“If you can see the handwriting on the wall … you're on the toilet.”
"Live from Las Vegas" 8-Track (circa 1970s)
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his screen name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor, best remembered for his explicit comedy records and his starring role on the 1970s sitcom Sanford and Son. Foxx gained notoriety with his raunchy nightclub acts during the 1950s and 1960s. Known as the "King of the Party Records", he performed on more than 50 records in his lifetime. He also starred in Sanford, The Redd Foxx Show and The Royal Family. His film projects included All the Fine Young Cannibals , Cotton Comes to Harlem , Norman... Is That You? and Harlem Nights .
In 2004, Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time ranked Foxx as the 24th best stand-up comedian. Foxx not only influenced many comedians, but was often portrayed in popular culture as well, mainly as a result of his famous catchphrases, body language and facial expressions exhibited on Sanford and Son. During the show's five year run, Foxx won a Golden Globe Award and received an additional three nominations, along with three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
“If you can see the handwriting on the wall … you're on the toilet.”
"Live from Las Vegas" 8-Track (circa 1970s)
“My first wife, I'll never forget her — and I've tried.”
Stage performance on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QoyQwfarn0
The Redd Foxx Encyclopedia of Black Humor (1977) (co-written with Norma Miller)
“We were poor. If I wasn't a boy, I wouldn't have had nothing to play with.”
As quoted in More Sex Talk : A New Collection of Ribald, Raunchy, and Provocative Quotations (2002) by James Wolfe, p. 114; similar lines were also used in the comedic routines of Rodney Dangerfield.