lawanda page played aunt ester on sanford and son.
who played aunt ester on sanford and son?
lawanda page
on "sanford and son", esther anderson ("aunt esther") was the sister of fred sanford's late wife elizabeth. page had been performing her comedy routine in nightclubs in st. louis and then los angeles for several years, but had planned to leave show business to move back to st. louis to take care of her ailing mother. when redd foxx was offered a sitcom in los angeles, he brought his childhood friend page to the attention to one of the show's producers, who was already familiar with page and her act. foxx subsequently asked page to read for the role of aunt esther. she was offered the role after she auditioned. however, prior to taping, producers became concerned when page, whose experience was limited primarily to nightclub stages, seemed to have difficulty working in a sitcom format. eventually, one of "sanford and son"s producers told foxx that page would need to be fired and that another actor would need to be cast before the show could begin taping. foxx responded by insisting that page keep the part, even threatening to walk away from the show if page were fired. the producers relented, and page's aunt esther went on to become one of the most popular tv sitcom characters of the 1970s.
lawanda page
1904, pittsburgh: 1839 wylie avenue in the hill district is the home of aunt ester, a 285-year-old former slave, who is a keeper of tradition and history for her people and a renowned cleanser of souls. the people who pass through her parlor and kitchen include eli, aunt ester's protector; black mary, her housekeeper and protégé; solly two kings, a former slave, conductor on the underground railroad and scout for the union army; black mary's brother, caesar, a constable; rutherford selig, a peddler; and citizen barlow, a new arrival from down south who needs aunt ester to help him absolve the guilt and shame from a crime he's committed.
gem of the ocean