Comedian, Actor. He was best known for his role as junk man 'Fred G. Sanford' in the popular 1970s television series comedy "Sanford and Son," notorious for his frank joking about topics from sex to color barriers; he brought taboo issues in the open. During his career Redd Foxx broke new ground for minorities and comedians alike. He was born into poverty in St. Louis, Missouri, at age thirteen he dropped out of school and ran away to join a street band in Chicago, Illinois, where he played the washboard. He eventually made his way to New York City, New York, to get into professional entertainment, and supported himself by washing dishes, while carving himself a place in show business. He soon received his nickname "Redd" because of his hair color and light skin and derived Foxx from his admiration of Major League Baseball player Jimmie Foxx. He began performing as a comedian and actor in African-American theaters and night clubs, often referred to as the "Chitlin' Circuit." Foxx soon began to make a name for himself as a comedian and his audiences grew steadily when he began using the profanity in his routines on stage. Over the years to come he would record several albums. After his motion picture debut in actor Ossie Davis's film "Cotton Comes To Harlem" in 1972, he was signed by Norman Lear in the American version of the popular British television situation comedy "Steptoe and Son". Renamed "Sanford and Son in America" and co-starring Desmond Wilson, Lawanda Paige, Whitman Mayo, and Slappy White. it ran on the NBC television network from 1972 to 1977. It garnered such popularity during its run that at one point NBC aired the show twice a week. After a turbulent relationship with NBC, Foxx quit the show in 1977, which ended its broadcast run. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and lived an extravagant lifestyle. In 1977, Foxx launched "The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour," which was canceled a year later. He successfully performed live shows in Las Vegas and worked on another short-lived sitcom "The Redd Foxx Show." In the late 1980's the IRS seized most of what he owned because of back taxes. Desperately looking for work he was cast by actor Eddie Murphy with actress Della Reese in the motion picture "Harlem Nights" in 1989. In 1991 Foxx and Reese were offered a series on CBS, which Murphy produced entitled "The Royal Family", which premiered on September 18, 1991. On October 11, 1991, Foxx arrived at the Paramount Studies in Los Angeles, California for a rehearsal for the show, and suffered a massive heart attack on the set, which at first was thought to be a joke, with the cast and crew laughing at him. After discovering the reality of the situation and being rushed to the Emergency Room of Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital, Redd Foxx was pronounced dead at 7:45 PM that evening. He was inducted by his hometown of St. Louis into the St. Louis Walk of Fame on May 17, 1992.