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Black and Blue: The Redd Foxx Story
Black and Blue the Redd Foxx Story by Starr, Michael Seth. Published by Applause Books,2011, Hardcover
328 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 22, 2025
This book really details Redd Foxx’s life as well as all of his trials and tribulations. Born Jon Elroy Sanford (As cited in this book, NO “h” in Jon despite what the Internet says) Redd Foxx was a definite pioneer in the entertainment industry and knocked down several doors for black entertainers. After reading this book I truly believe there would be no Bill Cosby, no Richard Pryor, no Eddie Murphy without him. Really.
The book depicts all of Redd’s many battles with each producer, network honcho and studio. Believe me some of those battles were really ludicrous and funnier than anything Redd said in his comedy routines.
What may have seemed like incessant and nonsensical salary negotiation on his part for various projects was just Redd making them pay him what he was worth. He wouldn’t kowtow to anyone and in retrospect that was commendable. He also insisted on combating stereotypes in all of his TV shows and yes there were more than Sanford & Son. I can only imagine back then reading some script that looked good to a white writer would be all wrong sometimes in a minute way. Redd understood that those type of images are forever and he was right as more than 30 years later Sanford & Son is still being broadcast.
The book gives a full depiction about how this “Las Vegas comedian” got his own network television show, Sanford & Son, and how much of a big hit it was—and it was!
What I didn’t know about was Redd’s drug use and his womanizing. Wow, Rick James ain’t got nothing on him. This book depicts Redd in all of his X-Rated glory. No censors here. You’ll read that when Redd Foxx cursed you out, you’ve been cursed out by the best!
What I also didn’t know about was Redd’s prolific career in Las Vegas. I thought he was only there sporadically, but he really was a mainstay. In fact out all of his many jobs, Vegas seemed to be his only regular gig.
The book also details that Redd may have been the worst business man alive. He had many businesses and all of them were poorly managed. As fast as he was bringing the cash, and he was, in one door it was going out of five others. That was one of the reasons for his well publicized battles with the Internal Revenue Service.
Another detriment to Redd’s wealth building was that he was also generous to a fault. The book depicts the many times he would give until he had no more. He seemed to fall for every sob story and everyone knew it. He also never forgot his friends and people you know as “Aunt Esther” and Fred’s good friend “Melvin” on Sanford & Son were old friends of Redd’s. (As a side note “Fred G. Sanford” was actually the name of Redd’s real life older brother)
In the end this is a really great book for all Redd Foxx fans. It let you see the man for what he was flaws and all, but you can also see that he was indeed a comedic genius and pioneer in entertainment for all African American performers.
The book depicts all of Redd’s many battles with each producer, network honcho and studio. Believe me some of those battles were really ludicrous and funnier than anything Redd said in his comedy routines.
What may have seemed like incessant and nonsensical salary negotiation on his part for various projects was just Redd making them pay him what he was worth. He wouldn’t kowtow to anyone and in retrospect that was commendable. He also insisted on combating stereotypes in all of his TV shows and yes there were more than Sanford & Son. I can only imagine back then reading some script that looked good to a white writer would be all wrong sometimes in a minute way. Redd understood that those type of images are forever and he was right as more than 30 years later Sanford & Son is still being broadcast.
The book gives a full depiction about how this “Las Vegas comedian” got his own network television show, Sanford & Son, and how much of a big hit it was—and it was!
What I didn’t know about was Redd’s drug use and his womanizing. Wow, Rick James ain’t got nothing on him. This book depicts Redd in all of his X-Rated glory. No censors here. You’ll read that when Redd Foxx cursed you out, you’ve been cursed out by the best!
What I also didn’t know about was Redd’s prolific career in Las Vegas. I thought he was only there sporadically, but he really was a mainstay. In fact out all of his many jobs, Vegas seemed to be his only regular gig.
The book also details that Redd may have been the worst business man alive. He had many businesses and all of them were poorly managed. As fast as he was bringing the cash, and he was, in one door it was going out of five others. That was one of the reasons for his well publicized battles with the Internal Revenue Service.
Another detriment to Redd’s wealth building was that he was also generous to a fault. The book depicts the many times he would give until he had no more. He seemed to fall for every sob story and everyone knew it. He also never forgot his friends and people you know as “Aunt Esther” and Fred’s good friend “Melvin” on Sanford & Son were old friends of Redd’s. (As a side note “Fred G. Sanford” was actually the name of Redd’s real life older brother)
In the end this is a really great book for all Redd Foxx fans. It let you see the man for what he was flaws and all, but you can also see that he was indeed a comedic genius and pioneer in entertainment for all African American performers.
