In a 1985 interview with Jet Magazine, Demond Wilson talked that real talk about his addiction to heroin and how he didn’t like his work on the show. Here are excerpts from that interview:

“I had had it after the third year of Sanford and Son. Nothing was real. When you first come into the newness of things, your first luxury car, your first Rolls Royce, your first Mercedes, your first house. All of those things seem exciting and thrilling.

But after they wear off, you’re faced with reality, and the reality is that your life is empty. I had worked all of those years, gearing myself for stardom but the thing that I failed to do was to have a life. I barely knew my wife and children.

I had gotten to a point in my life where I was spiritually low and I’d tried just about everything else…I had fallen away from the Lord.

Before I came to California, I was on heroin. When I came from Vietnam I was on heroin. I did a film in Canada for Warner Brothers called “The Dealing” and I was on it then.

And then I went to California and I did that film with Sidney Portier, “The Organization,” and I think I kicked it right after that. I wasn’t shooting or anything, I was just snorting it.Demond explains how he transitioned from a drug life to a life of Christianity

God spoke to my heart and said “What will you do for me?’ and I said ‘Lord, what would you have me do?’ I wanted the covenant, this contract and I signed it with my spirit and my heart.

Noting that “Sanford and Son” is still shown in reruns in most parts of the country, Wilson revealed that he was never pleased with his work. [He said] “You can’t say that “Sanford and Son” was dramatic, was serious. It was foolishness. I didn’t watch it then, and I don’t watch it now.”

What is important to Wilson today is of course, his ministry and his family- [his wife Cicely, and children, Nicole, Melissa, Christopher, and Demond Jr..]

He said this about his home life: “It’s the country, the normal lifestyle for children. They are not in that plastic atmosphere of Hollywood.”

Hollywood clearly left a bad taste in Wilson’s mouth. From the outside looking in though, it is hard not to notice the fact that had it not been for Sanford and Son, we wouldn’t know Reverend Wilson today. So in my humble opinion, it sounds like Hollywood was a much needed gift and curse for Demond Wilson’s career and personal growth. It’s just the game of life: We all have to sacrifice something to gain something, because greatness never comes without a price.