The entertainment industry has unfortunately lost yet another star, and one who managed to etch his place within pop culture in an impactful way. Demond Wilson, the actor best known for his co-leading role on the show Sanford and Son (one of the greatest sitcoms of all time) has died. News of Wilson’s death broke this weekend, with his family confirming it by way of a formal statement. The seasoned actor was 79 at the time of his passing.
Grady Demond Wilson’s death was confirmed specifically by his son, Demond Jr., who shared a statement with TMZ. According to the younger Wilson, his father died on Friday, January 31 at his home in Palm Springs, California. The actor reportedly passed away due to cancer-related complications, though his son did not specify the type of cancer his father was battling. In his message to the aforementioned news outlet, Wilson Jr. also shared some sentimental comments about his dad, saying “I loved him. He was a great man.”
Born in Georgia but raised in New York, Demond Wilson made his stage acting debut on Broadway when he was only four years old. After participating in the arts as a youth, Wilson enlisted in the United States Army as an adult and was wounded while serving in Vietnam. After leaving the service in 1968, Wilson ventured back into the acting profession, landing roles in Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. He also scored a few TV roles, including a spot on Mission: Impossible.
What would prove to be a catalyst for Wilson’s eventual success was a guest appearance he made on a 1971 episode of All in the Family, in which he played a robber who attempted to steal from the Bunker/Stivic family. That guest appearance got Wilson on the radar of the late prolific TV producer Norman Lear. And, at the end of ‘71, Wilson would land the role of Lamont Sanford in the Lear-produced series Sanford and Son (which is currently streamable with a Peacock subscription).
Now considered one of the best sitcoms in NBC history, Sanford and Son premiered in January 1972 and saw Demond Wilson portray the son of junk dealer Fred Sanford, played by iconic comedian Redd Foxx. The blue collar characters made up one of the most popular duos in TV at the time, and the Sanford family became a mainstay on the small screen, as the show ran for six seasons before being canceled (due to Foxx’s desire to leave) in 1977. By the early ‘80s, Foxx revived the groundbreaking series with a follow-up called Sanford, though Wilson opted not to return.
Demond Wilson would return to TV with a starring role in 1978 via a CBS sitcom called Baby… I’m Back!, though the series was canceled after only a single season of 13 episodes. In 1982, Wilson played the role of Oscar Madigan in ABC’s The New Odd Couple alongside Ron Glass, and that show would only run for one 18-episode season before being canceled.
Throughout his career, Wilson also landed roles in several movies, including The Organization, Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues, Full Moon High and Me and the Kid. As time went on, he also made guest appearances on notable shows like The Love Boat and Girlfriends.
Wilson more than deserves his flowers for his contributions to pop culture, particularly for Sanford and Son. The sitcom became one of the earliest Black-led shows to become a hit with mainstream audiences and served as the precursor for African American-led shows that followed. Wilson’s portrayal of Lamont was a big part of that and, hopefully, the late actor’s impact will not be forgotten.
We here at CinemaBlend extend our condolences to the family and friends of Demond Wilson during this time.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
