Grady Wilson (Sanford and Son)
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Grady Wilson is the name of a fictional
recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...
on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
'' Sanford and Son'' played by
Whitman Mayo Whitman Blount Mayo Jr. (November 15, 1930 – May 22, 2001) was an American actor, best known for his role as Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom ''Sanford and Son''. Biography Early years Whitman Blount Mayo, Jr. was born in New Yor ...
. The character's name first appeared in the 1972 episode "The Dowry;" however, in this episode he was played by
Albert Reed Jr. Albert Reed Jr. (January 28, 1910May 31, 1986) was an American actor and law enforcement officer. He was mostly known for his recurring role as Alderman Fred C. Davis on '' Good Times''. He also had a recurring role on the children's adventure ...
and he was Fred's cousin. Once Mayo took the role, Grady became a regular on the show.


Character history

Grady is the best friend of Fred Sanford ( Redd Foxx), the main character of "Sanford and Son", a junk and antique business in
Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...
. Grady is portrayed as an elderly man, known for his stooped appearance and his gray hair and beard. He is most commonly seen wearing an oversized, pale-blue sport coat and walks with a slow shuffle. He often stops by Fred's house to drink and play cards, and he regularly accompanies Fred in his various schemes, much to the chagrin of Fred's son Lamont. He is sometimes referred to by Fred as "Shady Grady" (a nickname that would be referenced in the 1996
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
of ''
Malcolm & Eddie ''Malcolm & Eddie'' is an American sitcom that premiered August 26, 1996, on UPN, and ran for four seasons, airing its final episode on May 22, 2000. This series starred Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Eddie Griffin in the lead roles. The program was ...
''). Grady is extremely absent-minded and regularly forgets the names of people he knows—especially Lamont, who is Grady's godson. When Grady asks him his name, Lamont often responds by sarcastically giving him a similar name (such as "Lucas" or "Lawrence"), which Grady then acknowledges. (Grady is named after
Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He portrayed Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) in the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–77), and Oscar Madison in '' The New Odd Coup ...
, the actor who played Lamont on the series. His full name is Grady Demond Wilson.) He frequently confuses certain words, upon hearing them, for anything similar-sounding (such as referring to the "munchies" as "
Munchkin A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in ...
s"). Grady often refers to his old age, or his impending death, or the deaths of his and Fred's friends. He also frequently inadvertently insults Fred's sister-in-law
Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
, by telling her something Fred has said about her. He is often easily alarmed or surprised, and when excited, he is known to exclaim his
catch phrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...
s, "Good goobily goop!" or "Great googly moogly!". Grady also has a habit of being easily upset, usually when complimented, accidentally offended or hearing of illness or impending death striking a friend, sobbing uncontrollably and blowing his nose loudly (Fred often responds to this by telling him irritably "Don't do that, you gonna blow somethin' outta your head that you ''need''!") For a time during the series' run, Fred was "out of town" (due to a salary dispute between Foxx and NBC), leaving Grady in charge of Fred's business, effectively making Grady the main character on the show. During Fred's absence, Grady moved into Fred's house, and also took over the role of Lamont's
comic foil A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases fo ...
. Like Fred before him, he also quite frequently ran afoul of Lamont's formidable Aunt Esther. Grady appeared on ''Sanford and Son'' from
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
until
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
. During this time, Mayo also starred in a TV series about the character, '' Grady''. In this series, Grady moves out of Watts to live with his daughter. The show was short-lived, and he eventually returned to ''Sanford and Son''. Mayo reprised the role of Grady again in the show's short-lived spin-off ''
The Sanford Arms ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', in which Grady is married to his former girlfriend, Dolly. Mayo reprised his role again as a guest star on '' Sanford''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Grady Fictional African-American people Fictional characters from Los Angeles Sanford and Son characters Television characters introduced in 1972 American male characters in television