Redd Foxx (born John Elroy Sanford, December 9, 1922 - October 11, 1991) was an American comedian best known for his starring role on the television sitcom Sanford and Son. He was 3/4 African-American, and 1/4 Native American.
n 1977, Sanford and Son was cancelled and Foxx struck out on his own by starring in a short-lived variety show, but by the early 1980s he was back playing Fred Sanford in a brief revival/spin-off, Sanford. Foxx had numerous battles with the IRS that culminated in a 1989 "raid" in which agents seized his house and assets (and even some of the jewelry right off his body). 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 when a fatal heart attack felled him on the set. Ironically, one of Foxx's best-known comic bits on Sanford and Son was faking a heart attack and calling out to his deceased wife Elizabeth saying "this is the big one...I'm comin' to join ya, honey."
Source