Celebrity Nooz: Demond Wilson

Demond Wilson (Actor) - Sanford and Son

Updated: 7/23/21

Name: Demond Wilson

Birth Name: Grady Demond Wilson

Born: October 13, 1946 in Valdosta, Georgia, USA

Claim To Fame: Demond Wilson is an American actor and author best known for portraying Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) in the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son (1972-77).

Family Life: Wilson has been married to the former model Cicely Johnston since May 3, 1974. They have six children.

Info: Grew up in New York City, where he studied tap dance and ballet.

He made his Broadway debut at age four and danced at Harlem's Apollo Theater at twelve.

Raised Catholic and considered the priesthood, but took up acting instead.

At age thirteen, Wilson's appendix ruptured, almost killing him. At that time, the young Wilson vowed to somehow serve God as an adult in some ministerial capacity.

Wilson served in the US Army from 1966-1968 and was in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam where he was wounded.

Became a minister in 1984.

In 1994 he formed the Restoration House of America which gives Spiritual guidance and vocational training to former inmates.

Wilson has also made numerous guest appearances on the Praise The Lord program aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and is a good friend of Clifton Davis.

Trivia: Upon returning home as a decorated veteran in the late 1960s, Wilson was featured in several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions before moving to Hollywood, where he performed guest roles on several television series.

In 1971, after appearing as a robber on All in the Family with Cleavon Little, Wilson won the role of Lamont Sanford in the NBC sitcom Sanford and Son.

Johnny Brown was considered for that role, but because of his commitment to Laugh-In, Wilson got the role instead.

Wilson played Lamont through the run of the series, and became the star when Redd Foxx walked off the show in 1974 over a salary dispute with the producers and his character was written out for the rest of the season.

Foxx returned the following year, and the pair worked together until 1977 when the show was cancelled. In 1980-1981, Foxx attempted to revive the show with the short-lived sitcom Sanford, but Wilson refused to reprise his role for the new series.

Wilson later starred as Oscar Madison, opposite actor Ron Glass (who co-starred as Felix Ungar) in the ABC sitcom The New Odd Couple, a revamped version of the original 1970-75 series on the same network which starred Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, which was in turn based on the 1968 film starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

Demond has written eleven children stories and his book, "The New Age Millennium: An Expose of Symbols, Slogans and Hidden Agendas".

He has written two screenplays titled "Nat Tyler Freedom Fighter", and "Bay City Blues", and has written a sitcom titled "Hawkins for the Defense".

In 2009, Wilson released his second book titled "Second Banana: The Bitter Sweet Memoirs of the Sanford and Son Years".

In the summer of 2011, Wilson started appearing with actress Nina Nicole in a touring production of the play The Measure of a Man by playwright Matt Hardwick.

Where Are They Now: It would appear that Demond Wilson has retired from the acting. I'm sure he's enjoying life and relaxing, reflecting on long and storied career. We'd certainly love to see him again on screen, but retired is probably much too good.

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