Tag Archives: Redd Foxx

“You’re So Vain” singer, Carly Simon, claims she had some very risqué encounters with two old school icons- Redd Foxx and Marvin Gaye. When we first read what she revealed in her 2015 autobiography, Boys In The Trees, we let out a collective, ‘Say whaaaat?!!’. Though, I must admit that after reading Janis Gaye’s (Marvin Gaye’s wife) autobiography, we were not completely shocked at Carly’s claims about Marvin…but the story she told about Redd Foxx was a little more surprising. Why? Because we don’t typically hear those types of claims about the late comedic icon, unlike the beloved Mr. Gaye.

Simon alleged that before she hit it big in music, she was working as a secretary for a TV variety show, and it was during that time that she was sexually advanced upon by both legends in a bold, no-holds-barred type of way. Below is what was Rolling Stone Magazine detailed about Simon’s encounters with Foxx and Gaye.

Carly Simon’s claims about Redd Foxx:

When Simon’s career was slow to take off, she found jobs as a summer-camp counselor and as a secretary on a TV variety show. Her first day on the set, she had to go to the dressing room of comedian Redd Foxx, who promptly dropped his trademark red-fox fur coat, revealing that he was stark naked underneath. She quickly fled.

Carly Simon’s claims about Marvin Gaye:

Marvin Gaye, in his dressing room, was stripped only to the waist, but when he asked Simon to stick out her tongue, “Marvin lunged at my face, swept my tongue into his mouth, and began sucking on it. I extracted it without inflicting damage.”

Simon’s Admitted Fling With Jack Nicholson
Additionally, Carly Simon confessed to one such advance in her book…the one she says actor, Jack Nicholson, made toward her back in the day According to Rolling Stone, Jack’s reported advance toward Carly turned into a sexual fling:

When Jack Nicholson was making Carnal Knowledge with “Bugs, Artie the Garf, and Mike the Nick,” as he called them (Candice Bergen, Art Garfunkel, and Mike Nichols), he spent a couple of nights at Simon’s New York apartment. The first night, he showed off his seduction technique after she made a pot of coffee: “We chatted for a few moments and then he said, offhandedly, ‘Do you ever drink coffee in your bedroom?’”

Anywho…if Carly Simon’s claims are true, it sounds like Redd Foxx was trying to get Carly the heck up outta his dressing room ASAP — either that, or he was trying to get her to come in and “turn off the lights,” like Teddy P. once sang.  As far as Carly’s alleged ‘Marvin Gaye encounter,’ that was just weird. Well…both encounters were weird, but the thing that we’re still curious about for both incidents, is what exactly happened immediately afterwards, and how awkward was it that very next time Carly Simon saw Foxx and Gaye at her job?

One thing’s for certain, if Carly’s claims are accurate, then Marvin Gaye and Redd Foxx must’ve been making some hella bold advances back in the day.

Sammy Davis Jr, Redd Foxx, and Flip Wilson may have had the ability to make us all crack up with their comedic and acting talents, but there is also one thing they have in common that NONE of us would have predicted. The late legends took on a very regular job after becoming household names back in the day and it was all to help others. See details below…

What Did They Do AFTER Success?

You’d think that after all of the wealth and fame Foxx, Davis, and Wilson acquired in their careers, that they would’ve been far too busy to do anything else. Well, somehow all three of them found a way to become a police chief of predominantly African American cities. Unexpected right?

Sammy Davis Jr. was the second of the trio to become police chief, when he was appointed in 1975. He became the chief of police for the small town of Langston, Oklahoma, after accepting the appointment from then mayor, A.B. Prewitt.

Embed from Getty Images

Flip Wilson was the third outta the legendary pack to accept his role as police chief of the small town of Boley, Oklahoma.

Also, as we previously reported, Redd Foxx was the first of the group, to be appointed police chief of the predominantly Black town. He was also the most vocal about it. In case y’all missed our prior report, check it out below:

In 1974 THE Redd Foxx became a police chief of Tafta, Oklahoma- a predominantly African American community of just 437 people. And yes, this was during the SAME time he was starring on “Sanford and Son.” That’s right, Redd Foxx would record his TV show during the day, do stand-up comedy at night, and drop by Tafta, Ok. to check on what he referred to as ‘his’ city on the weekends and every other chance he got. Ain’t that something?!!

