Comedian Redd Foxx Is Dead At 68

LOS ANGELES - Comedian Redd Foxx, who played a crabby junkman on the 1970s TV series "Sanford and Son," died yesterday after suffering a heart attack on the set of his new show, a network official said. He was 68.

Foxx died at Queen of Angels Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, said Jeff Sagansky, president of CBS Entertainment.

Foxx was rehearsing a scene for the CBS series "The Royal Family" at a Paramount Studios sound stage when he collapsed.

He is best known for his role as a cantankerous Watts junk peddler on "Sanford and Son." The show lasted from 1972-77. Demond Wilson played his long-suffering son, Lamont.

Whenever Lamont threatened to leave, the father played by Foxx would fake a heart attack and moan, "I'm coming, Elizabeth, I'm coming," a reference to his late wife.

The bowlegged, foul-mouthed comedian was a frequent headliner in Las Vegas before starting work on "The Royal Family," in which he co-starred with Della Reese as a retiree forced to take in his grown daughter and her three children.

Foxx starred in an ABC variety show from 1977-78, but reprised his role as Fred Sanford on a show that lasted from 1980-81. He had another comedy in 1986, but none of his shows ever achieved the popularity of "Sanford and Son."

Foxx was born John Elroy Sanford on Dec. 9, 1922, in St. Louis.

His entertainment skills were honed in the streets and nightclubs of black communities. As a child, he would sing and play

the washtub bass.

He ran away from home at 13 to join a street band, then began working as a comic in the 1940s.

He worked as a dishwasher and slept under newspapers in Harlem while pursuing his career. At one point, he spent 95 days in jail for theft of food, although the charges were dropped.

Foxx was called "Chicago Red" to differentiate him from his friend "Detroit Red," the young Malcolm X, who wrote in his autobiography that Foxx "was the funniest dishwasher on earth."

As his career grew, Foxx played the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem and other black vaudeville venues. From 1951-56 he worked with comedian Slappy White.

His salty work was a hit with nightclub audiences. He made 50 party records that sold more than 20 million copies - many under the counter.

He broke into television in 1964, appearing on NBC's "Today" show, then made various guest appearances.

He made his motion picture debut in "Cotton Comes to Harlem" in 1967. His other films included "Norman, Is That You?"

Foxx's personal life was notably extravagant.

At one point he owned a Beverly Hills mansion and several expensive cars, including a Rolls-Royce.

Foxx also was extravagant in his generosity.

His shows often featured old friends and comics from his earlier day. He often donated his time to do prison shows and appeared at benefits and charity events. In 1972, he was part of a Bob Hope overseas show.

However, Foxx's reputation also was besmirched by several allegations of violence.

In 1979, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a default judgment of $30,000 against Foxx for allegedly beating and pistol-whipping an executive of his now-defunct cosmetics firm. Foxx never responded to the suit.

When his second wife, Korean-born Yun Chi Foxx, filed for divorce, she contended he hit her and threatened her with a gun. She also contended he gambled away thousands of dollars in Las Vegas.

Foxx filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 1983, citing mounting debts and tax problems.

The IRS claimed Foxx owed $2.9 million in back taxes, penalties and interest. An agreement worked out with the IRS allowed Foxx to keep many of the personal items. The IRS continued to take a portion of the money Foxx made performing in Las Vegas.

Foxx married Ka Ha Cho, his fourth wife, in Las Vegas in July.