe he sensed what was going to happen. It just gives me these emotions and feelings (that) all of a sudden there’s these people that have never known anything about our life, about who we are, about what we’re all about, about what we endured,” Enchinton said about the validity of her role in Hemsley’s life being questioned.

Then Came Conflicting Reports About A ‘Gay Lover’

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Rumors soon surfaced, that Sherman Hemsley was gay and that Flora was acting as his ‘beard’ to cover up Sherman’s ‘secret gay relationship’ with their longtime friend, Ken Johnston. There was never any validity to those rumors, but yet they still ran rampant as the fight over Sherman’s will continued. However, Ken’s son apparently shut those rumors all the way down…

Son Of Sherman’s Friend ‘Set Record Straight’ About Flora & Father
Shortly after Sherman Hemsley was finally buried in November 2012, Ken Johnston’s son, Steven Johnston, reportedly spoke out to Diary of A Street King to ‘set the record straight’ about his father’s relationship to Sherman and Flora.  Steven claimed that Flora was really his father, Ken’s, girlfriend. According to Steven, Flora was a ‘gold-digger’ who took advantage of Sherman to ultimately be granted his estate.

Steven Johnston also claimed that Ken was Sherman’s real manager, not Flora:

“The media also erroneously reported that Flora knew Sherman for 20 years, when she didn’t get to really know him until the move in ’99 to El Paso. She became his ‘manager representative’ in helping out my father when he was sidelined by a stroke in 2003, but my father was still the manager. My father told me that they were always talking about getting back to Los Angeles and it was getting close to becoming a reality until my fathers stroke,” wrote Steven Johnston.

In November, Flora was granted Sherman Hemsley’s estate and the legal fight was over.

This drama is probably not what Sherman envisioned the end of his life would have been shrouded in. But thankfully, the man who brought so much joy to the world was finally able to rest peacefully after being buried in a military service in El Paso, TX on November 9, 2012.

Back in the day, iconic music legends, Diana Ross and Cher, were the best of friends. They had developed a sister-like bond and Cher even asked her then boyfriend to take Diana to pick out her Christmas gift, because she trusted Diana that much and knew Diana would know exactly what she’d like. Their friendship reportedly came to a screeching halt eventually though, due to a move that Diana and Cher’s man decided to make, which caused the two divas to fall out for good.

So whose this mystery man that Diana and Cher had beef over? That would be none other than Gene Simmons of the rock group, KISS. Now, we know what some of y’all may be thinking and nah family, that was not a typo, both of those beautiful, talented women looooved them some Gene Simmons- the dude with the long tongue and face paint. In fact, Gene was Cher’s man first and that’s where the problem came in between the trio.

In a prior interview with Irish Mirror, Simmons spilled the beans about how ‘the boss’ Ms. Ross stole his heart right from under Cher’s nose. Diana and Gene ended up dating for two years (1980-1983) as a result. See what else Gene revealed about their love triangle below:

Gene Simmons: “Diana Ross kept me on my toes and I ended up having a relationship with her for two years. I loved that she was such a strong woman who was confident in her own skin. That’s the most seductive thing. If a man thinks a woman can live without them, that’s it. Initially, Cher and I had a relationship and we lived together in Malibu.

One Christmas I asked her what I should buy her and she said, “Call my friend Diana Ross , she will tell you exactly what I like as she is my best friend”. So I called Diana up and we went shopping. Then our feelings for each other developed very fast and we started a relationship together. I guess thereafter Cher and Diana never spoke.”

Well, they say that in the entertainment world, the pickings are slim when it comes to finding a compatible boo-thang. Although Diana reportedly did her homegirl, Cher, dirty, I guess Gene Simmons must’ve turned Ms. Ross “upside down” and “round and round.”

Demond Wilson and Redd Foxx played junk men on “Sanford and Son,” but geesh…their network didn’t have to treat them like one! Well, at least that’s what happened according to Demond Wilson a.k.a. “Lamont.” Demond revealed some shocking information about how NBC treated two of their top ranking stars back in the day and how he and Redd Foxx were NOT trying to hear that. He detailed it all in a prior interview with “On Your Mental Health.”

“Prior to Redd and I, there was only one [black show on television] there was Amos and Andy. [Other shows at the time] were not Black shows, there were Blacks IN shows. There hasn’t been an all Black sitcom in…years. They stick all of Black sitcoms today on Cable. [Redd and I] we were breaking ground, we were making history. There was no play book that they could govern Redd and I…because there hadn’t been anybody like us before.”

He continued:

“We were dressing in the men’s room. When our first show aired…[the ratings] went through the ceiling and then Redd and I started dealing with them like men. Redd and I were making history and they tried to deal with us like we were third-class field hands and we said ‘NO that’s not happening!’ I was recently back from Vietnam and Redd grew up in the streets, and so I’m from Harlem, Redd is from St. Louis…[but] he spent a lot of time in Harlem. I have been silent for over 30 years. I have not spoken out against the atrocities that were perpetrated against us.”

 

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After Redd Foxx became completely fed up with the treatment they were enduring he left the show:

“Contrary to popular belief, Sanford and Son was never canceled; you don’t cancel a show in the top 10—Redd decided to leave.”

Demond became an ordained minister in 1984 and here is his take on the state of today’s reality entertainment and the current music industry:

“I believe that we’re living in the last days. The world to day is drunk off of the wine of inequity and I listen to some of these misogynistic rappers that make statements like we want to have the money the power and then we’ll get the respect…and there’s only power perceived, there’s no real power. If you have money you don’t have any power to do anything other than buy things. You don’t have the power to save your own souls and it’s sad. It seems as though with all of these reality shows, a lot of people have sold out and their going for the things of this world and nobody is focused today on anything other than themselves and what they can get for themselves…and even the folks that go to church, most of them are just religious spirit. You know they go in there and listen to these gospel singers who are self-centered and want to have a career and a lot of money and many of them, they’re anointed a lot of them because the anointing comes without reproach, you can be anointed and not be living close to God. And they sing these songs and the people feel good and as soon as they leave church they go right back to their self existence and it’s kind of sad the condition of the world today.”

What Demond Wilson thinks about Michael Jackson and folks treating him like a “god” ever since he was a kid:

“I’m looking at the late Michael Jackson who was a little kid from Gary, In…who just sold himself out and allowed the adversaries to transform him into nobody knows what he is and it was very sad. I look at people around the world- they’re lording this kid as though he was a God and that’s idolotry. Anything that you place in your heart…that takes the precedence over your relationship with God is idolatry…it’s an idol. My priorities for the last 25 years have been my personal relationship with God, my family, and my career- in that order and if it’s not in that order, it’s out of order.”

Whew! Demond Wilson doesn’t hold his tongue for nobody and I’m glad that he and Redd Foxx weren’t willing to take less than what they felt they deserved. The inequalities in the entertainment industry are still just as prevalent today, just ask some of today’s top actors like Taraji P. Henson, Monique, and Denzel Washington, whom have all spoken out about the lopsided justices within the entertainment world. They have come a long way, but there is still more work to do and actors like Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson helped to set the tone for that road to equal treatment for African American actors to take place now.

Do you agree with everything Demond said regarding today’s entertainment?

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