Red explained to Jet Magazine in a 1974 interview, that he took his job as police chief very seriously:

“I told you this wouldn’t be no token job,” Foxx stated. And he also wanted it to be clear that he was the official police chief of Tafta and not some decorated and celebrated “honorary” one: “I want that clearly understood, Foxx stated. The deputies are official police who have full powers in my absence.”

 

Redd was the real deal in Tafta, he was there to swear in new deputies and make sure they were all doing their jobs correctly. In fact, a lot of the today’s police departments need a police chief like Redd Foxx. Check out how Redd trained his officers:

Via Jet: Redd Foxx admonished his deputies to “be careful; use a minimum of force” in carrying out their duties. […] “I want to be proud of this town,” Foxx told the deputies. “The eyes of the whole nation will be on Taft and we don’t want to give the impression that we are going to be hard-boiled about the law enforcement here.”

 

Redd Foxx continued…

“We don’t want to get a reputation for busting heads. I want you to dress neatly and gain respect.”

Like we said, we wish Redd Foxx were here to train some of these police chiefs and officers today, Lawd knows we need it.

Foxx’s main mission in being chief of Taft police at that time was building up the small community and maintaining peace:

“Taft will no longer be a forgotten town. We want paved streets and lights. We’re working to get them,” Foxx stated at that time.

So how did Redd Foxx actually become a police chief?
The idea came from Taft’s then mayor, Lelia Foley (pictured with Foxx in above left pic), the first Black mayor in the history of the U.S.. Foley stated this about Foxx at that time:

“I’m with him all the way and everyone in taft is proud of our famous chief of police.”

Foxx was extremely dedicated to making Taft a better place…not only did he work closely with the mayor and was very hands-on with his deputies, he also donated thousands of dollars to build the community up, including a new community swimming pool for the children of Tafta.

This says a lot about Redd Foxx’s character. He was the one of the most in-demand entertainers on TV, but yet he committed himself to a small town of just 437 people at that time. Although of course whenever people in the neighboring cities of Muskogee and Tulsa, Ok. would hear that there was an upcoming swearing-in ceremony of deputies and such, that town of 437 looked more like 4,037. Folks from all over the state would travel to Taft just to get a glimpse of the famous chief of Tafta police.

Job well done Mr. Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr, and Flip Wilson. Rest on Kings.

Source: Jet Magazine

Prior to her passing legendary actress/comedian, Della Reese, vividly explained her close friend, Redd Foxx’s, last moments prior to his sudden death. She detailed what it was like as she watched Foxx collapse on the set of their TV show, “The Royal Family.” The manner in which Foxx’s death happened might make many a little angry, as it did Della Reese and also us, here at ILOSM, because it seems like some of the events surrounding Foxx’s last breathe could have been avoided.

Reese said that on the day of Redd Foxx’s death, she was there, along with Redd and the rest of the cast of “The Royal Family.” They were on set rehearsing for one of the episodes, which was also the same day that “Entertainment Tonight” stopped by the set to interview Foxx, but see what Reese says happened moments BEFORE Redd Foxx took his last breathe.

REDD FOXX & PRODUCERS GET INTO ARGUMENT MOMENTS BEFORE HIS DEATH

According to Reese, Redd stepped away from rehearsals during the scene where he didn’t have any speaking lines. He did what most sitcom actors have the freedom to do in that situation: asked his stand-in to fill in while he did a quick “Entertainment Tonight” interview. Well, the reportedly power-hungry producer who had a history of giving Redd a hard time, according to Della, didn’t like that Redd used a stand-in, so he interrupted Redd’s interview to have him join the rehearsal instead.When Redd found out that all the producer called him in rehearsal for was to walk across the stage, he was livid and didn’t understand why the stand-in couldn’t do the job that he was there to do anyway, explained della Reese.

