Tag Archives: Redd Foxx

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.

Redd Foxx wasn’t the only funny one in his family, he credited his brother with that title as well. He also credited his brother for fueling him with motivation to become a comedy star, but when you see the incredible things he did for his big bro’ on Sanford and Son (and beyond), you’ll probably gain even more respect for Foxx, one of the greatest to have EVER done it.

Foxx’s brother, was oftentimes in and out of jail during Redd’s younger years and he died well before Redd Foxx did. But the Sanford & Son superstar spent the rest of his life honoring his brother…check out what Foxx once revealed about this in excerpts from a Jet Magazine interview…

What Redd Foxx Did To Honor His Brother

Redd Foxx paid homage to his late brother (pictured below) in a way that falls right in line with the thoughtful, generous brotha all of Foxx’s friends and family knew him to be:

– His brother is the REAL “Fred G. Sanford.” Foxx’s real name is John Elroy Sanford and his brother’s real name is Fred G. Sanford. Yep you read that right, Redd Foxx made sure that the “Sanford and Son” execs allowed him to name his character so that he could honor the memory of his brother, Fred, who’d died five years before the show premiered.

– Their dad’s name was Fred G. Sanford also, but Foxx didn’t name his character after him because he left his family when Redd was just 4 years old. Therefore, Foxx grew up idolizing his big brother instead.

Foxx Explained Why He Regularly Performed In Prisons Across The Country

During the height of his career, many people thought Redd was crazy for so-called ‘wasting his time and money’ to perform for convicts in prisons. But again, Fred was very thoughtful and a man of great character, so in honor of his brother, who was also an ex-con and because he understood that prisoners were still human beings and not throw-aways, he dedicated his life to performing in prisons. Here’s what he told Jet Magazine about this back in the day:

“My brother was a first baseman but he could never get a break in baseball at that time because of race prejudice,” Foxx [said]. Although their mother worked as a domestic for Harry Grabner, who was an executive for the White Sox baseball team, Fred couldn’t play for the Sox.

“The World was not ready for a Black player on a White team in 1937. My brother was the best first basemen in Chicago, but he never got the chance and turned to robbery,” Foxx said. “He was like a lot of other kids who turned to crime because of lack of opportunity for their natural talent.

Fred ended up earning record breaking plaques and awards while in prison for his outstanding baseball skills on the prison teams. Red Foxx explained why he was so passionate about honoring his brother by performing in prisons:

“I’ve been to almost every prison in America, but you never read about it. I’ve been to Atlanta Federal, to prisons in San Francisco and to the one in Chicago several times. I’ve been to Attica (in New York). I’ve been to Sing Sing in Rahway Penitentiary in New Jersey. I’ve been to most all of them.

“The memory of my brother is the story behind these appearances. My brother, Fred, is the one I named my TV character (on “Sanford and Son”) after. […] He always told me how important it was that inmates got some entertainment inside the prison walls. So I just dedicated myself to it. After he passed, I started doing all those shows.”

And there you have it ILOSM fam!’ Another fun fact about an Old School icon who had a heart as large as his popularity. Rest on Redd Foxx, after a job well done.

Redd Foxx wasn’t the only funny one in his family, he credited his brother with that title as well. He also credited his brother for fueling him with motivation to become a comedy star, but when you see the incredible things he did for his big bro’ on Sanford and Son and beyond, you’ll probably gain even more respect for Foxx, one of the greatest to have EVER done it.

Foxx’s brother, was oftentimes in and out of jail during Redd’s younger years and he died well before Redd Foxx did. But the Sanford & Son superstar spent the rest of his life honoring his brother…check out what Foxx once revealed about this in excerpts from a Jet Magazine interview…

Redd Foxx Did The Most Amazing Thing To Honor His Brother

Redd Foxx did two things to pay homage to his late brother (pictured below) and they fall right in line with the thoughtful, generous brotha that all of his friends and family knew him to be:

– Foxx’s real name is John Elroy Sanford and his brother’s real name is Fred G. Sanford. Yep you read that right, Redd Foxx made sure that the “Sanford and Son” execs allowed him to name his character so that he could honor the memory of his brother, Fred, who’d died five years before the show premiered.

– Their dad’s name was Fred G. Sanford also, but Foxx didn’t name his character after him because he left his family when Redd was just four years old. Foxx grew up idolizing his big brother instead.

But Wait, There’s More…

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 many people don’t know that when the cameras were off Redd was by no means living the life of a junk dealer in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood. He had 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.

