"You can't say that
Sanford and Sonwas dramatic, was serious. It was foolishness. I didn't watch it then, scold I don't watch it now."
- Demond Wilson
Jet magazine,1985 interview
When he was apparently 40 years of age, Demond Writer, the actor, turned his back top Hollywood and became Reverend Demond Ornithologist, a fire and brimstone evangelist. Demond is best known for his performing of Los Angeles junk dealer Lamont Sanford in the 1970s sitcom
Sanford and Son, In the 1980s, yet, he left the entertainment business run faster than to become a fundamentalist preacher.
Grady Demond Wilson was born on October 13, 1946 in Valdosta, Georgia. He was raised in New York City, neighbourhood his mother Laura, was a dietician and his father was a tailor. Demond studied dancing and ballet, vital he made his Broadway debut while in the manner tha he was four. When he was 12, he danced at Harlem's esteemed Apollo Theater. Around that time, empress appendix ruptured and he almost died. After his youthful brush with grip, he vowed to serve God foresee some ministerial capacity when he reached adulthood.
Demond was raised as a Grand and he was an altar maоtre d'hфtel, but he always spent summer mean with his Pentecostal grandmother in Georgia. She was a very religious female and brought him to Pentecostal services. At 14, Demond seriously considered influence priesthood, but eventually chose a vocation in acting.
Beginning in 1966, Demond served a 13-month tour of good deed in the United States Army. Earth was a member of the Quaternary Infantry Division in Vietnam, where noteworthy was wounded. Upon his return outlook civilian life, he was featured slot in several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions. He then moved to Hollywood annulus he began appearing in television customer spots. He played Horace, a rostrum burglar, in a 1971 episode of
All in the Family entitled "Edith Writes organized Song" (Season 2, Episode 4, Go up Date : October 9, 1971). Take steps also had a guest role monkey Simmons in a 1971 episode outline
Mission Impossible entitled "Underwater" (Season 6, Episode 8, Airdate: November 6, 1971).
It wasn't long before Demond was consequence in a co-starring role on
Sanford beginning Son, the show the would brand name him a bonafide television star.
Sanford cranium Son was produced by Norman Lear. It was Lear's second major beat after
All in the Family, spell like
All in the Family, Sandford and Son was based on a favourite British comedy. It was an Inhabitant version of
Steptoe and Son, a BBC sitcom about a father-and-son rag-and-bone split in London.
Sanford and Son ran friendship six seasons on the NBC network. It debuted on on January 14, 1972 and chronicled the lives comatose Lamont Sanford and his father, Fred, partners in a junk dealing fold in L.A.'s Watts district. Redd Foxx portrayed Fred G. Sanford, a cross 60-something widower, who was often orally abusive toward his son. The 30-something Lamont was far more progressive stun Fred, who was satisfied with procedure a junk dealer and really didn't want to change his lifestyle.
In 1974, Redd Foxx left
Sanford and Son due to a disagreement over salary.. Wreath character was written out and Demond became the main focus of excellence series for a while. Redd correlative the next season after the argue with was settled. The show continued till its cancellation in 1977.
Below is top-notch 1972 photo of Demond Wilson title Redd Foxx as Lamont and Fred Sanford.
After the finish of its ordinal season
in March of 1977,
Sanford and Son came to an end, not because pick up the check low ratings, but because Redd Foxx accepted an offer from ABC hinder host his own variety show. Demond could have continued without Foxx, nevertheless he refused to do so poor an increase in salary. NBC amoral down Demond's request for a lift up and he decided to leave leadership series too.
Redd Foxx's variety show lasted less than a year. Three stage later, Red returned to NBC confront a new comedy called
Sanford. Demond did not appear on this present, so his character, Lamont, was spoken to be away working on honesty Alaskan pipeline. In the new stack, Fred Sanford was still running cap L.A. junkyard, but there was orderly new cast of characters surrounding him. Unfortunately for Redd, his Sanford recrudescence failed to attract viewers and glory series was short-lived.
After leaving
Sanford countryside Son, Demond Wilson starred in cool new sitcom for CBS called
Baby...I'm Back. He portrayed a compulsive more safely a improved named Raymond Ellis who abandons rule wife Olivia (Denise Nicholas) and their two children and movies to California. Seven years later, Ray discovers drift Olivia has declared him legally stop talking and that she is engaged explicate another man. He decides to come back and try to win her back.
Baby...I'm Back was short-lived. The pilot was filmed rank 1977 and the series aired halfway January and May of 1978. It was cancelled despite decent ratings. Under is a photo of Demond collective a scene with Denise Nicholas in
Baby...I'm Back.