The actress said as Redd Foxx was getting into the heated discussion with the producer, he fell to the floor. At first Della thought it was another of Redd’s pranks…until she quickly realized it wasn’t when Redd told her to “Go call my wife. Go get my wife.” That’s when Della immediately sprung into action and told everyone to call the paramedics and “Get Mrs. Foxx down here.” BUT IT WAS WHAT DELLA SAYS THE PRODUCERS DID NEXT THAT WILL REALLY TICK YOU OFF…

THE HOSPITAL & THE ‘INSENSITIVITY’ OF THE PRODUCERS

After Della, all of the crew, actors, friends, and Redd Foxx’s wife followed the ambulance to the hospital, she sys they stayed there for four hours before Redd’s doctors came out and told his wife, ‘I’m so sorry, we’ve done all that we could do.’ Della says that those same producers were standing right next to Foxx’s wife when she got the news and that instead showing sadness or empathy, they immediately said “What are we gon’ do with this script? This part was written for Red, now what are we gon’ do?”

If that’s what occurred, the word ‘disrespectful’ is an understatement!

Della Reese apparently let those producers have it right there in the hospital, and then she left…but not without letting them know that she won’t be stepping foot back into their production, or any other production like their’s EVER again! She remained true to her word and loyal to her longtime friend, Redd Foxx, who helped her get to where she was in life. It’s difficult not to be angry at the details that reportedly went down on Redd’s last day here on earth. However, we’re also very grateful for the many laughs he gave us and the many ways he touched millions of people’s hearts. Continue to sleep in eternal bliss Redd Foxx and Della Reese.

When comedic legend, Redd Foxx (born Jon Sanford), and Nation of Islam/civil rights icon, Malcolm X died, their causes of death were very different, much like the eventual life journeys of these two former best friends were.  Foxx passed away from a heart attack at the age of 68, in 1991; while Malcolm X was brutally assassinated at age 39, in 1965. The sharp contrast between these two greats was surprisingly quite the opposite when they were youngins, as both later noted in books and/or interviews.

Was Spike Lee’s Character In “Malcolm X” Portraying Redd Foxx?

In the biographical book, “Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story” (written by Michael Seth Starr), Foxx shared wonderful memories of his friend, Malcolm X:

“Malcolm was about the same color as me. You could hardly tell us apart. …We both had those konks [hair straightening] and our hair was red with a high pompadour and we had the zoot pants- just like the ‘high drape pants’ Billie Holiday used to sing about in her blues.”

Homeless Hustlers

Malcolm X and Redd – who went by the nicknames, “Detroit Red” and “Chicago Red” back then- became friends due to their similar circumstances at that time. Redd migrated from Chicago, IL to Harlem, NY, and Malcolm X migrated from Detroit, IL to Harlem – both fleeing tough home environments. Both were in pursuit of a prosperous life in Harlem and became hustlers together, though they sometimes barely made enough bread to get by:

Via “Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story”: Redd confided to Anthony Major, who ran Redd Foxx Productions in the mid-1980s, that Malcolm was the only person Redd really trusted. “They used to rob places together and sleep on rooftops together. Redd said he knew [Malcolm] had his back, and trusted him. If Redd was in a fight, he could turn his back and could know that Malcolm was gonna be on the other side, fighting with him.”

When they couldn’t afford a place to stay for the night, Jon (Redd Foxx) would invite Malcolm up to his “humble abode” on the rooftop of 707 St. Nicholas Avenue. “We had about five hundred pounds of newspapers up there,” Redd Foxx remembered. “Newspapers is some of the warmest stuff going on.”

Redd then explained the other hustles he and Malcolm X cooked up:

“When we got a job at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack, we had all kinds of hustles going. It was the busiest joint uptown and we made a little extra bread upping the checks and so forth,” recalled Redd Foxx.

Foxx also admitted that he and Malcolm sold plenty of zoot suits they’d stolen from a nearby laundry business, on top of the same rooftop where they oftentimes slept:

“We’d sell one or two of them a day off the roof,” Redd recalled. “We never got caught for that. I guess that balanced out some of the stuff I had to pay for later that I didn’t do.”

They also developed a steady clientele selling marijuana and committing various other petty crimes. Then they figured out ways to hustle themselves into the arms of White women…

What Redd Foxx & Malcolm X Did To Get White Women

In the biography, Redd Foxx revealed that neither him, nor Malcolm X gave a damn about politics and society’s issues at that time…unless it had something to do with women or food:

“I remember one time Malcolm and I joined the Communist Party. … Maybe not joined it, but signed something or other because they had White broads and food, and I hadn’t had food in about two weeks.” Jon and Malcolm…were given a pile of Communist Party literature they were expected to digest. “You’d dance with the chicks, smell the perfume, and eat the sandwiches,” Redd recalled. “You just couldn’t avoid being part of things like that because there was food, man – stacked high cake and lemonade, even boloney you could put in your pocket. I’d have joined the Ku Klux Klan if they’d had sandwiches.”

