Desmond Wilson obit

Grady Demond Wilson 'Sanford and Son' Actor Dead at 79

 

 He was not on the list.

Grady Demond Wilson -- best known for playing Lamont Sanford, the son of Fred Sanford on the NBC sitcom "Sanford and Son" -- has died.

Wilson's son, Demond Wilson Jr., tells TMZ ... he was pronounced dead Friday morning at his home in Palm Springs, California. He passed away from complications related to cancer.

Demond didn't reveal the type of cancer he had. He told us ... "I loved him. He was a great man."

Grady -- who went by Demond Wilson professionally -- starred on "Sanford and Son" between 1972 and 1977 and then went on to play Raymond Ellis on the one season of "Baby... I'm Back!" He landed a starring role in "The New Odd Couple" as well, which lasted for a season in the early '80s

Grady took his acting prowess to the big screen as well, notably starring in the film "Me and the Kid" in 1993.

He last appeared in the drama "Eleanor's Bench" in 2023 after a nearly 20-year acting hiatus, according to his IMDb page.

Wilson married model Cicely Johnston on May 3, 1974. They had six children. In 1984 he was ordained as a minister in the Church of God in Christ and was an active Christian evangelist for much of his adult life.

Wilson died from complications of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, California, on January 30, 2026, at the age of 79.

Wilson also made numerous guest appearances on the Praise the Lord program aired on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and was a good friend of Clifton Davis. He also appeared as a guest star on the UPN sitcom Girlfriends, playing Lynn's biological father.

In the summer of 2011, Wilson started appearing with actress Nina Nicole in a touring production of the play The Measure of a Man by playwright Matt Hardwick. The play is described as "a faith-based production" and is set in a small town in south Georgia.

Wilson began work in 2010 to produce and act in a melodramatic family film based on the play Faith Ties. Says Wilson of the project: "I play a broken down old drunk whose wife and daughter are killed and he's given up on life. The protagonist is a pastor who is in the middle while he watches the lives of people crumbling around him."

Grady was 79.

RIP

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1970      Cotton Comes to Harlem           Rally Attendant                Uncredited

1971      The Organization            Charlie Blossom            

1972      Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues              Rupert

1981      Full Moon High                 Cabbie-Busdriver          

1993      Me and the Kid Agent Schamper            

2000      Hammerlock    Morgan Rivers

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1971      All in the Family               Horace                Episode: "Edith Writes a Song"

1971      Mission: Impossible      Simmons            Episode: "Underwater"

1972–1977         Sanford and Son             Lamont Sanford              Main role (135 episodes)

1978      Baby... I'm Back!             Raymond Ellis Main role (13 episodes)

1979      The Love Boat   Bart       Episode: "Letter to Babycakes"

1981      The Love Boat   Jesse (Isaac's Uncle)     Episode: "Black Sheep"

1981      Today's FBI         Leon      Episode: "Terror"

1982–1983         The New Odd Couple   Oscar Madison                Main role (18 episodes)

1992      The Phil Donahue Show               Himself               Episode: Famous Past Celebrities

2004–2005         Girlfriends         Kenneth Miles Recurring role (4 episodes)