Calling All "Sanford and Son" Buffs Quiz

Answer: Watts

This area of Los Angeles became a war zone because of riots in August of 1965. Sparked by a routine traffic stop, the riots lasted for six days. After which, then Governor, Pat Brown, appointed a commission to study the cause of the riots. While poor schools and living conditions and few jobs were cited as symptomatic...no effort was made to change the conditions of those living in the Watts area.

Not even to rebuild what was destroyed as a result of the riots.

Answer: Daniel

Aunt Esther and Woody were getting lonesome and wanted a progeny to leave their business to, so they adopted a child. However, when the stork brought the bouncing baby boy, he was in his late teens. Esther and Woody wanted nothing to do with a child of this age. Fred convinced them of what Daniel could bring to both their lives. Esther and Woodrow finally accepted Daniel with open arms.

Answer: Julio

When the show introduced the new Puerto Rican neighbors, Lamont and Julio became good buddies. Lamont even dated his sister. When he introduced "Ju" to Fred, he gave him his usual bigoted remarks. I think what Fred hated most about his new neighbors was Julio's goat. It often made its way into the Sanford home, uninvited.

Answer: Elizabeth, I'm comin' to join ya' honey...

Audiences waited on the edges of their seats to see Fred Sanford do his heart attack parody each time he did it. It became a mainstay of the show. Comics use the bit in their acts even today. "Oh oh," he'd say to Lamont grabbing his chest. "You did it this time, it's the big one. Elizabeth, I'm comin' to join ya' honey..." with whatever he might have in his hand or might be the cause of his latest heart attack. "Elizabeth, I'm comin' to join ya' honey. With a glass of champipple in one hand."

Answer: Police Officers

Wow! I hope the police in Watts weren't really like those two. One was Black and one was Caucasian; They always turned up for a call at the Junkyard. Only officer Hopkins couldn't get his street lingo down, and Fred and Lamont could never understand his police language. Officer Smith always had to interpret his official police lingo for Fred and Lamont, as well as correct his inadequate street lingo. Such as, Hoppy saying, "Something smells good Mr. Sanford. Is it Hammergreens and collard hocks?" Then Smitty would say, "Hamhocks and collard greens."

Answer: Janet

Lamont finally found the woman for him, unfortunately she had a piece of baggage in the form of an ex-husband. Carol also had a young son who loved Lamont, but loved his dad more. The marriage never took place.

Answer: They plied him with beer to make him go to the bathroom.

Fred invited a bum in and he promptly took advantage of Fred. He pretended that he couldn't walk because he hurt his back on the Sanford property. However, the bum decided not to sue if he could stay there and recover. He wore on Fred and Lamont because he claimed he couldn't walk.

The Sanfords devised a flawless plan to get rid of him. The plan worked like a charm. They kept giving him beers knowing sooner or later he'd have to use the bathroom. He did, and they caught him and booted him from their home.

Answer: Barracuda

Fred finally met someone to maybe take the place of his beloved wife. When Lamont met her he couldn't stand her; Not that either of them tolerated the women in each other's lives. Donna was sort of bossy and very determined. Though she had been dating Fred for a while, she was new to Lamont and he didn't like her. Donna prepared dinner for the three of them when she first met Lamont and he constantly scowled and compared everything about the meal and Donna to his departed mother.

He called her a barracuda and was forever scheming to break them apart.

Answer: Watch Bear

Lamont left the family business and Fred hired a replacement for him. On one of his trips to collect salvage the new man brought back a taxidermied bear. When Fred asked why, he said it would make a great watch dog for the junkyard. Selling Fred on the idea, they called it a watch bear. It must have been a great idea. The next morning the watch bear was gone.

Answer: He was Lamont's father

Fred had raised Lamont as a single parent since he was 14 years old. Grip Madlock came into town and told Grady, he was Lamont's father. When Grip confronted Fred with this news, he was heartbroken. His beloved Elizabeth and someone else. He couldn't believe it. Fred told Lamont, and he assured Fred, he would always be his father, no matter what Grip said.

It turns out that Grip slipped into Elizabeth's sister's room that night. Esther!

Answer: Jackie

Fred Sanford had a morbid fear of flying. However, Lamont convinced him to fly to St. Louis for an urgent family matter. On the flight he kept asking the attendants their name. Finally he met Jackie, and boy was he sorry. Jackie was played by comic, Hannah Dean.

Answer: Pat Morita

Morita, best know as "Mr. Miyagi" from The karate kid movies and "Arnold" from Happy Days, appeared in about seven episodes of Sanford and Son. Fred spouted a lot of racisms at everyone who wasn't Black but the show had many cultures appear on it. I'm sure many careers were given a shot in the arm from the series. It was one of, if not the most culturally diverse show of its time.

Answer: Goldstein

Lamont brought home a rifle that he thought was a relic of a bygone war and worth a pretty penny. However, Fred had to check out the gun. He didn't think it was worth what Lamont paid for it, and it never occurred to him it might be loaded. While siting the gun, Fred accidentally fired it. After checking the path of the bullet, the found it had gone through the window of his rival, Herman Goldstein, played by Leo Fuchs. Seeing Goldstein's hat on his favorite chair also in the path of the bullet, they figured the worst. Of course they panicked but in the end...Goldstein Lives. He wasn't even home when the incident took place.

*Special thanks to, AlvinKarpis for alerting me to a mistake in this question.

Answer: "Watch it sucka!"

Fred never got along with his sister-in-law. They were constantly at odds. Bible toting Esther however, was never put off by Fred's heathenistic mouth. Whenever he was about to go off on her, she'd stop him in his tracks with her tagline. "Watch it sucka!"

Answer: Arizona

The show ended its run in 1977 due to salary disputes and the Sanfords moved to Arizona. Later, Lamont went to Alaska to work on the pipeline. Redd Foxx revived his role as Fred G. Sanford without Demond Wilson for a spin-off. The new show called, "Sanford" aired from 1980 to 1981. Only one or two of the original players came back to this third spin-off of 'Sanford and Son'.