Pat Morita (Ah Chew) Mini Bio Pt. 2

His first movie role was as a stereotypical henchman in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). He also was cast as Rear admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, in the film Midway in 1976. Later, a recurring role as South Korean Army Captain Sam Pak on the sitcom M*A*S*H helped advance the comedian's acting career.

He had a recurring role on the show Happy Days as Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi, owner of the diner Arnold's. After the first season (1975–1976), he left Happy Days to star as inventor Taro Takahashi in his own show, Mr. T and Tina, the first Asian American sitcom on network TV. The sitcom was placed on Saturday nights by ABC and was quickly canceled after a month in the fall of 1976. In 1977, Morita starred in the short-lived Blansky's Beauties as Arnold. Morita eventually returned to Happy Days, reprising his role in the 1982–1983 season. He appeared in an episode of The Odd Couple and had a recurring role on Sanford and Son in the mid-1970s.

Morita gained worldwide fame playing wise karate teacher Kesuke Miyagi who taught young "Daniel-san" (Ralph Macchio) in The Karate Kid, a film that included the famous quote "Wax on, wax off" and also taught young "Julie-san" (Hilary Swank) in The Next Karate Kid, although in real life he did not know karate and spoke much better English. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as well as a Golden Globe and reprised his role as the sensei Mr. Miyagi in three sequels. Although he had been using the name "Pat Morita" for years, producer Jerry Weintraub suggested that Pat be billed with his given name to sound more ethnic.

Morita went on to play Tommy Tanaka in the TV movie Amos (for which he received Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award nominations), starring Kirk Douglas. He then starred as the title character in the ABC detective show Ohara which aired in 1987 and ended a year later due to poor ratings. He then wrote and starred in the World War II romance film Captive Hearts (1987). Late in his career, Morita starred on the Nickelodeon television series The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo and had a recurring role on the sitcom The Hughleys. He also made a guest appearance on an episode of Married With Children. He went on to star in Talk To Taka as a sushi chef who doles out advice to anyone that will hear him. In 1998, Morita voiced the Emperor of China in Disney's 36th animated feature Mulan and reprised the role in Kingdom Hearts II and Mulan II, a direct-to-video sequel.

Morita had a cameo appearance in the 2001 Alien Ant Farm music video "Movies". Morita's appearance in the video spoofed his role in The Karate Kid. He would also reprise his role (to an extent) in the stop-motion animated series Robot Chicken. In the episode, he is assumed to be Mr. Miyagi, but he immediately denies that by saying, "First of all, I'm Pat F'in Morita, ya nutsack!"

One of Morita's last TV roles was as Master Udon on the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, "Karate Island". The episode was dedicated to him after he died about six months after its first run. One of his last film roles was in the 2005 independent feature film, Only the Brave, about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, where he plays the father of lead actor (and director) Lane Nishikawa. His last movie was Royal Kill which also stars Eric Roberts, Gail Kim, and Lalaine and is directed by Babar Ahmed.

Pat Morita (Ah Chew) Mini Bio Pt. 1

"Noriyuki" Pat Morita (June 28, 1932 – November 24, 2005) was an American actor who was well-known for playing the role of Arnold on Happy Days, Ah Chew on Sanford and Son, and best known as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.

Pat Morita was born in Isleton, California. He developed spinal tuberculosis at the age of two and spent the bulk of the next nine years in Northern California hospitals, including the Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. He was for long periods wrapped in a full body cast and was told he would never walk.

After a surgeon fused four vertebrae in his spine, Pat finally learned to walk again at the age of 11. By then, his Japanese American family had been sent to an internment camp to be detained for the duration of World War II.


He was transported from the hospital directly to the Gila River camp in Arizona to join them. It was at this time that he met a Catholic priest from whom he would later take his stage name "Pat". For a time after the war, the family operated Ariake Chop Suey, a restaurant in Sacramento, California. Teenage "Nori" would entertain customers with jokes and serve as master of ceremonies for group dinners.

Gregory Sierra (Julio Fuentes)

Gregory Sierra (born January 25, 1941) is an American actor known for his roles as Detective Sergeant Chano Amenguale on Barney Miller and as Julio Fuentes, the Puerto Rican neighbor on Sanford and Son, where his character was often the brunt of racist insults and jokes via the show's main character, Fred G. Sanford (portrayed by Redd Foxx).

He also guest-starred as a Jewish radical in an unusually dramatic episode of All in the Family, working with the Hebrew Defense Association, an organization whose goal it was to stop anti-Semitism in the neighborhood. In the plot, he volunteers in helping to chase away neo-Nazi thugs presiding in the neighborhood during which they spray-painted a swastika on the Bunkers' door. He is later killed by a car bomb planted by the neo-Nazis. The actor later went on to star as Dr. Tony Menzies on the unsuccessful sitcom A.E.S. Hudson Street.

Sierra was cast as South American anti-Communist revolutionary "El Puerco" — whose friends simply call him "El" — on the serial spoof Soap, figuring prominently in the series' unresolved final episode in 1981. In 1984, he briefly became a main cast member of the then-new TV drama Miami Vice where he played Lieutenant Lou Rodriguez; he asked to be written out of the series after just four episodes. More recently he had regular roles on the TV shows Zorro and Son, Something is Out There, and Common Law.

In 1992, Sierra played drug dealer Felix Barbossa in the Bill Duke-directed Deep Cover, which also starred Laurence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum. He also played a man named Villanazul in the low-budget 1998 movie The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit. He also appeared as Corbin Entek in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Second Skin" and played a fugitive on the run with Steve McQueen in Papillon.

Lynn Hamilton (Donna Harris)

Lynn Hamilton (born April 25, 1930 in Yazoo City, Mississippi) is an American actress, who made her film debut in John Cassavetes' Shadows (1959).

She may be best known for her role as "Donna Harris", a role she played infrequently on the sitcom Sanford and Son, from 1972 to 1977 as the elder Sanford's girlfriend, Donna.

She also had a recurring role as "Verdie" on The Waltons, and made appearances on such television sitcoms, soap operas and miniseries as 227, Dangerous Women, Generations, Port Charles and Roots: the Next Generations.

Nathaniel Taylor (Rallo Lawson)

Nathaniel Taylor (born March 31, 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.) is an American television actor, best known for portraying "Rollo Lawson" in the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son, and as Rerun's (Fred Berry) brother-in-law "Ike" in the sitcom What's Happening!!. Taylor's character "Rollo" once referred to Redd Foxx's character "Fred G. Sanford" as, "One cold-blooded old dude."

Don Bexley (Bubba Bexley) Mini Bio

Donald T. Bexley (March 10, 1910 – April 15, 1997) was an American actor and comedian, best known for playing Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx)'s friend Bubba Bexley on the 1970s television sitcom Sanford and Son. He was a standup comedian on the Chitlin' Circuit as a solo act and as part of comedy teams, during which time he became acquainted with Redd Foxx. Bexley recorded party albums with partner Dave Turner and worked constantly throughout the United States, though mainstream stardom eluded him. His greatest exposure came from his Sanford and Son appearances. He appeared as the same character in the Sanford and Son spin-off series The Sanford Arms. His other television credits include Laverne & Shirley, Cheers, T.J. Hooker, Hunter and The Royal Family He was the MC and comedian in the movie Sparkle. He retired from show business in the 1980s and returned to his native Virginia.

Donald T. Bexley died on April 15, 1997, at the age of 87, due to heart and kidney failure.

Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson) Mini Bio Pt. 3

Though his role as Grady typecast him, Mayo did not let it define him. His professional growth took him some distance from the Watts junkyard of the NBC sitcom. He rounded out his career teaching drama at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as hosting Liars and Legends on Turner South.

Although best known for his television work, Mayo made several film appearances, including The Main Event with Barbra Streisand, D.C. Cab, Boyz in the Hood and Waterproof with Burt Reynolds.

Mayo also appeared as Reverend Banyon on the BET TV Movie Boycott in 2001 and in an episode of "Martin."

