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Grady Demond Wilson, best known for playing Lamont Sanford on the hit NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, has died at the age of 79.
The beloved actor passed away Friday morning at his home in Palm Springs, California, following complications related to cancer.
His son, Demond Wilson Jr., confirmed the news to TMZ, though he did not disclose the specific type of cancer his father had been battling.
'I loved him. He was a great man,' Demond Jr. told the outlet.
Wilson starred opposite Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford’s sharp-tongued son on Sanford and Son from 1972 to 1977.
After the show’s success, he went on to headline several television projects, including a lead role on the short-lived sitcom Baby… I’m Back!.
Grady Demond Wilson, best known for playing Lamont Sanford on the hit NBC sitcom Sanford and Son, has died at the age of 79; (pictured in 2016)
Wilson starred opposite Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford’s sharp-tongued son on Sanford and Son from 1972 to 1977
Appearing opposite Foxx on Sanford & Son, the duo helped push boundaries with one of television’s earliest Black-led sitcoms.
'Redd and I were making history back in those days,' Demond wrote in his 2009 autobiography.
'We were the first Blacks to be on television in that capacity and we opened the door for all those other shows that came after us.'
Wilson is survived by his wife, former model Cicely Johnston, along with their six children.
The couple married in 1974 and later devoted much of their life together to their shared Christian faith.
After the show’s success, he went on to headline several television projects, including a lead role on the short-lived sitcom Baby… I’m Back!
Appearing opposite Foxx on Sanford & Son, the duo helped push boundaries with one of television’s earliest Black-led sitcoms.
'Redd and I were making history back in those days,' Demond wrote in his 2009 autobiography, adding, 'We were the first Blacks to be on television in that capacity and we opened the door for all those other shows that'
Beyond his acting career and service as a Vietnam War veteran with the U.S. Army, Wilson embraced ministry, becoming an ordained Christian pastor in the 1980s.
He went on to found the Restoration House of America, a nonprofit aimed at helping formerly incarcerated individuals successfully reenter society.
Wilson also chronicled his life and beliefs through a memoir, in addition to authoring several faith-based books.
Fans quickly took to social media to honor the late star, with one writing on X: 'RIP Demond Wilson. My parents were pretty insistent on a 10 PM bed time when I was a kid, but they always let me make an exception for ‘Sanford and Son’ when it came on WPHL at 10. Always worth it.'
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