7.7/10132 votes#1 - The Surprise Party
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/13/1974
Fred returns from his extended trip to St. Louis and Lamont, Donna, Aunt Esther, Bubba, Rollo and Grady have planned a surprise party for his return. Fred no more than steps in the door and Aunt Esther and him are at each other's throats. However, the real problem comes when Fred does some eavesdropping on Lamont and Grady.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.3/10123 votes#2 - Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 9/20/1974
Lamont's Uncle George dies and in his will he gives Lamont $7,000 if he weds and has a child and names it after his uncle and he has a year to do all this. Lamont has decided not to get married any time soon but blinded by dollar signs, Fred sneaks down to a dating service to match Lamont up with an available woman. Lamont catches on to Fred's plan and makes up a plan of his own to intervene.
Director: N/A
Writer: Jerry Ross
7.3/10120 votes#3 - Ol' Brown Eyes is Back
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1974
It's the 35th anniversary of Sanford & Son Salvage and Lamont has two gifts planned to give Fred. The first is a new window with the specially printed title of their business and the other is an expensive ring that everyone has chipped in to buy. However, when Fred runs across it, he becomes convinced that it was stolen from Frank Sinatra, after Frank's hotel room was ransacked by the Tip-Toe Bandit.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10137 votes#4 - Grady and His Lady
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 10/4/1974
Grady is bursting with news and breaks it to Fred and Lamont that he's engaged to a woman he met at J.C. Penny. However, Fred and Lamont are shocked to discover the "raging beauty" Grady raved about is not exactly a beauty queen. Fred soon finds Grady spending all his time with her and sets a plan into motion to break them up.
Director: Stan Lathan
Writer: N/A
7.5/10136 votes#5 - There'll Be Some Changes Made
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/1974
Fred's friends Julio and Ah Chew are getting on Fred's nerves and Lamont takes on the challenge of trying to change Fred's bigotry towards minorities. When Lamont fails, he decides to move out and in with Julio, something that unnerves Fred who doesn't seem to get use to the arrangement.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.1/10122 votes#6 - Going Out of Business
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 10/18/1974
The tax season has come and after an accountant goes through the books he finds that Fred and Lamont will end up owing the government. The accountant explains the situation and Lamont decides to go out and gets a job at a clothing store, so more money is coming into the household. Fred fears this may be the end of Sanford & Son Salvage.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.4/10131 votes#7 - Home Sweet Home
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 10/25/1974
A Japanese land development company wants to buy out the neighborhood with plans to build a brewery in the area. Fred, holding out gets bitten by greed. Fred's greed is disguised as a "heartwarming" sentimentality and he's using it to squeeze as much money as he can get out of the developer.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
6.8/10121 votes#8 - My Kingdom For a Horse (a.k.a.) First Night Out
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/1/1974
Fred makes a deal and buys a horse with a great racing history. Fred tries to get the animal to breed so that he can have a lot of money making champions hoofing and stomping around the place. However, there is just one problem Fred must overcome, the horse he bought is a gelding, which has Lamont saying "I told you so" to yet another one of Fred's moneymaking schemes.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.0/10128 votes#9 - Sanford and Niece
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 11/8/1974
Fred has a romantic night planned with Donna but Aunt Esther drops in at the last moment with some news, her neice, Elizabeth is in town and she wants Fred to have her stay with him. Fred is against the idea at first but when he takes one look at her he agrees, she is the spitting image of his late-wife, Elizabeth. However, there is another problem, Elizabeth is planning to move into an apartment in town and she will have two roommates, one female and the other male.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.3/10126 votes#10 - Julio and Sister and Nephew
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 11/15/1974
Julio's sister and nephew, Carlotta and Roberta, are coming for a visit and Julio has a problem, they are allergic to his pet goat, Chico. Thus, Julio asks Fred and Lamont if it would be okay for them to stay with them. Against the idea at first, Fred quickly softens to them and becomes involved with a problem that Roberto is dealing with at school.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.9/10138 votes#11 - 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
6.7/10125 votes#12 - Tower Power
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/1974
After Lamont's friend Sandra takes Fred and Lamont to an art museum, Fred finds out that he can make art out of the junk in his pile. Thus, Fred begins the creation that will convey his legacy for eternity. However, the final result is far from an artistic masterpiece and Lamont has to decide how to break the news to his proud father.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/10127 votes#13 - A Little Extra Security
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 12/13/1974
Grady is getting too many Social Security checks in the mail and he is contemplating on whether or not he should be honest about reporting them or not. He finally decides the latter and keeps them, gambling them away in Las Vegas. Aunt Esther hits the ceiling when she learns of the situation and just then a phone call from the Social Security office comes into the Sanford residence.