February 9, 2012
This book combines two of my favorite non-fiction genres: the celebrity biography and twentieth-century Black social history. As a child in the seventies, I was of course a big fan of Sanford and Son (I had a little crush on Lamont). As an adult Sirius/XM Satellite Radio subscriber, I have heard some of Redd Foxx's "dirty" stand-up routines. I remember his troubles in the late eighties, when the IRS raided his house, collecting clothing, jewelry, cars, and artwork to pay for back taxes. This book covers all of that and more.
As a life story, Redd Foxx's is pretty sad. Abandoned by his mother, or shuttled off to boarding schools or relatives as a child, Foxx grew up tough; he even ran around on the street with a pre-jail Malcolm X. Originally part of a musical act, he fell into comedy and became an underground success with his "party albums" before the TV show that brought him fame and fortune. The rest of the story is a depressing litany of money woes (Foxx was a soft touch, and handed thousands of dollars away to every guy or girl with a sob story), IRS problems, real and imagined slights (it's hard to tell if the TV producers/writers/executives are really underappreciating their star, or Foxx is hyper-sensitive, and always scamming for more), massive cocaine use, women, gambling, houses, and cars.
As a book, Black and Blue is far from perfect, too. Publisher Hal Leonard is known mostly for instructional music books, and their lack of expertise in biography publishing shows. The book is printed on a heavy, slick paper that you don't normally see in a book of this type; there are editorial errors (repetition of phrases, stories; grammar and spelling problems) sprinkled throughout. But if you're a fan of Redd Foxx, you will want to read this ultimately sad book.
As a life story, Redd Foxx's is pretty sad. Abandoned by his mother, or shuttled off to boarding schools or relatives as a child, Foxx grew up tough; he even ran around on the street with a pre-jail Malcolm X. Originally part of a musical act, he fell into comedy and became an underground success with his "party albums" before the TV show that brought him fame and fortune. The rest of the story is a depressing litany of money woes (Foxx was a soft touch, and handed thousands of dollars away to every guy or girl with a sob story), IRS problems, real and imagined slights (it's hard to tell if the TV producers/writers/executives are really underappreciating their star, or Foxx is hyper-sensitive, and always scamming for more), massive cocaine use, women, gambling, houses, and cars.
As a book, Black and Blue is far from perfect, too. Publisher Hal Leonard is known mostly for instructional music books, and their lack of expertise in biography publishing shows. The book is printed on a heavy, slick paper that you don't normally see in a book of this type; there are editorial errors (repetition of phrases, stories; grammar and spelling problems) sprinkled throughout. But if you're a fan of Redd Foxx, you will want to read this ultimately sad book.
November 23, 2013
One of the world's most naturally hilarious men because deeply unpleasant after big dollars start rolling in (Sanford & Son). A wonderful & thoroughly researched bio -- recommended.
April 2, 2017
If all you know is Redd Foxx from Sanford & Son, you only get a small piece of the intricate puzzle that was his life. Interesting man and well-written book.
June 28, 2017
What a dandy read. Such an interesting though difficult man. Sanford and Son is my all time favorite show. Allow me to say one more thing. "Ya big dummy !"
April 23, 2025
One of the main reasons I love reading biographies and memoirs is because I enjoy learning what made a person who they are, and I must say, this book was of no disappointment by any means. What I discovered about the "Chief" as he was known by his close friends and employees, was astounding to say the least. This biography blew me completely away because it just goes to prove, we know celebrities from the characters they portray on television, but we really do not know the celebrity up close and personal.
From Redd's drug addiction to cocaine throughout most of his life and 4 marriages, failed business ventures, pissing people off, and just being Redd, was just quite unbelievable. But this biography also goes to prove another point for me and that is your upbringing has everything to do with how you will turn out later on, and I think his relationship with his mother, especially, caused a great deal of his pain later on in his life.
What was more surprising is to really find out the back story of the Sanford and Son troubles, to the IRS raid he faced, and a multitude of other problems he encountered. As much as it pains me to say this because I respect the work he's done, Redd caused a great deal of the stress himself. He was his own worst enemy and when you factor in cocaine use on top of that, I don't know how the man ever made it at all.
My perception of Redd Foxx has changed tremendously, since reading his life story. He wasn't the person I always thought he was, and once again, that's because I went by what I read in the news reports and things other comedians and the like had to say, but this book really gives you the whole picture--no matter how ugly that picture was. Redd was truly a genius when it came to comedy and nobody could touch him on that. It's just too bad he couldn't control his personal demons because he may still be here, or at least lived longer than 68 years of age, which is young.
