Demond Wilson, best known for playing Lamont Sanford on Sanford and Son opposite Redd Foxx, has passed away at the age of 79 at his home in Palm Springs, California.
According to TMZ, which received confirmation from his son, Desmond Wilson Jr., Wilson died from complications related to cancer.
Wilson became a household name in the hit 1970s sitcom, often on the receiving end of Foxx’s famous insult, “You big dummy!” as the two portrayed father and son on NBC. The series is set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and centered on a father-and-son junkyard business.
A New York City native, Wilson began his acting career after serving in the military, where he was wounded during the Vietnam War.
Demond Wilson, who starred as Lamont Sanford in the hit NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, ran from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977; Photo Credit: Everett Collection / WireImage
Beyond Sanford and Son, Wilson appeared in several films and television projects, including The New Odd Couple, Me and the Kid, The Organization, Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues, and Baby… I’m Back. He also made guest appearances on Mission: Impossible (1960s-1970s TV series), All in the Family, and the 2000s UPN series Girlfriends, where he played Lynn’s biological father.
Wilson was also an author, writing several Christian books focused on the New Age Movement and what he believed were its hidden dangers. His memoir, Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memoirs of the Sanford & Son Years, was released in 2009.
An ordained minister, Wilson made multiple guest appearances on Trinity Broadcasting Network’s Praise the Lord program and was a close friend of actor Clifton Davis. He also acted in and produced stage plays, taking touring productions on the road.
Wilson is survived by his wife of 51 years, Cicely Johnston, and their six children.
