Grady Demond Wilson has died.
The Sanford and Son legend, known professionally as Demond Wilson, was pronounced dead Friday morning at his Palm Springs home, his son, Demond Wilson Jr., told TMZ. He was 79.
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Demond Jr. revealed his father passed away from complications related to cancer, but did not reveal the type of cancer. He told the outlet, “I loved him. He was a great man.” Wilson was born on Oct. 13, 1946, in Valdosta, Georgia, and grew up in New York City, where he studied tap dance and ballet. By age four, he had made his Broadway debut and danced at Harlem’s Apollo Theater when he was 12.
Wilson served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968 and was in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam until he was wounded. After returning home, he put his focus back on theater, performing in several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions before moving to Hollywood. He made his acting debut in the 1970 action comedy Cotton Comes to Harlem in an uncredited role as a rally attendant. Wilson went on to appear in All in the Family, Mission: Impossible, The Organization, and was a guest performer for Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.
Eventually, Wilson’s big break came when he landed the role of Lamont Sanford in NBC’s Sanford and Son in 1972. He starred alongside Redd Foxx, who portrayed his father, Fred G. Sanford, on all six seasons of the sitcom, which ended in 1977. Based on the British sitcom Steptoe and Son, Sanford and Son was developed by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear and followed cantankerous junk dealer Fred and his son and business partner, Lamont. Sanford and Son has been hailed as the pioneer of other Black American sitcoms.
After Sanford and Son, Wilson went on to star in the short-lived CBS comedy Baby… I’m Back! as well as ABC’s The New Odd Couple, a revamped black version of The Odd Couple. He also appeared in The Love Boat, Full Moon High, Me and the Kid, Girlfriends, and Hammerlock. Wilson’s final role was in 2023 in the drama series Eleanor’s Bench, after a nearly 20-year acting break.
In 1974, Wilson married model Cicely Johnson, and the two have six children. Wilson was ordained as a minister in the Church of God in Christ in 1984 and was an active Christian evangelist for a chunk of his adult life.