Redd Foxx Birth Date and Age
Redd Foxx was born on December 9, 1922, in St. Louis, Missouri, which means his age at any point is calculated from that date. Public records, biographical databases, and entertainment archives consistently list his birth year as 1922, placing him in the early 20th-century generation of performers. His full birth name was John Elroy Sanford, and he later adopted the stage name Redd Foxx for his comedy and television career. He passed away on October 11, 1991, which ended his active career and public appearances. The most authoritative sources on his biography, including entertainment history platforms, confirm these dates without ambiguity read full biography.
Because his birth year is fixed, his age is a matter of simple subtraction from any reference date, and no recent updates have changed the recorded year. Entertainment timelines, obituaries, and network archives all align on the December 9, 1922, birth date. This consistency makes it straightforward to state his age at death, at career milestones, and at key moments in television history. The lack of conflicting records reinforces the reliability of these figures for quick factual lookups.
Career Timeline and Age Milestones
Redd Foxx began performing comedy in the 1940s and 1950s, gaining prominence in nightclub circuits and early television appearances while in his 30s and 40s. His breakthrough came with the 1972 debut of Sanford and Son, when he was 49 years old, marking a defining age milestone for his mainstream success. The show ran until 1977, and during that period he became one of the highest-paid entertainers on television, with his age and experience central to his comedic persona. view IMDb biography
After Sanford and Son, he continued acting and recording into his 50s and early 60s, with roles in series and specials that leveraged his established stage presence. His later career included the 1980s sitcom The Redd Foxx Show and various guest appearances, demonstrating sustained relevance into older age brackets. Each decade of his career is tied to specific public records, network schedules, and production dates that anchor his age to verifiable events.
Legacy and Current Public Records
Today, Redd Foxx's age is referenced primarily in historical context, with his birth date serving as the fixed point for all calculations. Archives, streaming metadata, and entertainment databases maintain his age at death as 68, derived directly from the December 9, 1922, birth date and October 11, 1991, death date. These records are consistent across major entertainment encyclopedias and obituary sources read obituary.
His legacy continues to influence comedy and television, with his age and career arc studied in media history and African American entertainment scholarship. Publicly available data from entertainment institutions and historical archives keeps his biographical details, including his exact birth date, current and accessible. The stability of these records ensures that any query about his age returns the same factual answer without reliance on estimates or approximations view Hollywood Walk of Fame entry.