I loved this book! It saddened me to learn of Redd's personal problems, but again, he brought all of that madness on himself. It's really a great read and the pictures at the end were really nice--chronicling his career at different stages. Boy did I enjoy listening to his old comedy albums and Michael did a great job explaining how all that magic came to be.
From Redd's drug addiction to cocaine throughout most of his life and 4 marriages, failed business ventures, pissing people off, and just being Redd, was just quite unbelievable. But this biography also goes to prove another point for me and that is your upbringing has everything to do with how you will turn out later on, and I think his relationship with his mother, especially, caused a great deal of his pain later on in his life.
What was more surprising is to really find out the back story of the Sanford and Son troubles, to the IRS raid he faced, and a multitude of other problems he encountered. As much as it pains me to say this because I respect the work he's done, Redd caused a great deal of the stress himself. He was his own worst enemy and when you factor in cocaine use on top of that, I don't know how the man ever made it at all.
My perception of Redd Foxx has changed tremendously, since reading his life story. He wasn't the person I always thought he was, and once again, that's because I went by what I read in the news reports and things other comedians and the like had to say, but this book really gives you the whole picture--no matter how ugly that picture was. Redd was truly a genius when it came to comedy and nobody could touch him on that. It's just too bad he couldn't control his personal demons because he may still be here, or at least lived longer than 68 years of age, which is young.
I loved this book! It saddened me to learn of Redd's personal problems, but again, he brought all of that madness on himself. It's really a great read and the pictures at the end were really nice--chronicling his career at different stages. Boy did I enjoy listening to his old comedy albums and Michael did a great job explaining how all that magic came to be.
June 10, 2018
Having read and enjoyed Demond Wilson's "Second Banana", I was anxious to dive into a Redd Foxx biography. Matthew Starr certainly does not disappoint! It is very obvious he took a lot of time researching the life of "The King of the Party Records". From his most humble beginnings in St. Louis up until estate issues following his death, Mr. Starr does not seem to have left any stone unturned. Included in this biography are details of Redd's early successes and failures as a singer and comedian, his slow rise to becoming a superstar, his failed business ventures, long forgotten live performances and legal issues the entertainer faced. He also gives anecdotes suggesting why certain ventures failed that might not have had Redd Foxx given a bit more attention to the details or taken time to understand the business angle of things. As the reader will see, those things just did not concern Redd Foxx even when ignoring them was to his disadvantage. The book does not focus solely on the faults of the man, but also includes several stories of the generosity Redd Foxx showed to others through the years; including his mother with whom he did not have a very good relationship. One will finish this book with an entirely new understanding of the late great Redd Foxx.
November 23, 2014
I appreciated the candor of this book's look at a legendary but troubled star. I was amazed to learn of all the break through's, the first's that Redd Foxx accomplished through his tough comedic approach to showbiz. Amazing stories of his interactions with early Bill Cosby, they shared ownership of a club at one point, to being picked up by Frank Sinatra for some comedy albums. Foxx's background deeply embedded in the Jazz Clubs and infamous Chitlin Circuit show through in the little scat and songs that I eventually saw him singing while cooking Lamont breakfast in "Sanford and Son." Foxx definitely did things his way, and often brought along old friends with him, especially when they needed a little help. Amazing man, pretty good book.
May 8, 2015
First off, I want to say it was about time someone tackled the biography of one our greatest comic treasures. But if I am going to be honest ,and I am , I found it lacking a lot . Some biographies are written out of love, some from close associates ,and with great knowledge of the person being written about. I am sorry to say , this book is far from any of those . It had some good information , although it left me asking more questions . My main question was why Mr. Starr decided to be the one to write Redd's Bio. To keep it short ........Bland, falls very short of what Redd Foxx deserves in a biography.
March 29, 2014
Redd Foxx definitely contributed to the world of comedy and rash language. Despite his demons it was apparent in the reading he had a soft heart for people in trouble.The pressures of helping others with a hand out and his constant drug problem is what probably contributed to his death. Very good book and written for those who love the comedies of Redd Foxx.
August 23, 2015
I enjoyed reading and learning about the life of Redd Foxx--he lead a colorful life and is an interesting character. I found little tidbits like the fact that his father and brother were named Fred G. Sanford, or that he was friends with Malcolm Little (aka Malcolm X), to be fascinating. What I didn't care for was the writer's style. He haphazardly jumps back and forth in time, and is quite repetitive. Still, it was an interesting tale.
October 19, 2011
This was a total skimmer for me. Since the author used other published sources to write his book, there was nothing new here that hasn't already been told.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews