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.
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