Demond Wilson died Friday morning at his Palm Springs home. The 79-year-old actor lost his battle with cancer complications. Wilson’s son, Demond Wilson Jr., confirmed his father’s death to TMZ. “I loved him. He was a great man,” he said.
The actor became a household name playing Lamont Sanford on NBC’s Sanford and Son from 1972 to 1977. He starred opposite Redd Foxx, who played his cantankerous father, Fred Sanford.
Wilson was born Grady Demond Wilson in Valdosta, Georgia, on October 13, 1946. He grew up in New York City, studying tap dance and theater. After Sanford and Son ended, Wilson starred in Baby… I’m Back! for one season on CBS.
He also played Raymond Ellis in The New Odd Couple during the early 1980s. Wilson took his talents to film, appearing in movies like Me and the Kid in 1993. He stepped away from acting for nearly 20 years to pursue his faith and become a pastor.
The veteran actor returned to the screen in 2023 with Eleanor’s Bench, his final performance, according to his IMDb page.
Wilson’s character, Lamont, represented the younger generation trying to escape poverty and build something better. That struggle resonated with Hip-Hop artists who grew up watching reruns.
The show tackled real issues facing Black families in Los Angeles. Wilson and Foxx brought authenticity to their father-son dynamic, which people still love today. Hip-Hop’s sampling culture has kept Wilson’s voice alive in new music. His delivery and timing made even simple dialogue memorable enough to loop in beats.
De La Soul sampled Lamon’s famous tap-dancing routine in their classic song “Pease Porridge,” and Flying Lotus, Captain Murphy and Snoop Dogg used Sanford and Son clips in their 2014 track “Dead Man’s Tetris.”
The song samples Wilson’s character saying, “What did you say?”
Nolan the Ninja and Blu sampled two different Sanford and Son moments for their 2017 song “Lei$ure.” They used Wilson’s lines “I ain’t doing nothing for you and nobody else” and “I just can’t stand being poor like this.”
Devo-X sampled the show’s famous “You big dummy!” catchphrase for his 1991 track “Ghetto Stories.” The show’s theme song, “The Streetbeater” by Quincy Jones, has been sampled 23 times according to WhoSampled.
M.I.A. used the theme on her debut album when Diplo layered it into production. Countless other Hip-Hop producers have flipped the iconic melody.
Wilson is survived by his son, Demond Wilson Jr., and other family members. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
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