Raymond Gilmore Allen (March 5, 1929 – August 10, 2020) was an American television actor. He was known for his appearances on television during the 1970s. He had recurring roles as Ned the Wino on ''

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

'', as

Aunt Esther Esther Winfield Anderson, known as Aunt Esther, is a fictional character from the television series ''Sanford and Son''. She was played by actress LaWanda Page, an acquaintance of series star Redd Foxx. Page was Foxx's first and only choice to ...

's husband, Woodrow "Woody" Anderson on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...

'', and as

mechanic A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...

Merle the Earl on ''

Starsky and Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a '' Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired ...

''. He reprised his role as Uncle Woody Anderson in the ''Sanford and Son''

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

, '' The Sanford Arms''. Allen also made guest appearances on ''

The Jeffersons ''The Jeffersons'' is an American sitcom television series that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, to July 2, 1985. Lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes, ''The Jeffersons'' is one of the longest-running sitcoms in history ...

'', ''

What's Happening!! ''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that first aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, premiering as a summer series. It also returned as a weekly series, that later aired for the rest of the three seasons, from November 1 ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', and the film ''

Wattstax ''Wattstax'' was a benefit concert organized by Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 riots in the African-American community of Watts, Los Angeles. The concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Augus ...

''.

Life

Although he had not appeared in any acting roles since 1985, as his last appearance was from the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

''Gus Brown and Midnight Brewster''. He continued making public appearances where he spoke and signed autographs. According to his

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

page, he was forced to retire from acting due to illness. Allen was married to Barbara Williams from 1963 to 1977; they had three children who include daughters Ta-Ronce Allen and Brenda Allen, as well as son Raymond Gilmore Allen Jr. (deceased).

Death

Allen died in August 2020 from a respiratory illness in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at the age of 91. His daughter, Ta-Ronce Allen confirmed the news on her

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1929 births 2020 deaths Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri American male television actors 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors {{US-tv-actor-1920s-stub