Mayo died of a heart attack at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, a hospital bearing the same name as the character for which he was most well-known. He had resided in Fayetteville, Georgia since 1994 and was survived by his third wife Gail and their two children as well as his son of a previous relationship. His son Rahn Mayo is currently a member of the Georgia House of Representatives[2] representing House District 91. He is also survived by his daughters Tanya Mayo, Suni Mayo Simpson, and sons Pangi Rayson, Jon-jo Raysor and Jabrie Lovelace who currently resides in Washington, DC

Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson) Mini Bio Pt. 2

In the late 1960s, he joined the New Lafayette Theater repertory company in New York City and began settling down in an acting career. His call to Sanford and Son came shortly thereafter when a friend from the New Lafayette group who was by that time writing for Norman Lear recommended Mayo for a part in a single episode. His portrayal caught on and he lasted through the entire duration of the show, even filling in as the leading character while the star, Redd Foxx, held out for more pay. Mayo's character, was Grady Wilson; Grady Demond Wilson is the birth name of the show's co-star, Demond Wilson, who played Fred Sanford's son. Having a plethora of experience with the tentative in his life, Mayo viewed his continuing success on the series as fleeting and ventured into other trades to assure financial stability. In 1975, for instance, he opened a travel agency in Inglewood, California. Mayo starred in an unsuccessful spin-off, Grady, in which his character moved in with his daughter and her husband in Beverly Hills.

In the late 1970s he appeared on the Los Angeles children's television program That's Cat, offering sage advice in a sweet manner to the main character, Alice.

In 1996, the show Late Night with Conan O'Brien wished to use him in a sketch, but were unable to locate him. The show mounted a highly publicized tongue-in-cheek search for Mayo called "Where's Grady?". After three weeks and over 50,000 calls to NBC from fans who claimed to have spotted him, Mayo finally appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to a standing ovation from the audience, and the highest ratings Late Night with Conan O'Brien had seen in years. Mayo revealed that it was his mother who told him of the search after a repairman saw his picture in her house and told her she could be eligible for a reward.[1] At the time, Mayo was in Cape Canaveral, Florida as a member of the cast of the short-lived syndicated action/drama television show, The Cape. In the show, Mayo played Sweets, the lovable owner of the Moonshot Bar and Grill.

Whitman Mayo (Grady Wilson) Mini Bio

Whitman B. Mayo (November 15, 1930 – May 22, 2001) was an American actor best known for his character Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom Sanford and Son.
Noted for portraying characters older than his actual age, Mayo was in his 40s while he played Grady on Sanford and Son.

Mayo was born in New York City, New York and grew up in Harlem and Queens. He moved with his family to Southern California at age seventeen and from there entered the United States Army from 1951 to 1953. Upon release, he studied at Chaffey College, Los Angeles City College, and UCLA. During this time he began acting in small parts, while waiting tables, working in the vineyards and as a probation officer and a variety of other small jobs.

For seven years he was a counselor to delinquent boys.

Lawanda Page (Aunt Esther) Mini Bio Pt. 2

Page also appeared on several episodes of Dean Martin's "Celebrity Roasts," and over the next two decades occasionally guest-starred in episodes of other popular television shows, including Amen, Martin, 227, Family Matters, and Diff'rent Strokes. In the early 1990s she appeared on several tracks of the debut album by RuPaul entitled Supermodel of the World, most notably the hit song Supermodel (You Better Work). She also appeared in several music videos from the album. Shortly before her death she appeared in a series of comical Church's Chicken television commercials featuring the catchphrase "Gotta love it!" Among her movie credits are an appearance in the Steve Martin film My Blue Heaven; as an extremely foul-mouthed clown in Bobcat Goldthwait's 1991 comedy Shakes the Clown; a cameo appearance in the hit movie Friday, stealing the opening scene with a salty one-liner; and a role in the 'hood parody film Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood as the overbearing mother of aging gangsta "Old School."

Page succumbed to diabetes in September 2002. She is interred in an outdoor crypt at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

Her daughter, the evangelist Clara Estella Roberta Johnson, died on June 4, 2006, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 69.

Lawanda Page (Aunt Esther) Mini Bio Pt. 1

LaWanda Page, born Alberta Peal (October 19, 1920 – September 14, 2002) was an American actress best known for her portrayal of Aunt Esther in the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son.

Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Page began her career in show business working small nightclubs, billed as "The Bronze Goddess of Fire," an act which included her lighting cigarettes with her fingertips. She performed this feat on an episode of Sanford and Son, in which Fred held a circus in his front yard.

Page was convinced by her friend Redd Foxx to become a stand-up comedienne. She recorded several live comedy albums for the Laff Records label in the late 1960s and early 1970s; One release, a gold-selling album called Watch it, Sucka!, was titled after one of Aunt Esther's catchphrases to capitalize on her newfound TV fame.

