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Demond Wilson, who played Lamont Sanford on the 1970’s NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, has died at age 79.
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His son, Demond Wilson Jr., told TMZ the actor died Friday morning of complications from cancer at his home in Palm Springs, Calif.
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Wilson became a household name on TV after starring as the son of junk dealer Fred G. Sanford, played by the late Redd Foxx, on Norman Lear’s Sanford and Son from 1972 to 1977. The series was based on the British show Steptoe and Son.
During its six-season run, Wilson played a frustrated, quick-tempered son who bickered with his cantankerous father, and often had to put up with his “you big dummy” insults.
The comical banter on the show, set in Los Angeles, would make the sitcom one of the highest-rated TV comedies of the 1970s.
Actor grew up in New York City
Before finding fame, Wilson, who was born in Valdosta, Ga., and grew up in New York City’s Harlem, served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, according to the biography on his website.
At the age of 12, Wilson suffered a ruptured appendix and almost died.
“At that time the young Wilson vowed to somehow serve God as an adult in some ministry capacity,” his website said.
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After he was wounded in Vietnam, he returned to New York City, where he acted on Broadway and Off-Broadway stage productions before heading to Hollywood.
1971 a pivotal year
His career on the small screen took off in 1971 after he landed guest roles on several TV series, such as Mission: Impossible and Norman Lear’s All in the Family.
His performance on Lear’s sitcom and the success of the show would lead him to his most memorable role in network television.
He married model Cicely Johnston in 1974, and became a ordained minister in the 1980s.
He later turned his attention to writing, publishing several books, according to his website.
His 11 published works include children’s books, as well one on the New Age spiritual movement titled, The New Age Millennium: An Expose of Symbols, Slogans and Hidden Agendas, and his memoir, Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memoirs of the Sanford and Son Years.
His last acting role was on the TV drama Eleanor’s Bench in 2023, according to his IMDb page.
Wilson is survived by his wife and their six children, Christopher, Nicole, Melissa, Sarah, Tabatha and Demond Jr.; and two grandchildren.
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