Although they chased White women, Redd said he always ended up with Black women, which he didn’t seem to mind:

“I was always the one that wound up with the Black chick,” he said. “The light-skinned cats got the Black women; when a White woman wants a Black man she wants him real black; she wants some lips and some color to go along with it.”

They eventually parted ways because Redd didn’t want to expand into the more hardcore crimes (pimping, racketeering, selling hard drugs, etc.) that Malcolm X eventually dabbled in, which landed him in prison for 6 years:

“Malcolm didn’t have the showbiz quality, so he didn’t give a damn what he got into,” [Redd Foxx] said. “He’d take on anything to get some dough. He was a little bit more aggressive, but I’d rather be sleeping with a broad and go somewhere [to a club] and do fifteen minutes of comedy.”

Good thing both Malcom X and Redd Foxx ultimately found a way out and prospered onto greatness that will forever touch the lives of millions. Job well done.

Sanford and Son is classic black television at its finest and the show’s star, Redd Foxx, quickly rose to icon status with his wit and his grit playing the role of grumpy junk man Fred G. Sanford. But as we all know, when the cameras were off, Redd was by no means living the life of a junk dealer in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. He’d amassed, and ultimately ran through, a very hefty fortune that once he passed away became fair game to not only his loved ones, but to the IRS as well.

Aside from making people laugh, Redd also loved the ladies, having been married four times. His fourth wife, a Korean woman named Ka Ho Foxx, had been married to Redd for a few months at the time of his death and entered into a financial showdown with Redd’s daughter, Debraca Denise, and the public administrator of Las Vegas (where Redd resided at the time of his death), John Cahill, for years after his death.

Foxx Family Fought Hard Over Redd’s Cash, Peep The Allegations

When Redd passed away at age 68 in 1991 he did so with no will in place to divide his funds to his family. He was also $3.6 million in debt. Debraca became responsible for Redd’s estate and his, of course, caused friction between her and her stepmother Ka Ho who felt like she should be the one in charge of Redd’s finances. However, their feud worsened when Ka Ho began accusing Debraca of being irresponsible with Redd’s money. According to Heirs and Successes;

When he died Redd lived in Las Vegas, as he died without a Will Foxx’s daughter, Debraca Foxx, was appointed as the administrator of his estate. Redd had been married four times and his fourth wife and widow, Ka Ho Foxx, accused Debraca of failing to provide accounts of revenue received in royalties, residuals and licensing deals since her father’s death. Ka Ho believed that Debraca had been taking money for herself that should have gone toward paying down the estates tax debt.

Due to this family infighting, in 2006 the Nevada probate court appointed the public administrator to administer the estate. The administrator stated that his goal was to “settle Redd’s estate pay all taxes owed and get money for his heirs”

What Happened When They Tried To Sell His Life Story

Once John Cahill took over he tried to generate funds for Redd’s estate, by attempting to sell his life story, which falls in line under Nevada’s law to market someone’s “right of publicity”, granting permission to market someone’s image and likeness for profit. Unfortunately, Ka Ho was having none of that as she wanted to be the one to make money off of Redd’s legacy.

However, while the estate owns the right to profit from Foxx’s name, image and likeness, it may not own the rights for a “life story”.  It has also been reported that Ka Ho objects to the marketing of Redd’s life story to anyone but her and plans to go to court to stop this from happening.

Hopefully this issue has resolved itself, but let this serve as a lesson that you should always have your affairs in order with legal documentation to avoid the kinds of headaches the Foxx family has encountered since Redd’s passing nearly thirty years ago.

Sammy Davis Jr, Redd Foxx, and Flip Wilson may have had the ability to make us all crack up with their comedic and acting talents, but there is also one thing they have in common that NONE of us would have predicted. The late legends took on a very regular job after becoming household names back in the day and it was all to help others. See details below…

What Did They Do AFTER Success?

You’d think that after all of the wealth and fame Foxx, Davis, and Wilson acquired in their careers, that they would’ve been far too busy to do anything else. Well, somehow all three of them found a way to become a police chief of predominantly African American cities. Unexpected right?

