8.7/10224 votesLoading...#1 - Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 1/4/1974
Grady has a a piece of juicy gossip and is just dying to tell everyone. It seems Grip, an old friend, dated Fred's late-wife, Elizabeth, prior to her getting married to Fred. Elizabeth and Grip had been intimate and Lamont is the result. Fred is convinced Grip is nothing but a "jive turkey" and Esther may have the answer to this paternity question.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
8.5/10229 votesLoading...#2 - Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 1/11/1974
Lamont is disgusted when he receives a traffic ticket for failure to yield on a right turn. Lamont is sure he did the most prudent thing for the situation and lets Fred talk him into fighting the ticket in court. Lamont is prepared to fight for himself but once in the court room he finds himself being represented ... by Fred!
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/10187 votesLoading...#3 - Rated X
Season 2 Episode 24 - Aired 3/16/1973
Lamont and Rollo answer an ad that promises them stardom through low-budget movies. Fred gets a hold of the brochure and decides to try out too. When they get down there they quickly discover the low budget movies are X-rated followed by a police raid and Fred, Lamont and Rollo are hauled off to jail.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
8.3/10184 votesLoading...#4 - The Blind Mellow Jelly Collection (a.k.a.) The Chameleon
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 11/16/1973
Lamont advises Fred to donate a collection of Blind Mellow Jelly records to a music library for a tax write-off. After doing so, Fred finds out from an appraiser that the records are valued at five hundred dollars. Fred, with dollar signs in his eyes, has Bubba act as though he were the son of Blind Mellow Jelly in an attempt to get them back.
Director: Mark Warren
Writer: N/A
8.2/10208 votesLoading...#5 - Card Sharps
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 10/27/1972
Fred gets a surprise one night when Lamont announces that he's having some friends over to play poker. However, Fred doesn't take Lamont's advice at "getting lost" since he's convinced Lamont's so-called friends are trying to hustle him out of his money.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
8.2/10173 votesLoading...#6 - Lamont is That You?
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 10/19/1973
Lamont and Rollo are out on the town one evening and decide to stop in at a new bar for a couple drinks. However, they soon realize they have stumbled into a gay bar. Unknown to them, Bubba just happened to see them go inside. Bubba promptly jumps to conclusions and then proceeds to tell Fred that Lamont is gay. Not believing Bubba's story, Fred decides to get to the bottom of the situation.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
8.2/10182 votesLoading...#7 - Superflyer
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/2/1973
Fred gets news that an uncle has died and has left him $1500 in his will. The only thing is, in order to get the money, Fred has to fly to St. Louis to claim it. However, first he must overcome a fear of flying and Lamont is up in arms trying to help him.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
8.2/10149 votesLoading...#8 - Wine, Women and Aunt Esther (a.k.a.) Leaving the Nest
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 12/14/1973
Fred and his buddies are down over the death of a close friend and Aunt Esther's over-reacting does nothing to help. Thus, Fred decides to throw a cheer-up party and intends to have it in the Sanford home, complete with booze, music and friends of Fast Fanny, a topless waitress.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
8.1/10253 votesLoading...#9 - The Piano Movers
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 4/14/1972
A wealthy man wants to get rid of a grand piano and Lamont gets a great deal on it. However, the big problem turns out to be moving it out of the man's apartment.
Director: Bruce Bilson
Writer: N/A
8.1/10180 votesLoading...#10 - A Visit From Lena Horne
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 1/12/1973
Fred and Lamont take a tour through the NBC studios and Fred gets a kick out of seeing Johnny Carson's parking spot. However, what Fred really gets a kick out of is seeing Lena Horne's car and sneaks into her dressing room. After meeting her, he tries to trick her into visiting him at his home.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
8.0/10176 votesLoading...#11 - Sanford and Son and Sister Makes Three
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 12/1/1972
Fred's old girlfriend Juanita stops by for dinner with her daughter, Alice. Lamont falls for Alice and thinks of asking for her hand in marriage. However, Juanita tells Fred that Alice is his daughter and Lamont is wining and dining his sister.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10187 votesLoading...#12 - Lamont Goes African
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 1/19/1973
Lamont goes totally African. He starts to wear African clothing, and yearns to learn more about the culture. At the same time, Fred thinks that the whole thing is ridiculous, that is until a woman from Nigeria visits and explains to Lamont how sacred listening to your father is in African culture and how you should respect him.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
8.0/10152 votesLoading...#13 - The Members of the Wedding (a.k.a.) The Engagement
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 11/9/1973
Fred and Donna enjoy an evening out on the town but then Donna breaks the news that she has had another man propose marriage to her. Not wanting to lose her, Fred decides to propose marriage himself and they plan a small wedding ceremony. However, Lamont is totally against the whole thing and has Aunt Esther and family confront Donna and question her intentions.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
7.9/10255 votesLoading...#14 - Happy Birthday, Pop
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/21/1972
Lamont buys Fred a new hat for his birthday and then tries to take him out on the town to celebrate. However, a visit to a fancy bar, a movie theater to see Fiddler on the Roof and dinner at a Chinese restaurant are far from a celebration for Fred.