Redd Was A Star Way Before Sanford and Son

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Though many recognize him as the grouch surrounded by mountains of junk on NBC’s Sanford and Son Redd had long been a staple in the comedy world. He had been making audiences laugh since the 1940’s and by the time he’d snagged the title role on Sanford and Son he had put out so many comedy albums that Redd was at one time dubbed “The King of Party Albums” since his material was so raunchy people would throw parties to listen to his albums after hours, turning many living rooms into comedy clubs where Redd Foxx was the main act. His fame was only heightened with a successful run as a headliner in Las Vegas, which solidified his spot as one of the great comedy legends of all time.

But 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 and the public administrator of Las Vegas (where Redd resided st the time of his death) John Cahill for years after his death.

Next Page: The Foxx Family Fought Hard Over Redd’s Cash >>>

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…

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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.

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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 ’74 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

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.

Embed from Getty Images

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.

Redd Foxx wasn’t the only funny one in his family, he credited his brother with that title as well. He also credited his brother for fueling him with motivation to become a comedy star, but when you see the incredible things he did for his big bro’ on Sanford and Son and beyond, you’ll probably gain even more respect for Foxx, one of the greatest to have EVER done it.

Foxx’s brother, was oftentimes in and out of jail during Redd’s younger years and he died well before Redd Foxx did. But the Sanford & Son superstar spent the rest of his life honoring his brother…check out what Foxx once revealed about this in excerpts from a Jet Magazine interview…

Redd Foxx Did The Most Amazing Thing To Honor His Brother

Redd Foxx did two things to pay homage to his late brother (pictured below) and they fall right in line with the thoughtful, generous brotha that all of his friends and family knew him to be:

– Foxx’s real name is John Elroy Sanford and his brother’s real name is Fred G. Sanford. Yep you read that right, Redd Foxx made sure that the “Sanford and Son” execs allowed him to name his character so that he could honor the memory of his brother, Fred, who’d died five years before the show premiered.

– Their dad’s name was Fred G. Sanford also, but Foxx didn’t name his character after him because he left his family when Redd was just four years old. Foxx grew up idolizing his big brother instead.

But wait, there’s more…

Foxx Explained Why He Regularly Performed In Prisons Across The Country

During the height of his career, many people thought Redd was crazy for so-called ‘wasting his time and money’ to perform for convicts in prisons. But again, Fred was very thoughtful and a man of great character, so in honor of his brother, who was also an ex-con and because he understood that prisoners were still human beings and not throw-aways, he dedicated his life to performing in prisons. Here’s what he told Jet Magazine about this back in the day:

“My brother was a first baseman but he could never get a break in baseball at that time because of race prejudice,” Foxx [said]. Although their mother worked as a domestic for Harry Grabner, who was an executive for the White Sox baseball team, Fred couldn’t play for the Sox.

“The World was not ready for a Black player on a White team in 1937. My brother was the best first basemen in Chicago, but he never got the chance and turned to robbery,” Foxx said. “He was like a lot of other kids who turned to crime because of lack of opportunity for their natural talent.

Fred ended up earning record breaking plaques and awards while in prison for his outstanding baseball skills on the prison teams. Red Foxx explained why he was so passionate about honoring his brother by performing in prisons:

“I’ve been to almost every prison in America, but you never read about it. I’ve been to Atlanta Federal, to prisons in San Francisco and to the one in Chicago several times. I’ve been to Attica (in New York). I’ve been to Sing Sing in Rahway Penitentiary in New Jersey. I’ve been to most all of them.

“The memory of my brother is the story behind these appearances. My brother, Fred, is the one I named my TV character (on “Sanford and Son”) after. […] He always told me how important it was that inmates got some entertainment inside the prison walls. So I just dedicated myself to it. After he passed, I started doing all those shows.”

And there you have it ILOSM fam!’ Another fun fact about an Old School icon who had a heart as large as his popularity. Rest on Redd Foxx after a job well done.

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.

Christmas and the holiday season is all about the spirit of giving, so we wanted to share with you all how the late, great Redd Foxx gave unselfishly to one of his closest friends, actress, Della Reese. He did what many would not have for her when she fell on extremely hard times and was dead broke. They were friends for over 40 years and below, Della tells a great story about the time Foxx went above and beyond to help her…

[kkgallery kid=”1521″ title=”Wow! See What Della Reese Says Redd Foxx Did For Her When She Was Broke!”]

Redd Foxx wasn’t the only funny one in his family, he credited his brother with that title as well. He also credited his brother for fueling him with motivation to become a comedy star, but when you see the incredible things he did for his big bro’ on Sanford and Son and beyond, you’ll probably gain even more respect for Foxx, one of the greatest to have EVER done it…

[kkgallery kid=”2654″ title=”Oh Wow! See What Redd Foxx Did For His REAL-LIFE BROTHER On Sanford&Son!”]

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view. Come join our ILOSM fam’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @iloveoldschoolmusic