Sammy Davis Jr. was the second of the trio to become police chief, when he was appointed in 1975. He became the chief of police for the small town of Langston, Oklahoma, after accepting the appointment from then mayor, A.B. Prewitt.

Embed from Getty Images

Flip Wilson was the third outta the legendary pack to accept his role as police chief of the small town of Boley, Oklahoma.

Also, as we previously reported, Redd Foxx was the first of the group, to be appointed police chief of the predominantly Black town. He was also the most vocal about it. In case y’all missed our prior report, check it out below:

In 1974 THE Redd Foxx became a police chief of Tafta, Oklahoma- a predominantly African American community of just 437 people. And yes, this was during the SAME time he was starring on “Sanford and Son.” That’s right, Redd Foxx would record his TV show during the day, do stand-up comedy at night, and drop by Tafta, Ok. to check on what he referred to as ‘his’ city on the weekends and every other chance he got. Ain’t that something?!!

Red explained to Jet Magazine in a 1974 interview, that he took his job as police chief very seriously:

“I told you this wouldn’t be no token job,” Foxx stated. And he also wanted it to be clear that he was the official police chief of Tafta and not some decorated and celebrated “honorary” one: “I want that clearly understood, Foxx stated. The deputies are official police who have full powers in my absence.”

 

Redd was the real deal in Tafta, he was there to swear in new deputies and make sure they were all doing their jobs correctly. In fact, a lot of the today’s police departments need a police chief like Redd Foxx. Check out how Redd trained his officers:

Via Jet: Redd Foxx admonished his deputies to “be careful; use a minimum of force” in carrying out their duties. […] “I want to be proud of this town,” Foxx told the deputies. “The eyes of the whole nation will be on Taft and we don’t want to give the impression that we are going to be hard-boiled about the law enforcement here.”

 

Redd Foxx continued…

“We don’t want to get a reputation for busting heads. I want you to dress neatly and gain respect.”

Like we said, we wish Redd Foxx were here to train some of these police chiefs and officers today, Lawd knows we need it.

Foxx’s main mission in being chief of Taft police at that time was building up the small community and maintaining peace:

“Taft will no longer be a forgotten town. We want paved streets and lights. We’re working to get them,” Foxx stated at that time.

So how did Redd Foxx actually become a police chief?
The idea came from Taft’s then mayor, Lelia Foley (pictured with Foxx in above left pic), the first Black mayor in the history of the U.S.. Foley stated this about Foxx at that time:

“I’m with him all the way and everyone in taft is proud of our famous chief of police.”

Foxx was extremely dedicated to making Taft a better place…not only did he work closely with the mayor and was very hands-on with his deputies, he also donated thousands of dollars to build the community up, including a new community swimming pool for the children of Tafta.

This says a lot about Redd Foxx’s character. He was the one of the most in-demand entertainers on TV, but yet he committed himself to a small town of just 437 people at that time. Although of course whenever people in the neighboring cities of Muskogee and Tulsa, Ok. would hear that there was an upcoming swearing-in ceremony of deputies and such, that town of 437 looked more like 4,037. Folks from all over the state would travel to Taft just to get a glimpse of the famous chief of Tafta police.

Job well done Mr. Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr, and Flip Wilson. Rest on Kings.

Source: Jet Magazine

“You’re So Vain” singer, Carly Simon, claims she had some very risqué encounters with two old school icons- Redd Foxx and Marvin Gaye. When we first read what she revealed in her 2015 autobiography, Boys In The Trees, we let out a collective, ‘Say whaaaat?!!’. Though, I must admit that after reading Janis Gaye’s (Marvin Gaye’s wife) autobiography, we were not completely shocked at Carly’s claims about Marvin…but the story she told about Redd Foxx was a little more surprising. Why? Because we don’t typically hear those types of claims about the late comedic icon, unlike the beloved Mr. Gaye.

Simon alleged that before she hit it big in music, she was working as a secretary for a TV variety show, and it was during that time that she was sexually advanced upon by both legends in a bold, no-holds-barred type of way. Below is what was Rolling Stone Magazine detailed about Simon’s encounters with Foxx and Gaye.

