''Sanford Arms'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

television series produced as a

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 ...

and continuation of ''

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 ...

'', that aired on

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 ...

from September 16 to October 14, 1977. After six seasons,

Redd Foxx John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...

left ''Sanford and Son'' to star in a

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. The producers planned to continue the series with

Demond Wilson Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor and author. He played Sanford and Son#Lamont Sanford, Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred G. Sanford, Fred Sanford (played by Redd Foxx) on the NBC sitcom ''Sanford and Son'' (1972–1 ...

as Lamont, but Wilson left the project in a dispute over his expected salary as the star of the series. The producers decided to continue the project with a new character.

Norman Lear Norman Milton Lear (July 27, 1922December 5, 2023) was an American screenwriter and producer who produced, wrote, created, or developed over 100 shows. Lear created and produced numerous popular 1970s sitcoms, including ''All in the Family'' (1 ...

stepped down from his position as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

but stayed on as a

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

Premise

The new lead character was Phil Wheeler ( Theodore Wilson), a widower and old

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

buddy of Fred Sanford. It was explained that Fred and Lamont had moved to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and they sold their property to Phil. Phil now lived in the Sanfords' old house in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with his two teenage children, Angie and Nat. The primary setting of the series, however, was the

rooming house A rooming house, also called a "multi-tenant house", is a "dwelling with multiple Lease-by-room, rooms rented out individually", in which the tenants share kitchen and often bathroom facilities. Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-i ...

next door that Fred named "The Sanford Arms". Fred and Lamont bought the house in the penultimate season of the original series. The new series focused on Phil's attempts to turn the rooming house into a successful hotel. LaWanda Page 1977

Most of the

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 ...

s from the original series also starred in this series. Grady ( Whitman Mayo) was now married to his girlfriend Dolly (who appeared in an episode of the original series). Bubba ( Don Bexley) now worked at the Sanford Arms as a bellman and a maintenance man.

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 ...

(

LaWanda Page LaWanda Page (born Alberta Richmond; October 19, 1920September 14, 2002) was an Americans, American actress, comedian and dancer whose career spanned six decades. Crowned "The Queen of Comedy" or "The Black Queen of Comedy", Page melded Ribaldry ...

) was left in charge helping Phil and collecting the

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

payments. Rounding out the cast of characters was Phil's girlfriend, Jeannie. The attempt to continue a popular series without its two main stars turned out to be a failure. The ratings were low and the show was cancelled after four episodes. When Redd Foxx returned to television as Fred Sanford in the 1980–1981 short-lived spinoff '' Sanford'', the events of ''Sanford Arms'' were completely ignored.

Episodes

Syndication

''Sanford Arms'' was not included in the syndication package with ''Sanford and Son''. Eight episodes had been produced, but the final four episodes did not air before the series' abrupt cancellation. In 1991,

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

aired

reruns A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...

of the series. In 2019,

CHCH Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over half a million. It is located in ...

, a Canadian rerun channel, picked up the series for reruns, airing 6 of the 8 episodes, these 6 episodes are included as season 7 of ''Sanford and Son'' for streaming online through '' CTV.''

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford Arms 1977 American television series debuts 1977 American television series endings 1970s American black sitcoms 1970s American multi-camera sitcoms American English-language television shows Sanford & Son spinoffs American television spinoffs Television series by Sony Pictures Television Television shows set in Los Angeles NBC sitcoms