My wife claims that she read somewhere that he used to do the "Fred Sanford/Phony Heart Attack" routine off camera, and that is why nobody paid attention to him when he had a real heart attack on the set of the TV show "The Royal Family". Is that true? I know Della Reese, and the others, assumed he was "faking" it, and only realized that it was reality after he collapsed on the floor, and would not get up.

Also, I recall Della Reese claiming that there was a man who attended Redd's funeral, and he claimed to be Flip Wilson. Della said she knew the real Flip Wilson, who was still alive at the time, and this man was not the real Flip Wilson, but an impostor. Can anybody elaborate on this?

Thank you in advance! :)

Cheers!

Sincerely, Steve B.

I doubt the story about the heart attack is true. Does anyone really think Redd Foxx had his hand on his chest and was spinning around wild eyed with one arm in the air and one on his chest when he was in legitimate pain? It seems a heart attack that lethal would see the victim wince in pain and fall to the floor. Just my thoughts.

This is what I was able to find on it. It mentions the Flip thing at the funeral, but doesn't give details.

Sounds like your wife heard correctly - not that they necessarily thought he was faking, but none of the crew members wanted to be legally responsible for Redd. Pretty sad eh?

http://www.tvparty.com/mysfoxx3.html

Also - my speakers aren't hooked up so I couldn't hear it, but Della Reese gives an interview about exactly what happened on YouTube - it was on an A&E documentary about Redd.

Thanks for all the help!

Sincerely, Steve B.