The quote is from the episode where Grady mistakingly gets more Social Security checks than he's entitled to.
This was one of the series of episodes when Redd Foxx was absent, and I think this episode shows the genius of the show's writers. I especially like the patriotic and all-American justifications Grady made in the face of Lamont's objections to keep the checks.
Another favorite of mine was when Lamont took karate lessons to defend himself from a much bigger guy, Jo Jo Jackson, whose girl he was dating.
The scenes where Grady warns Jo Jo that Lamont is mentally unbalanced, and the subsequent "fight" scene between Lamont and Jo Jo are priceless.
For some reason, I liked the episodes where Fred was absent even better, as I thought Grady was a gentler and kinder version of Fred. I love the goodhearted, dimwitted Grady.
The ratings at the time would seem to bear it out, as the show ranked even higher when Foxx was absent.
And Esther, boy, what can you say? The on screen antagonism between Fred and Esther have to surpass any other in any comedy series, including Fred and Ethel, in terms of sheer hilarity ("Watch it sucker!").
It's hard to imagine that in real life LaWanda Page and Redd Foxx were close friends from childhood.
Anyway, I like all the episodes. It brings back memories of when we first came to this country, and my parents and I would sit down and watch them. Even though we didn't know all the peculiarities and slang at the time, we'd still laugh. That's testimony to the show's power of transcendence.
Rollo, Julio, Smitty and Hoppy, Bubba, etc, where all great as supporting cast.
I still get nostalgia whenever I hear the opening music.
In my opinion,"Sanford and Son" beat "All in the Family" hands down. The opening music was certainly waay better than the purposely horrible and ear piercing duet between Edith and Archie.
And even though "All in the Family" may have dealt with more real life issues such as rape, "Sanford and Son" was funnier by a mile! And really that's why I watched these shows; not to be reminded of life's ugly side.
Too bad Fred and Archie weren't neighbors. I always fantasized about what their exchanges might have been. If there was anyone who could've countered Archie in terms of bigotism, it was Fred. They were mirror reflections of one another, albeit the difference in color.
That would've been a dream match!
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