# Demond Wilson of Sanford and Son has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [January 31, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231 "2026-01-31T16:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/1 "2026-01-31T16:10:20Z")
He was the son of course, Lamont Sanford. The foil to Redd Foxx’s crusty old garbageman character. RIP ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/2 "2026-01-31T16:46:37Z")
Age 79. IMDb isn’t updated yet. Usually they are on that pretty fast. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/3 "2026-01-31T16:48:26Z")
isn’t it Sanford? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/4 "2026-01-31T16:57:08Z")
Typo fixed at request of poster ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/5 "2026-01-31T22:26:41Z")
R.I.P., you big dummy. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/6 "2026-01-31T22:39:41Z")
I had no idea his first name was actually Grady. Funny, that. (ETA: sources online say that’s where the character name Grady came from, and that Fred Sanford was named for Redd Foxx’s older brother) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/7 "2026-01-31T22:52:40Z")
Demond is a Veteran. Thank for for your service brother and putting up with Redd Fox’s eccentric behavior. _Sandford and Son_ was a good show. I watched pretty regulary until Foxx walked away in a contract dispute. Demond is with Christ now. His trials and labors on this earth are finished. Hebrews 4:10 RIP > [@](#): > > At age 13, Wilson’s [appendix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appendix_(anatomy)) ruptured, almost killing him, but he vowed to serve God as an adult in some ministerial capacity.[_[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)_] > > He served in the [United States Army](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army) from 1966 to 1968 and was in the [4th Infantry Division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)) in [Vietnam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam), where he was wounded.[[7]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demond_Wilson#cite_note-7) Upon returning home in the late 1960s, Wilson was featured in several Broadway and [off-Broadway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Off-Broadway) stage productions before moving to [Hollywood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood), > [@](#): > > Wilson married model Cicely Johnston[[6]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demond_Wilson#cite_note-people-6) on May 3, 1974. They had six children.[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demond_Wilson#cite_note-13) In 1984 he was ordained as a minister in the [Church of God in Christ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_God_in_Christ) and was an active Christian evangelist for much of his adult life.[[14]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demond_Wilson#cite_note-LA_Times-14) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/8 "2026-01-31T22:53:00Z")
No surprise he didn’t maintain a friendship with Redd Foxx after the show ended. Wilson was drawn to the world of Christian Evangelism and Redd Foxx was the raunchy comic who never saw a vice he wouldn’t partake in. It’s a credit to both of them as actors that they worked so well together for nearly a decade. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/9 "2026-01-31T23:58:04Z")
Demond almost didn’t survive to have a acting career. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/335Qh26fapI/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AGMAoAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgYShYMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBzUX051Pv5tOnh91nL0dYJWFiN-A "Vietnam Vet actor Demond Wilson talks about the war and PTSD.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=335Qh26fapI) ---
**Author:** ![Coriolanus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coriolanus/32/18769_2.png) [@Coriolanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coriolanus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/demond-wilson-of-sanford-and-son-has-died/1027231/10 "2026-02-01T00:18:50Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > R.I.P., you big dummy. Played well, a very different counterpoint to the lead on another Norman Lear show.