Carly Simon’s claims about Redd Foxx:

When Simon’s career was slow to take off, she found jobs as a summer-camp counselor and as a secretary on a TV variety show. Her first day on the set, she had to go to the dressing room of comedian Redd Foxx, who promptly dropped his trademark red-fox fur coat, revealing that he was stark naked underneath. She quickly fled.

Carly Simon’s claims about Marvin Gaye:

Marvin Gaye, in his dressing room, was stripped only to the waist, but when he asked Simon to stick out her tongue, “Marvin lunged at my face, swept my tongue into his mouth, and began sucking on it. I extracted it without inflicting damage.”

Geesh! If Carly Simon’s claims are true, it sounds like Redd Foxx was trying to get Carly the heck up outta his dressing room ASAP- either that, or he was trying to get her to come in and “turn off the lights,” like Teddy P. once sang.  As far as Carly’s alleged ‘Marvin Gaye encounter,’ that was just weird. Well, both encounters were weird, but the thing that we’re still curious about for both of those incidents, is what exactly happened immediately afterwards and how awkward was it that very next time Carly Simon saw Foxx and Gaye at her job? One thing is for certain, if Carly’s claims are accurate, then Marvin Gaye and Redd Foxx must’ve been making some bold advances back then.

Redd Foxx was a household name to millions, but he was something much greater to a select group of people. Your respect for him will probably multiply times a thousand when you see this.

REDD FOXX’S REAL-LIFE JOB WHILE STARRING ON “SANFORD and SON”

In 1974 THE Redd Foxx became a police chief of Tafta, Oklahoma- a predominantly African American community of just 437 people. And yes, this was during the SAME time he was starring on “Sanford and Son.” That’s right, Redd Foxx would record his TV show during the day, do stand-up comedy at night, and drop by Tafta, Ok. to check on what he referred to as ‘his’ city on the weekends and every other chance he got. Ain’t that something?!!

Red explained to Jet Magazine in a 1974 interview, that he took his job as police chief very seriously:

“I told you this wouldn’t be no token job,” Foxx stated. And he also wanted it to be clear that he was the official police chief of Tafta and not some decorated and celebrated “honorary” one: “I want that clearly understood, Foxx stated. The deputies are official police who have full powers in my absence.”

Redd was the real deal in Tafta, he was there to swear in new deputies and make sure they were all doing their jobs correctly. In fact, a lot of the today’s police departments need a police chief like Redd Foxx. Check out how Redd trained his officers:

Via Jet: Redd Foxx admonished his deputies to “be careful; use a minimum of force” in carrying out their duties. […] “I want to be proud of this town,” Foxx told the deputies. “The eyes of the whole nation will be on Taft and we don’t want to give the impression that we are going to be hard-boiled about the law enforcement here.”

Redd Foxx continued…

“We don’t want to get a reputation for busting heads. I want you to dress neatly and gain respect.”

Like we said, we wish Redd Foxx were here to train some of these police chiefs and officers today, Lawd knows we need it.

Foxx’s main mission in being chief of Taft police at that time was building up the small community and maintaining peace:

“Taft will no longer be a forgotten town. We want paved streets and lights. We’re working to get them,” Foxx stated at that time.

HOW REDD FOXX BECAME POLICE CHIEF OF TAFTA, OK

So how did Redd Foxx actually become a police chief?  The idea came from Taft’s then mayor, Lelia Foley, the first Black mayor in the history of the U.S.. Foley stated this about Foxx at that time:

“I’m with him all the way and everyone in taft is proud of our famous chief of police.”

Foxx was extremely dedicated to making Taft a better place…not only did he work closely with the mayor and was very hands-on with his deputies, he also donated thousands of dollars to build the community up, including a new community swimming pool for the children of Tafta.

This says a lot about Redd Foxx’s character. He was the one of the most in-demand entertainers on TV, but yet he committed himself to a small town of just 437 people at that time. Although of course whenever people in the neighboring cities of Muskogee and Tulsa, Ok. would hear that there was an upcoming swearing-in ceremony of deputies and such, that town of 437 looked more like 4,037. Folks from all over the state would travel to Taft just to get a glimpse of the famous chief of Tafta police.

Job well done Mr. Foxx, rest on.

Redd Foxx did a really risky, yet honorable thing for his friend, LaWanda Page, (Aunt Esther) back in the day. To understand why he did it, you have to first understand their history together. Redd and LaWanda were really close friends in real life, long before they were comedians. They were friends since their pre-teen years and they attended the same high school in St. Louis.

