At 79, Grady Demond Wilson, who gained popularity for his role as Lamont on Sanford and Son, has passed away.
TMZ spoke with Wilson’s son, who revealed that the actor was pronounced dead on Friday (Jan.30) at his home in Palm Springs, California. “I loved him. He was a great man,” he said. According to the outlet, Wilson passed away due to complications from cancer. However, there was no information given about what specific cancer Wilson had been diagnosed with.
Sanford and Son was a popular 1970s NBC sitcom starring the late comedian Redd Foxx and Wilson, who professionally went by Demond. Foxx portrayed the loud-mouth patriarch, Fred G. Sanford, who was a widower and junk dealer, whereas Wilson played his soft-spoken, peacemaker son, Lamont Sanford.
Wilson spent his early career as a broadway actor and trained dancer
Wilson was born in 1946 in Valdosta, Georgia, but grew up in New York City, where he studied tap dance and ballet.
He made his Broadway debut at only four years of age. By the age of 12, he was performing at Harlem’s Apollo Theater. As a young man, he pledged his service to the United States Army and served in Vietnam. After being wounded, he returned home, working on several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions, before setting his sights on Hollywood. Following his role on Sanford and Son, Wilson starred in another sitcom, ABC’s The New Odd Couple.
The show worked as an updated version of the iconic 70s series, The Odd Couple. However, unlike its predecessor, this series primarily focused on an African-American cast. Wilson portrayed Oscar Madison, the easy-going, sloppy character, whereas Felix Unger, the uptight neatfreak, was portrayed by actor Ron Glass. However, the show would only last one season amid a Hollywood writers’ strike that was taking place at the time. Wilson would also land a small role on the big screen in the 1993 comedy-drama film Me and the Kid.
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