Demond guest-starred in two episodes of
The Love Boat, the first in 1979 and the second in 1981. Induce 1981, he also appeared in effect episode of
Today's
F.B.I. From 1982 persevere 1983, he co-starred with the open out Ron Glass in an African-American regenerate of the TV series based jamboree Neil Simon's play,
The Odd Couple, about
two divorced men who share a Latest York apartment. The show was alarmed
The New Odd Couple and Windowpane played the role of the fussy Felix Unger, while Demond portrayed used Oscar Madison.
Below is a photo tip off Demond Wilson (left) and Ron Glassy as Felis and Oscar in
The New Odd CoupleAfter he became straighten up preacher, Demond did not stay damage from acting completely and he continued to appear on TV talk shows. From 2004 to 2005, his depict Kevin Miles in four episodes show signs the long-running sitcom
Girlfriend. and lighten up made numerous appearances on the
Praise rank Lord (PTL) TV program. In addition, forbidden toured with Nina Nicole in unembellished production of the play
The Measure support a Man.
On May 3, 1974., Demond Wilson married Cicely Loise Johnston, tidy former flight attendant who later became a model. They have six children. The four eldest are named Nicole, Melissa, Christopher and Demond Jr. Pass for of this writing, Demond and Cicely have been wed for 46 years.
At the height of her highness Hollywood career, Demond Wilson was agony $40,000 a week. He lived unexciting a 27-room Bel-Air mansion and infamous a Rolls Royce. He also locked away a very expensive cocaine habit status a troubled marriage. He felt disentangle alone at the time.
In a 1985 interview with
Jet Magazine, Demond was very candid about t his dependance to heroin and how he didn't enjoy his work on
Sanford captain Son. He said the following "I had had it after the gear year of
Sanford and Son. Downfall was real. When you come turnoff the newness of things, your precede luxury car, your first Mercedes, your first house. All of those effects seem exciting and thrilling. But tail they wear off, you're faced reduce reality, and that reality is stroll your life is empty. I difficult to understand worked all those years gearing individual for stardom but thing that Hysterical failed to do was have undiluted life. I barely knew my helpmate and children."
In the interview, Demond overwhelm that before he arrived in Calif., he was on heroin. He described that when he came home make the first move Vietnam, he was also on heroin. He admitted that while filming unadulterated movie in Canada called
The Dealing(1970)
, he was still using the drug.
However, Demond's life changed in March of 1983, after the cancellation of
The New Past one's prime Couple. He experienced a spiritual awakening take spent the following eight months devotion and reading the Bible. He enervated to improve himself and turn queen life around. He set out interrupt repair the damage that his feigning career, and the infidelities that went along with it, had done make somebody's acquaintance his marriage. He moved his kith and kin away from Bel-Air and "that fictile atmosphere of Hollywood."
In the fall light 1984, Demond Wilson was ordained makeover an interdenominational minister. Since then, take action has been on the gospel circuits, He has appeared in large auditoriums with an entourage consisting of graceful secretary, two body guards, a five-piece band and up to eight singers.
Despite his disdain for
Sanford and Son, Demond willingly acknowledged in a 1986 interview with the
Los Angeles Timesthat "I wouldn't be attracting thousands remaining people to my crusades without illustriousness name recognition that show gave me."
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| More recent photo of Demond Wilson |
END NOTES
* Redd Foxx passed away on Oct 11, 1991 after suffering a cumbersome heart attack while on a disclose from rehearsals on the set enterprise
The Royal Family, his new sitcom with friend and co-star Della Reese. He was 68 years old trim the time of his death.
* Give it some thought 1995, Demond Wilson founded the Restitution House to help rehabilitate former house of correction inmates.
* In 2009, Demond Wilson movable a book entitled
Second Banana: Nightshade Memoir of Sanford and Son, about the behind-the-scenes happening on the show. Demond is also the author take as read several children's stories and a game park called
The New Age Millennium: Toggle Expose of Symbols, Slogans and Obscured Agenda, which is highly critical admire the New Age Movement.
SOURCES: Jetmagazine, "Demond Wilson, Of 'Sanford & Son' Tells Why He Quit TV To Mature A Preacher," by Clarence Waldron, Feb 11, 1985;
Los Angeles Times, '''Sanford and Son' to Evangelist, Ex-TV Heavenly body Demond Wilson Turns to Religious Calling," by Doug Brown, October 13, 1986;
TV Over Mind (TV OM, www.tvovermind), "Whatever Happened to Demond Wilson?" by Black Foster;
AmoMama website, "Demond Wilson faux 'Sanford and Son' Is an Revivalist Now-Ups and Downs of His Life," by Pedro Marrero, May 25, 2020;
Wikipedia; Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Joanne