When I was a junior in high school back in 94,one day in speech class we were told to go to the lecture room. It was fourth period. I was talking to some of my classmates,then all of sudden they were staring at this man coming in and saying that's Grady from Sanford and Son. And sure enough it was Whitman Mayo. He visited our school as well as three other schools in northwest Indiana that day. He was very nice. Of course,he was talking about how important education is to us and our future. He also talked about the fun they had behind the scenes of Sanford and Son. I remember him saying that him and Fred would play practical jokes on Aunt Esther,which of course was no surprising to us. He really loved being part of that show. He shook our hands individually as we left the classroom as the bell rang. It is an experience that I will never forget in my life.

Wow, thats really amazing. I'd love to have met him.

Cool story, thanks for sharing your experience of meeting Whitman Mayo...:)

Great story. :D

If only he could haved lived a little longer...

If only he could haved lived a little longer...

If only he wrote a book about his experiences on S&S. I would love to hear about some of the behind the scenes stuff when taping the show.

It's always nice to hear about actors who are gracious, and reflect fondly on their show (as opposed to bad-mouthing it or bit**ing about how it typecast them.) You only get typecast if you're not a good enough actor to rise above the character you had the good fortune to play - Ted Knight and Betty White never got locked in, just two examples for starters. (Also, there are many highly talented folks out there who just never get that lucky break.-imo, Show Business is one of the most highly competitive professions)

Does anyone know if Whitman smoked?