Comedy NBC Sitcom

L.A. junk dealer Fred Sanford was Norman Lear's black counterpart to Archie Bunker. The gravel-voiced widower hurled outrageous one-liners at his Bible-toting sister-in-law, Esther; cooked up get-rich-quick schemes with buddies Grady (who got his own spin-off series in 1975) and Bubba; and feigned countless `big ones' (heart attacks) to win the sympathy of long-suffering son Lamont. Based on the British series `Steptoe and Son,' the show consistently ranked in the Top 10.