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 Couple (1982–83). He appeared in the film Me and the Kid (1993).

Early life and career

Wilson was born in Valdosta, Georgia, in 1946, and grew up in New York City, where he studied tap dance and ballet. He made his Broadway debut at age four and danced at Harlem's Apollo Theater at twelve. Raised as a Catholic, Wilson was an altar boy and spent summers with a Pentecostal grandmother in Georgia. He considered the priesthood, but took up acting instead. At age thirteen, Wilson's appendix ruptured, almost killing him. At that time, the young Wilson vowed to somehow serve God as an adult in some ministerial capacity.

Wilson served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1968 and was in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he was wounded. Upon returning home as a decorated veteran in the late 1960s, Wilson was featured in several Broadway and off-Broadway stage productions before moving to Hollywood, where he performed guest roles on several television series such as Mission: Impossible and All in the Family and acted in films such as The Organization (1971) and Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972).