Sanford and Son
Greatest Show in Watts
TV Flash files “Greatest Show in Watts” as hour 102 of 136 in the TV Flash guide — Sanford and Son (1972–1977) on NBC, season 5, episode 15, aired 1976-01-16, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E15: listed hour 102 of 136 in the Sanford and Son guide, hour 15 of 24 in season 5. It aired 1976-01-16 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Can You Chop This?” (S05E14). Next is “Fred Sanford Has a Baby” (S05E16).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A tenant at The Sanford Arms doesn't have enough money for the rent so he leaves Fred his pet elephant as collateral. Fred quickly finds a city official on his back for keeping an elephant in the neighborhood and he quickly comes up with an idea to make some money: put on a mini-circus. Bubba plays a clown, Esther a fire-eater, and Lamont a weight lifter.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Greatest Show in Watts sit in the Sanford and Son guide?
S05E15 is listed hour 102 of 136 — hour 15 of 24 in season 5, season 5 episode 15.
When did Sanford and Son S05E15 air?
Greatest Show in Watts aired 1976-01-16 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need the British Steptoe and Son first?
No. The NBC series is adapted from Steptoe and Son, but Foxx's junkyard roast is a different comic weather system. Watch the Watts original on its own terms.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Redd Foxx's junkyard king fakes the big one while Demond Wilson's Lamont tries to live without another scheme. British Steptoe bones vanish under Watts insult comedy, Aunt Esther's Bible thunder, and Nielsen-era Black father-son heat. Catchphrases as weapons; the salvage yard as throne.
NBC dropped a Watts salvage yard into the early-1970s night and watched a Black lead sitcom own the chart. Sanford and Son (1972–1977) ran six seasons, 136 episodes — a short, high-velocity window, not an eleven-season mountain. Adapted from Britain's Steptoe and Son, the American hour buried the import bones under Redd Foxx gravel-and-lightning. Demond Wilson's Lamont is the long-suffering counterweight from Crossed Swords on. Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin helped the working-class roast hit status. Rex can toast…
Filed against
- Redd Foxx as Fred G. Sanford
Redd Foxx made Fred G. Sanford a junkyard king on Sanford and Son — 1970s Watts insult comedy, faking the big one while Demond Wilson’s Lamont tries to live without another scheme. British bones vanish under Aunt Esther’s Bible thunder…
- Demond Wilson as Lamont Sanford
Demond Wilson’s Lamont Sanford tried to live without another scheme — Redd Foxx’s junkyard king faking the big one, Watts insult comedy, Aunt Esther’s Bible thunder, Nielsen-era Black father-son heat. British Steptoe bones vanished under…
- LaWanda Page as Aunt Esther
LaWanda Page's Aunt Esther thundered Sanford and Son with Bible weather — Redd Foxx's junkyard king, Watts insult comedy, Nielsen-era Black father-son heat, catchphrases as weapons. The salvage yard as a stage. TV Flash files her as 1970s…
- Whitman Mayo as Grady Wilson
Whitman Mayo’s Grady Wilson wandered Sanford and Son as junkyard chorus — Redd Foxx faking the big one, Demond Wilson’s Lamont trying to live without another scheme, Watts insult comedy, Aunt Esther’s Bible thunder. Catchphrases as…
- Don Bexley as Bubba Bexley
Don Bexley’s Bubba Bexley hung around Sanford and Son as junkyard chorus — Redd Foxx faking the big one, Demond Wilson’s Lamont ducking another scheme, Watts insult comedy, Aunt Esther’s Bible thunder. Catchphrases as weapons; a pal as…