July 31, 2003

Fred calls Lamont a \”big dummy.\” Aunt Esther warns Fred to \”Watch it, sucka!\” Fred fakes a heart attack, crying out heavenward, \”Elizabeth, I\’m comin\’ to join you!\”\n\nThirty years ago, when few representations of blacks appeared on television, \”Sanford & Son,\” starring Redd Foxx, brought such gags into the pop culture lexicon. And for most of its 1972-1977 run, a couple of Jewish boys, Saul Turteltaub and Bernie Orenstein, oversaw the writing on the top-rated African American sitcom. Today, \”Sanford\” is the second most-watched program among viewers age 25-54 on rerun cable outlet TV Land, trailing only its doppelganger — the wholesome, decidedly white \”The Andy Griffith Show.\”