Demond Wilson

Demond Wilson
Demond Wilson (left) (as Lamont Sanford) with Redd Foxx (bottom right) (as Fred Sanford) in 1972
Born	Grady Demond Wilson (1946-10-13) October 13, 1946 (age 70) Valdosta, Georgia, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, Producer, Author, Pastor
Years active	1971–2005
Spouse(s)	Cicely Johnston (1972-present) or (1974–present) (sources differ)
Children	6

Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor, author, and pastor. He played the role of Lamont Sanford in the 1970s NBC sitcom Sanford and Son.

Wilson was born in Valdosta, Georgia, and grew up in New York City, where he studied tap dance and ballet. He made his Broadway debut at 4 and danced at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater at 12. Raised as a Catholic, Wilson was an altar boy and spent summers with a Pentecostal grandmother in Georgia. He considered the priesthood, but took up acting, instead. At the age of 13, Wilson's appendix ruptured, almost killing him. At that time, the young Wilson vowed to somehow serve God as an adult in some ministry capacity. Wilson served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968 and was in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he was wounded. 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 such as Mission: Impossible and All in the Family and acted in films such as The Organization (1971) and Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972).

Later 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. Brown later became well known as Nathan Bookman on Good Times. 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 despite being still very popular. In 1980–1981, Foxx attempted to revive the show with the short-lived sitcom Sanford, but Wilson refused to reprise his role as Lamont Sanford for the new series.