Birds Of A Feather

As they grew up, they both separately pursued comedy careers. I guess that explains why they were so close in the first place – ‘birds of a feather flock together’ and both of them had a reputation for being two of the most hilarious kids in the neighborhood back in the day.

They each started doing their own thing in stand-up comedy, making a name for themselves on the chitlin’ circuits and far beyond. Then eventually Redd Foxx got offered a starring role in a new TV show, Sanford and Son, and he suggested his childhood friend, LaWanda, for the role of “Aunt Esther.” Lawanda had just decided to step away from comedy and move back from L.A. to St. Louis to care of her very sick mother, when Foxx called her about the role. She worked it out and was able to audition for the part.

Redd Showed His True Character

Now this is where Redd really showed his character: Lawanda was offered the part. However, before any taping started, the producers noticed during rehearsals that Page was unfamiliar with the ins-and-outs of producing a television sitcom; she had been more accustomed to performing in nightclubs.

So one of the producers told Foxx that he was going to fire Page and hold auditions again for the “Aunt Esther” role, so that taping could begin. Foxx was like “hell no!” and insisted LaWanda play the part and he threatened to walk away from the show if she was given the boot. So of course, the producers stuck with Page, who proved all of them wrong and became one of the most memorable characters on TV during in the ’70’s.

Criticized For His Use Of Profanity

Redd Foxx was sometimes criticized by media critics for his profanity, but it’s incredible that you never heard these types of stories about the man who many close friends and loved ones have always described as a very giving person and a man with great character. Much respect to Mr. Foxx for risking his career to help his friend.

Iconic comedian Redd Foxx, has been gone from this earth for 27 years, after passing away from a heart attack at age 69. He’s still considered one of the ‘greatest’ by many of today’s hottest comedians though. Matter of fact, let Foxx’s closest friends tell it, there was also an even better side to him that many never knew.

One of those close friends, the late actress/comedian, Della Reese, was friends with Foxx for 40 years. Reese passed away in November 2017, after a long battle with Type-2 diabetes. But prior to her passing (in the video below), she told a great story about the time Foxx was working at a club in Pennsylvania. She met with him backstage and confided that she didn’t have a job and desperately needed some money. At that time, Redd Foxx was a huge star and thousands of people had gathered to watch him do stand-up at the venue that night.

Foxx was set to make a hefty pay day for that performance, but quickly decided to skip that payday and let Della have it instead. Redd surprised Della when he suddenly hunched over, as if he were in pain, and walked out onto stage to tell the promoter and the crowd that was anxiously waiting for him, that his back had gone out and his comedic friend, Della, would take his place. The crowd trusted Redd’s comedic judgement, so they welcomed Della with open arms and she nailed it on that stage. She was forever grateful for the thousands of dollars Redd unselfishly put in her pocket that day. See what else she said happened in the video clip below…

Della Reese: “We were hungry together. We were out of work together,” Reese laughs loudly. “We shared sandwiches together. He (Foxx) loved helping others. The public makes him out to be a nasty mouth, mean person. He was the total opposite – a gentle loving person. If you needed something, he would go into his pocket and give it to you.”

According to Reese, the reason Redd was broke at the end of his life, was due to his extraordinary generosity. In a 1983 interview with Tom Joyner, Foxx basically confirmed that claim, stating that he was a “provider” by nature.

Redd Foxx gained notoriety with his raunchy nightclub acts during the 1950s and 1960s. Known as the “King of the Party Records,” he performed on more than 50 records in his lifetime. While working together as television co-stars of the Eddie Murphy penned “Royal Family,” the man known for a few false alarm heart attacks, succumbed right there on the set during rehearsals. Della was the first to find him and immediately thought it was another one of his gags, but sadly it was the “big one” that time…it was also the day we lost one of the best comedians to have EVER done it.

Foxx’s character as a man, as a person, is something that also changed the lives and the character of the people who’s lives he personally touched. Redd was a great example that reminds us that when we have, we should reach back and give; and when we do that, our journey on this earth will become a greater movement that’ll affect others long after we’ve closed our eyes. May Redd Foxx and his beloved friend, Della Reese, continue to rest peacefully.