Sanford and Son

Sanford and Son was adapted by Norman Lear from the British sitcom Steptoe and Son, which aired on BBC1 from 1962 to 1974, and was seen as NBC's answer to CBS's All in the Family, itself also adapted by Lear from a British show (Till Death Us Do Part).

An earlier, unaired American pilot adaptation of Steptoe and Son was produced by Joseph E. Levine in 1965, starring Lee Tracy and Aldo Ray as Albert and Harold Steptoe; it never led to a series but was eventually released on DVD in the UK in 2018.

During production of the 1973–74 season, star Redd Foxx walked off the show in a salary dispute (though he officially cited health issues), leading his character to be written out for six episodes with the explanation that Fred Sanford was attending a cousin's funeral in St. Louis, leaving Grady in charge of the house.

Foxx, who was earning $19,000 per episode, demanded a 25% ownership stake in the series; Tandem Productions responded with a $10 million lawsuit before the dispute was settled in June 1974 with Foxx getting $25,000 per episode (matching Carroll O'Connor's All in the Family pay) plus 25% of the producers' net profits.

In 1977, rival network ABC lured Redd Foxx away to host his own variety show, The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, effectively ending Sanford and Son, though media reports at the time claimed the dispute was actually over the lack of a dressing-room window.

The storefront exterior shown in the opening credits was actually located at 10659 West Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, nearly 16 miles from the Sanfords' fictional address in Watts, and the same storefront (without the show's sign) also appeared in a 1973 episode of Emergency!.

The pickup truck used in the series, a 1951 Ford F1, was auctioned off after the show ended, leased back to NBC for the spin-offs Sanford Arms and Sanford, and changed hands several times before being restored by classic car dealers in Ohio, where it remains on display.

The show's theme song, 'The Streetbeater,' was composed by Quincy Jones and released as a record through A&M in 1973; though it never charted on Billboard, it remained popular and has since been featured in shows like Scrubs, Family Guy, and The Simpsons.