Sanford & Son Episode: Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe

"Sanford and Son" was a comedy series that originally aired on the NBC network from early 1972 until the spring of 1977. The show was based on a British show, called "Steptoe and Son," that began in the 1960s. This American show was set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In those times Watts had a predominantly, but not exclusively, black population, and indeed, during its years of original episodes, the diversity of the neighborhood was shown, while giving emphasis to the area's black majority. Today, Watts is a majority Latino neighborhood. 

 

This episode first aired on NBC in January 1974. 

While a great comedy show, occasionally "Sanford and Son" had serious moments showing the love and emotional bond between Fred and Lamont, especially in this episode.  

 

Episode Cast:

 

Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford

Demond Wilson as Lamont Sanford

La Wanda Page as Esther Anderson (Aunt Esther)

Whitman Mayo as Grady Wilson

Sonny Jim Gaines as Big Money Grip Matlock

Grady is very nervous when he comes to see Fred one day. After having a drink with Fred, Grady tells Fred why he stopped in. It turns out, a former friend of Fred from St. Louis, named Big Money Grip, has moved to Los Angeles so as to be closer to his son, and he claims that son is Lamont! At first, Fred thinks it's all a joke, but he sees how shaken Grady is, and then Grip comes to the door and he insists to Fred and Grady that HE is Lamont's real father. It turns out that Fred's late wife, Elizabeth, had indeed been interested in Grip before she married Fred. 

 

Later, after Grip and Grady leave, Lamont is sitting at the kitchen table trying to eat, but Fred keeps staring at him, comparing hands with him and just making a nuisance of himself. Lamont can't understand why Fred is acting this way. Fred calls Esther, Elizabeth's sister, and has her come over so he can talk with her about Elizabeth, but he doesn't tell Esther why he wants to discuss his late wife. Fred flat out asks Esther if she ever knew Elizabeth to fool around, and she tells him that "my baby sister was as pure as the driven snow" and that Fred is a "foul heathen" for even thinking anything bad about Elizabeth. Grip knocks at the door and Fred has him come in to hear what Esther has to say. First though, Grip tells Esther, "Lamont Sanford is my son," and Esther jumps up from the sofa and says, "WHAT did you say, Nigga?"* Esther tells Fred, "Why don't we both beat the hell outta him, right now?" (Note: "Sanford and Son" had a live studio audience, and this whole scene of a few minutes length brought a reaction of hysterical laughter from the audience.) 

Esther and Fred hassle and insult each other ten times a day, every day, but they are now allies against Grip. As the argument heatedly goes on, Lamont comes home. Fred tells Lamont that Grip says he is Lamont's real father, but that he and Esther say it's a lie. So, Lamont sees the whole thing boils down to him having to choose between Fred and Grip. As Lamont says, "This is heavy." Lamont has Fred sit down and in the serious and tear-jerking part of this whole scene, he tells how Fred is the only father he has ever known and how he loves him. "All my life it's been Sanford and son, and as far as I'm concerned, that's the way it's going to always be." Both Fred and Esther have to pull out handkerchiefs. Fred then tells Grip to "get the hell outta my house," but Esther tells Grip that she wants him to stop lying about her sister, because "the truth shall make you free." Grip tells them it's true and he mentions the exact address in St. Louis where Elizabeth's family lived, and he says further that he sneaked into the house one night when everyone was asleep and went to Elizabeth's room. Esther then challenges Grip to tell them which room was Elizabeth's. When Grip says it was the room off of the kitchen, Esther answers that he's lying, because "the room off the kitchen was my room." Fred tells Esther, "I think Grip was in your room," and he asks Esther, "Did anybody ever sneak into your room one night? And the truth now, because you know, the truth shall make you free." When Grip then asks Esther if she slept with big curlers in her hair, this prompts Esther to cover her ears and say, "I don't want to hear anymore of this!" She then says, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone." Esther continues quoting Bible verses and she leaves shouting some "Hallelujahs!" Fred tells Grip, "At first, I was mad at you, but now, I feel sorry for you."   

 

* Needless to say, this was quite a controversial remark for commercial television in those times, as there weren't cable stations as developed years later, but Norman Lear's shows pushed the bounds of television broadcasts. I don't now remember how I reacted to this scene back then, but I'm sure there was some jaw-dropping in many homes that evening, and "Sanford & Son" was one of the most popular shows on American television, watched by millions from all races every week, including by Randy.  

 Photo is from "Sanford And Son, The Third Season" DVD set, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2003

WORD HISTORY:

Paternal (Paternity)-These closely related words are distantly related to "father," via Indo European, with "father" being a word from the Germanic roots of English. "Paternal" goes back to Indo European “phater/phter/phaeter,” which meant, "father." This gave Latin "pater," meaning "father," and it gave Latin the adjective "paternus," with the meaning "of or about a father, or of being a father." This then later became the adjective "paternalis," which went into Old French as "paternal" ("of or about a father") and this was borrowed by English circa 1400. "Paternity" was derived from the above mentioned Latin adjective "paternus" ("of or about a father"), which produced the Latin noun "paternitas" ("fatherhood," "the act and responsibilities of being a father") and its accusative case form "paternitatem," which passed to Old French as "paternité," and this was borrowed by English in the mid 1400s (? some say mid 1500s), originally as "paternite" ("state or act of being a father;" thus, "the relationship of a father to his offspring"). The most common meaning today; that is, "being fathered by a particular man" (often in "paternity test," with adjectival usage), began to become a prominent meaning circa 1870.