On Sanford and Son, Page's Aunt Esther character was the sister of Elizabeth, Fred Sanford's late wife. Page was Foxx's only choice to play Aunt Esther. Esther would sometimes be accompanied by other formidable ladies from her church, or by her henpecked--and usually inebriated--husband Woodrow (played by Raymond Allen).

Aunt Esther was a combination of devout churchgoer and tough-as-nails realist, often sparring with Fred over both the state of his mortal soul and the lack of his success, resulting in her being insulted by Fred in return, with Fred opining on her homely appearance. The character of Esther was in direct contrast to the blue material of Page's stand-up act and record albums.

Demond Wilson (Lamont Sanford) Pt.3

In 1984, Wilson became an ordained minister, fulfilling his childhood vow. Later, in 1995, he founded Restoration House, a center that helps rehabilitate former prison inmates by providing mentoring, spiritual guidance and vocational training. Wilson has written several Christian books concerning the New Age Movement and its hidden dangers to society. New Age Millennium by Wilson was released by CAP Publishing & Literary Co. LLC on December 1, 1998. (Demond's first name is misspelled "Desmond" on some book selling websites.) Wilson, who has also authored numerous children's books, stated the book to be an "exposé" of certain New Age "symbols and slogans".

Wilson has also authored the book Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memoirs of the Sanford & Son Years, which was scheduled for release on August 31, 2009.[dated info] According to an interview on the Celebrity Care.com website, Wilson said: "It's just a documented truth, behind the scenes factual account of what happened during those years. Redd (Foxx) and I were making history back in those days. We were the first blacks to be on television in that capacity and we opened the door for all those other shows that came after us." Wilson has been married to the former Cicely Loise Johnston since May 3, 1974. Together they have six children.

Demond Wilson (Lamont Sanford) Pt. 2

Later that year, the New York City-raised Wilson, after appearing on All in the Family with the late Cleavon Little, won the role of Lamont Sanford. Wilson played Lamont through the run of the series, and in fact became the de facto star when Redd Foxx walked off the show in 1974 and his character was written out for the rest of the season. Foxx returned the following year and the pair worked together until Redd Foxx decided to throw in the towel in 1977. Another interesting fact about the show is that the character played by Whitman Mayo was named Grady Wilson. Grady Demond Wilson is Demond Wilson’s birth name. He would later bow out of the 1980 short-lived series revival. He did not attend Foxx’s funeral in 1991 because he was in Africa at the time of Redd's death. Both on and off the set, Demond shared a close bond with Foxx, during the show's six season run.

Demond Wilson (Lamont Sanford) Pt.1

Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American actor, author and pastor. He was best known for his role opposite Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford's long-suffering son, Lamont Sanford, in the 1970s NBC-TV sitcom Sanford and Son. Wilson was born in Valdosta, Georgia. At the age of 12, Wilson's appendix ruptured, almost killing him. At that time the young Wilson vowed to somehow serve God. Upon returning from Vietnam 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 Dealing (1970) and The Organization (1971).

Redd Foxx Pt. 2 (Dead or Alive?)

In 1977, Foxx left Sanford and Son, after six highly successful seasons (and the show was canceled solely due to his departure) to star in a short-lived variety show, but by 1980 he was back playing Fred Sanford in a brief revival/spin-off, Sanford.

Foxx appeared to be making a comeback with the 1991 series The Royal Family, in which he co-starred with his long-time friend Della Reese.

On October 11, 1991, during a break from rehearsals for The Royal Family, he suffered a fatal heart attack on the set. Reportedly, co-star Della Reese and the rest of the cast and crew thought he was doing his classic "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you!" fake heart attack routine he made famous on Sanford and Son, even going as far as collapsing to the floor, although that was not part of the usual schtick. However, this heart attack was real, and Foxx never regained consciousness.

Foxx was posthumously given a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame on May 17, 1992.

A few years after Foxx's death several buyers of his home claimed his property was 'haunted' by him. Some people have even gone as far as claiming Foxx faked his death because he still owed the IRS money. Martin Lawrence poked fun at these claims on the pilot of his sitcom Martin. He said, "The man faked it. If you owed 16 billion dollars in taxes, what would you do?".