In the show Fred was 65 in the first season. Did he look decades younger?

In the show Fred was 65 in the first season. Did he look decades younger?

Well, to put things into perspective, Redd Foxx was in reality, about 15 years younger than Fred Sanford. He was born in 1922, so he would've been about 50 years old when Sanford and Son started in 1972.

Whitman Mayo who was only in his early 40's during Sanford and Son, looked and acted like an elderly man in his late 60's. The makeup artists did the same for Redd Foxx, making him wear a scraggly beard and putting white in his hair. I didnt really know how young Foxx really was until a few years ago because of the internet. Mayo being so young also surprised me. Foxx would wear heavy shoes to mimic an "old man walk".