Demond Wilson’s recent passing on January 30 at his California home from cancer complications has renewed his interest in his Sanford and Son co-star Redd Foxx.The duo portrayed a father-son relationship on the show. Their onscreen chemistry as Fred and Lamont Sanford contributed to the show’s success in the 1970s. However, offscreen they shared a bittersweet relationship.1st Annual Dance For Life Dance Festival To Fight HIV/AIDS And Covid-19 - Source: GettyRedd Foxx, co-star of Demond Wilson on Sanford and Son, died of a heart attack in 1991 at the age of 68 after collapsing at Paramount Studios. A report in the Los Angeles Times stated that he was rehearsing a scene in The Royal Family at that time. He passed away at Queen of Angels-Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. Rachel McCallister, a spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times:“They were rehearsing on the set and clowning around, and Redd was sort of breaking people up when he collapsed. They all thought he was joking around at first, and then they called the paramedics.”Foxx reportedly played the role of Fred Stanford on Sanford and Son throughout its entire run from 1972 to 1977.Continue to read for more information.All we need to know about Redd FoxxRedd Foxx’s real name was John Elroy Sanford. He was born in December 1922 in St. Louis, Missouri to parents Fred Glenn Sanford and Mary Alma Hughes Sanford. After his father left their family, Mary relocated to Chicago in search of better employment opportunities. She left Foxx and his older brother, Fred G. Sanford Jr in the care of their grandmother in St Louis.The siblings joined their mother later in Chicago where Foxx attended Carter School and then went to DuSable High School. There, he and some classmates formed a band called the Four Bon Bons which headed to Harlem in 1939 where Foxx was nicknamed “Foxxy.”After his band broke up, Redd Foxx resorted to odd jobs. For instance, he worked as a dishwasher at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem, a busboy and a cart pusher. During this period, he befriended a young Malcolm Little (later known as Malcom X) who worked at the same restaurant and called him “the funniest dishwasher on this earth.”He eventually left New York for Baltimore where he became an MC at Gamby's nightclub. During this time, Foxx adopted the stage name “Redd Foxx” from his childhood nickname “Red” and launched his comedy career. He gradually became a well-established stand-up comedian before entering television.He gradually established his image as Fred Sanford by starring in the 1970s sitcom, Sanford and Son. The show aired from 1972 to 1978. His death in October 1991 was a shock to the entertainment industry.Brandon Tartikoff, chairman of Paramount Pictures, which co-produced the 1991 sitcom The Royal Family told the Los Angeles Times:“Redd Foxx was blessed with the ability to make people laugh and audiences everywhere loved him for it. Within a short period of time, Redd and his Royal Family had won their way into millions of homes and hearts. All of us at Paramount are sad to lose such a friend and a one-of-a-kind talent.”At the time of his demise, Redd Foxx was married to his fourth wife, Ka Ho Cho whom he married in July 1991 in Las Vegas. He also has an adopted daughter named Debraca Denise Foxx who was the daughter of his second wife Betty Jean Harris.