Foxx, Redd (John Elroy Sanford)
1922-1991 · Contribution: 1956-1977
Comedian & Actor
Star of 'Sanford and Son,' one of television's first sitcoms built around a predominantly Black cast; pioneered the raunchy 'party record' comedy album format and personally mentored Flip Wilson and Richard Pryor
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1922
- Active since
- 1956
- Category
- Arts, Music & Entertainment Tech
- Best known for
- Star of "Sanford and Son"Pioneered "party records"Mentored Pryor & Wilson
Impact on the world
Foxx pioneered a raw, uncensored style of Black comedy on records, then brought Black working-class life to primetime television. He opened doors for a generation of comedians.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Book or scholarly workFind
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Related visionaries
Pryor, Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas
1940-2005
Transformed American stand-up comedy by bringing unflinching honesty about race, addiction, and his own troubled life to the stage; first recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Wilson, Flip (Clerow Wilson Jr.)
1933-1998
First African American to host a successful weekly network variety show; his 'Geraldine' character's catchphrase 'What you see is what you get' inspired the computing term WYSIWYG
Mabley, Moms (Loretta Mary Aiken)
1894-1975
First female comedian to headline at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where she performed more times than any other entertainer in the venue's history; pioneered stand-up comedy as a vehicle for addressing race, sexuality, and aging through a deliberately disarming grandmotherly persona
Murphy, Eddie
1961-
Comedian, actor, and singer who became one of the defining box-office draws of the 1980s and one of the highest-grossing actors in film history; rose to fame as a cast member on 'Saturday Night Live' (1980-1984) and headlined blockbuster comedies including '48 Hrs.,' 'Trading Places,' 'Beverly Hills Cop,' and 'Coming to America,' opening doors for a generation of Black comedians and actors.