By Avery Baxter

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Sanford and Son is a true television classic. Few TV sitcoms focus on the relationship between a father and a son, let alone spotlight such a relationship. Made to be a comedy, Sanford and Son pulls off another rare feat for television. Sanford and Son developed well rounded characters. Who doesn’t feel as if Fred and Lamont, Esther, Bubba, Rollo, Julio and Donna could be real people, maybe someone in the neighborhood?

Sanford and Son Famous One Liners

Thankfully, TV One keeps introducing Sanford and Son to new television watchers while treating baby boomers to one of America’s top sitcoms. Remember the one liners like “you better shut your double breasted lips,” “fish eyed fool” and “oh-oh, this is the big one”?

As quick as Fred was, Esther was just as quick, at times quicker. Her one liners were hilarious, digging at Fred. And who knew that so many interesting experiences could take place at a junk yard?
One of my favorite Sanford and Son episodes was when Lamont bought two coffins in the house. Fred absolutely refused to sleep in the house as long as the coffins were in the house. Macho bravado would not allow Lamont to give in. Then, night came. Cats meowed, dark settled down throughout the house and Lamont’s courage started to shrink. It was Lamont’s attempts to feign courage that made this one of the show’s funniest episodes.

The day that Lamont brought an old rifle home is another Sanford and Son favorite. Lamont paid fifty bucks for the rifle, a deal that Fred thought was a rip off. But, when didn’t Fred think that Lamont had made a bad deal?

Sanford and Son’s Fred is a Rare Character

As usual, Fred exaggerated wartime exploits. Only this time, Fred didn’t boost his military experiences. Instead, he raved about his cousin. Walking from one spot to another in the house, Fred showed how his cousin had made his way through a war zone, taking aim at would be attackers.

Too bad, Fred had recently argued with Lamont and his neighbor, Goldstein.

The rifle went off and a bullet flew through the front door and blasted through Goldstein’s window. No one could tell Fred and Lamont that Fred hadn’t shot and killed Goldstein. The two worked up a scheme to find out what happened to Goldstein. Their desperation pushed them to make a move that turned out to cost them $1,000.
Sanford and Son ran for five years. The first three seasons were the best, if you ask me. Redd Foxx brought Fred to life in a way that maybe only he could have. Who knew that a 1970s TV classic would still be entertaining viewers more than 40 years after the TV sitcom first aired?