Director: Bud Yorkin
Writer: N/A
7.9/10218 votesLoading...#15 - Coffins for Sale
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/10/1972
Lamont purchases two coffins from an auction to try and get a profit if he sells them to a funeral parlor. In the process, Fred becomes paranoid by having the coffins in the house and refuses to sleep in the house with the coffins. Lamont doesn't think much of it, until he begins hearing strange noises at night.
Director: Charles S. Dubin
Writer: N/A
7.9/10168 votesLoading...#16 - The Puerto Ricans Are Coming!
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 11/10/1972
Fred gets a new next door neighbor and is shocked to learn that he is Puerto Rican and planning on opening a junk business of his own. Fred gets upset about the competition and contrives a plan to get the city to condemn his property especially since, Julio has a pet goat.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
7.9/10145 votesLoading...#17 - A House is Not a Poolroom
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 11/23/1973
For a birthday present, Lamont buys Fred a pool table. But things get out of hand when Fred invites his buddies over for some friendly games. They quickly overstay their welcome and eat and drink Fred and Lamont out of house and home. Lamont quickly regrets ever buying the pool table for Fred and tries to convince him that the house is not a pool hall.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
7.9/10138 votesLoading...#18 - Fred's Treasure Garden
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 11/29/1974
With Fred in St. Louis, Grady has been put in charge of taking care of his garden. Grady quickly notices a strange plant growing and assumes that it's wild parsley. However, Rollo is convinced it's marijuana and Lamont decides to turn it into the police. However, when Smitty and Hoppy arrive, the plants are gone but Grady has made dinner for everyone, a nice big salad for everyone.
Director: Herbert Kenwith
Writer: N/A
7.9/10142 votesLoading...#19 - The Stand-Ins
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 1/17/1975
Lamont comes home one evening and discovers Fred preparing a gourmet dinner and learns it's to celebrate the arrival of an old friend of Fred's, Bowlegs, a musician, who's visiting. Bowlegs' act is to be put on at a nightclub but when his partner strains his back, Fred and Lamont must fill in to fulfill the nightclub's requirements.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10118 votesLoading...#20 - Funny, You Don't Look It
Season 6 Episode 23 - Aired 3/11/1977
Fred is tired of everyone walking all over him especially since he proclaims that he built his junk empire to what it is today, thus making him a king of an empire. Bubba suggests that Fred pay money to an agency to have them trace his roots. A couple weeks later Fred is in for a shock, he is a descendant from Jewish African kings.
Director: Russ Petranto
Writer: N/A
7.8/10257 votesLoading...#21 - Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Bride
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/28/1972
Engaged, Lamont is excited about his impending nuptials but on the wedding day he quickly finds himself the only one who is. The bride dumps him at the altar and he finds his relatives begging to get back their wedding gifts.
Director: Bud Yorkin
Writer: N/A
7.8/10187 votesLoading...#22 - The Suitcase Case
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/31/1972
While collecting junk, Lamont runs across an old suitcase and decides it could be worth something. However, once he gets it home, Fred makes a shocking discovery when he opens the case to discover that it is stuffed with money. Lamont wants to turn the money in and Fred wants to keep it and locks in a safe. Just then a gunman shows up wanting the money.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
7.8/10164 votesLoading...#23 - A Guest in the Yard
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 12/8/1972
Fred and Lamont find a homeless bum sleeping in a bathtub in their yard. After trying to get him to move on, he pretends that he gets hurt on their property and threatens to sue. Fred and Lamont try everything in their power to persuade him not to sue and Fred does his best to try to prove the bum is not really injured.
Director: Jack Shea
Writer: N/A
7.8/10142 votesLoading...#24 - This Little TV Went to Market
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 10/12/1973
Fred and Lamont's TV set is on it's last legs and Lamont considers buying a brand new one, however Fred buys a used color TV set for cheap. Things get out of hand when Fred's friend Grady stops by and recognizes Fred's new set as his set that was stolen. Fred quickly wants an out of the situation and sells it to his neighbor Julio for $50.
Director: Peter Baldwin
Writer: N/A
7.8/10146 votesLoading...#25 - The Party Crasher
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 2/8/1974
Lamont and Rollo are planning a double date and they have a plan to get Fred out of the house so they can have it all to themselves. However, Fred catches on and Lamont and Rollo must make do with the cramped quarters of Rollo's apartment, but they still have problems, the girls aren't happy with the entire arrangement, right down to the refreshments, that's when Fred steps in.
Director: Stan Lathan
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Sanford and Son
Every episode of Sanford and Son ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Sanford and Son!
The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.
Genre:Comedy
Network:NBC
Best Episodes Summary
"Mama's Baby, Papa's Maybe" is the best rated episode of "Sanford and Son". It scored 8.7/10 based on 224 votes. Directed by Jack Shea and written by N/A, it aired on 1/4/1974. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Fred Sanford, Legal Eagle".