Demond Wilson, Lamont on 'Sanford and Son,' Dies at 79

Source: Hollywood Reporter

January 31, 2026 7:26am



Demond Wilson Courtesy of Everett Collection

Demond Wilson, who starred alongside Redd Foxx and answered to “Hey, Dummy” for six seasons on the wildly popular 1970s NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, has died. He was 79. Wilson died Friday of complications from cancer at his home in Palm Springs, his son Demond Wilson Jr. told TMZ.

On the strength of his performance on the 1971 All in the Family episode “Edith Writes a Song” — he and Cleavon Little are burglars from Harlem who hold the Bunkers hostage in their home — Wilson was hired as Lamont Sanford, the son of aging widower Fred G. Sanford, proprietor of Sanford and Son Salvage at 9114 South Central Ave. in Watts.

“After learning about the series format, I was doubtful about my involvement in the project. I thought about it long and hard and decided to take a chance,” Wilson says in the 2011 book Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story. “Redd and I thought we could grab some quick cash, plus notoriety, then move on to the next project.”

Developed by All in the Family executive producer Bud Yorkin and based on the British TV comedy Steptoe and Son, the show debuted on Jan. 14, 1972, as a midseason replacement for the Robert Conrad-starring The D.A. Airing Friday nights at 8 p.m., Sanford and Son was soon clobbering CBS’ The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and ABC’s The Brady Bunch in the ratings. It reached No. 2 in 1972-73 and 1974-75 and was a top-10 hit in each of its last five seasons.

Read more: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/demond-wilson-dead-sanford-son-lamont-1236490690/