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Redd Foxx

John Elroy Sanford , better known as Redd Foxxx (December 9, 1922- October 11,, 1991) was an American comedian best known for his starring role on the televison sitcom Sanford and Son.

Foxx was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised on Chicago's south side. He briefly attended Du Sable High School with future Chicago mayor Harold Washington but never graduated. DuringWorld War II, Foxx used illegal means to avoid the draft and engaged in various criminal activities. Moving to New York in the early 1940s, he was a well-known associate of Malcolm Little, later known as Malcolm X. (While Little was known as "Detroit Red" from having grown up in Michigan, Foxx was dubbed "Chicago Red.")

Foxx gained notoriety with his vulgar nightclub act. His stand-up performances were later released as "party" albums and became very popular. Foxx paved the way for later black comedians such as Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and Chris Rock. He was also one of the first black comics to play to white audiences on the Las Vegas Strip. Foxx used his starring role on Sanford and Son to help get jobs for his friends such as LaWanda Page, Slappy White, and Noriyuki "Pat" Morito. Foxx also battled with producers Norman Lear and Bud Youkin for higher paychecks and creative control of the show.

In 1977, Sanford and Son was canceled and Foxx struck out on his own by starring in a short-lived variety show, but by the early 1980s he was back playing Fred Sanford in a brief revival/spin off, Sanford. Foxx had numerous battles with the IRS that culminated in a 1989 "raid" in which agents seized his house and assets. Foxx appeared to be making a comeback with the 1991 seriesThe Royal Family, in which he co-starred with his long-time friend Della Reese when a fatal heart attack felled him on the set. Ironically, one of Foxx's best-known comic bits on Sanford and Son was faking a heart attack and calling out to his deceased wife Elizabeth saying "this is the big one...I'm comin' to join ya, honey".