Director: Herbert Kenwith
Writer: N/A
7.0/10122 votes#14 - The Merger
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 12/20/1974
Julio has gotten tired of the junk business and that's when Lamont comes up with an idea, Sanford & Son Salvage should merge with Julio's business. Julio goes for the idea but Fred is against it, but they merge anyway to form Sanford & Fuentes Salvage. However, everyone soon realizes the consequences attached to such a decision.
Director: N/A
Writer: Jerry Ross
7.3/10121 votes#15 - Once a Thief
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 12/27/1974
Lamont's friend Herman has just gotten out of prison and doesn't have a place to stay. So Lamont invites him to stay at the Sanford residence. However, when Grady learns that he's an ex-con, he nails down everything in the house. Meanwhile, Lamont finds Herman a job at Esther's hardware store and doesn't tell her that he has served time.
Director: Herbert Kenwith
Writer: N/A
7.9/10140 votes#16 - 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
6.6/10108 votes#17 - Strange Bedfellows
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 1/24/1975
Lamont's politically involved girlfriend stresses involvement in the community's problems. This leads Lamont to phone into a radio talk show to express his views. Positive reaction leads to Lamont deciding to run for state assembly. But Fred soon finds out that this means that Lamont may move to Sacramento and leave the junk business.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.5/10126 votes#18 - The Masquerade Party
Season 4 Episode 18 - Aired 1/31/1975
The cast appears on Wheel and Deal, hosted by Harry Monty.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
6.8/10119 votes#19 - Golden Boy
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 2/7/1975
Fred's friend, Yerby is the manager of a champion boxer, Junior Joe Louis. Fred goes in and buys half ownership. Fred then begins training the boxer for an upcoming fight but soon runs into trouble. For Junior is pulled from the fight because of to Fred's stubbornness.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
7.4/10117 votes#20 - My Brother-in-Law's Keeper
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 2/14/1975
Fred cleans the house from top to bottom and Lamont is stunned. Then he learns the reason: Fred's baby sister, Frances is visiting to announce her engagement. Fred is excited, but he soon finds her fiance, Rodney is white.
Director: Norman Abbott
Writer: N/A
6.8/10108 votes#21 - The Headache
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 2/21/1975
Lamont has had a chronic headache for three days and isn't sure what's causing it. A doctor suggests that Lamont consult a psychiatrist since the cause may be stress. Once at the psychiatrist's office, the doctor determines that Fred is the cause of Lamont's headaches.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/10121 votes#22 - The Stung
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 2/28/1975
Lamont has Julio, Rollo and another buddy over for a poker game and Fred has had it with their gambling. Meanwhile, an old friend of Fred's, Al Banks, a professional gambler, stops by for a visit and this gives Fred an idea on how to teach Lamont and his friends a lesson. However, the lesson goes awry and Al runs out with the cash.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.1/10119 votes#23 - The Older Woman
Season 4 Episode 23 - Aired 3/7/1975
Lamont has been in a daze around the house, singing songs and incredibly cheerful to everyone he talks to. Grady and Fred deduce that the boy must be in love. Fred learns that Lamont is on the verge of proposing marriage to one particular girl who works at a dress shop. So he goes down to meet her and is in for a shock, since the girl turns out to be a woman at least ten years older than Lamont.
Director: Alan Rafkin
Writer: N/A
7.2/10120 votes#24 - The Over-the-Hill Gag
Season 4 Episode 24 - Aired 3/14/1975
Lamont takes Fred down the doctor's office for a checkup and Fred is socked with a large doctor bill. Realizing Fred's financial position, the doctor gives Fred six months to pay his doctor bill. Lamont overhears the conversation and becomes convinced Fred only has six months to live. Thinking Fred is dying, he rallies friends and family to prepare a party and try to get Lena Horne to pay Fred another visit.
Director: Stan Lathan
Writer: N/A
5.9/10147 votes#25 - The Family Man
Season 4 Episode 25 - Aired 4/25/1975
Grady decides it's time for a change and moves out of Watts and into fashionable Westwood to live with his daughter, Ellie, her husband Hal, and their two children, Laurie and Haywood. As a housewarming gift, Grady purchases an oil painting to hang over their fireplace. However, the painting he chooses proves to be quite distasteful.
Director: Bud Yorkin
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Sanford and Son Season 4
Every episode of Sanford and Son Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Sanford and Son Season 4!
The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.
Genre:Comedy
Network:NBC
Season 4 Ratings Summary
"The Surprise Party" is the best rated episode of "Sanford and Son" season 4. It scored 7.7/10 based on 132 votes. Directed by Norman Abbott and written by N/A, it aired on 9/13/1974. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker".