Redd Foxx Spouse: Every Wife, His Real Name, and How He Died

Fans who grew up watching Sanford and Son still ask one question more than any other: who was the Redd Foxx spouse behind the laughs? Some assume he had one quiet marriage. The truth is far more intriguing, depressing, and chaotic. This guide, pulling from Redd Foxx Wikipedia records and archived reporting, answers that question and every related one, so you get the real story in one place.

Who Was Redd Foxx?

Redd Foxx, the actor and comedian, was born John Elroy Sanford on December 9, 1922, in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up poor, dropped out of school at sixteen, and built a career on nightclub stages before television ever knew his name. By the 1970s, he was one of the most recognized comedians in America, playing junkyard owner Fred G. Sanford on NBC’s Sanford and Son.

Away from the cameras, his personal life told a different story. Every Redd Foxx spouse he married came with a chapter of struggle, loyalty, or heartbreak. You must comprehend the man’s family, marriages, and the financial turmoil that followed him for many years in order to really comprehend him.

Redd Foxx Real Name

So, what’s Redd Foxx real name? He was born John Elroy Sanford, sometimes recorded as Jon Elroy Sanford. As a young guy, his reddish skin tone and hair earned him the moniker “Redd”. The surname “Foxx” was borrowed as tribute to baseball legend Jimmie Foxx, spelled with a double consonant to match the athlete’s style.

He adopted this stage identity in the mid-1940s while working small clubs in Baltimore and Harlem. Interestingly, his character on Sanford and Son, Fred G. In a subtle homage to his own past concealed within a fake role, Sanford really used his true birth surname.

Key fact: His TV character’s last name, Sanford, was Redd Foxx’s actual real-life surname.

Redd Foxx Spouse

The most frequently asked question regarding the comedian is still straightforward: who was Redd Foxx’s lifelong spouse? He married four times, and each Redd Foxx spouse played a distinct role in his personal and professional world.

Here is the full list in order:

• Evelyn Killebrew — married 1948, divorced 1951
• Betty Jean Harris was married in 1956 and divorced in 1974.
• Yun Chi Chung was married in 1976 and divorced in 1981.
• In 1991, Ka Ho Cho was married in July and died in October of the same year.

Each Redd Foxx wife entered his life during a different career stage, from struggling nightclub comic to television icon to a man fighting financial collapse. Below, we break down each marriage individually.

Evelyn Killebrew

While recording early comedic recordings in Newark, New Jersey, Redd Foxx met Evelyn Killebrew. This first Redd Foxx spouse married him in 1948, during his lean years touring the Chitlin’ Circuit with comedy partner Slappy White. After the pair moved to Los Angeles and his work took him in a different direction, the marriage terminated in 1951. Little else about Evelyn’s later life was ever made public, as she avoided the spotlight entirely after the divorce.

Betty Jean Harris

Betty Jean Harris was a dancer and showgirl when she met Redd Foxx, and as his second spouse, their 1956 marriage became his longest and most stable relationship. She managed his business ventures, including Redd Foxx Enterprises, and helped raise her daughter Debraca Denise, whom Foxx later adopted. This partnership lasted nearly two decades until infidelity led to their 1974 divorce, a split that also triggered a bitter dispute over shared property and finances.

Yun Chi Chung

Little detailed public information survives about this third Redd Foxx spouse, Yun Chi Chung, whose marriage to him ran from 1976 to 1981. It coincided with a turbulent professional period, as Foxx transitioned away from Sanford and Son and struggled to replicate that success with follow-up projects like the Redd Foxx Comedy Hour.

Ka Ho Cho

Ka Ho Cho became his fourth and final Redd Foxx spouse in July 1991. She married Foxx a few months before he passed away. In 1959, she was born in Seoul, South Korea. Their marriage lasted only about three months before he passed away on set. Following his death, a public dispute emerged between Ka Ho Cho and Foxx’s adopted daughter over his estate, which was already burdened by significant tax debt.

Redd Foxx Children and Family Life

A common follow-up to the Redd Foxx spouse question is about kids. Did Redd Foxx have children of his own? Publicly, he had one recognized child: Debraca Denise, the daughter of his second wife, Betty Jean Harris, whom Foxx adopted during their marriage. Denise appeared in small television roles, including guest spots connected to Sanford and Son, and later became the executor of her father’s estate after his passing.

Their bond stayed strong despite having no biological connection, and Denise has spoken about her father’s warmth away from the stage in later interviews and documentaries.

Redd Foxx Father, Brother and Early Family

Understanding the Redd Foxx family history helps explain the man he became. His father, Fred Sanford Sr., abandoned the family when Redd was young, leaving his mother, Mary Alma Hughes Sanford, to raise her sons largely alone. Redd had two brothers, Fred Jr. and Leonard. His older brother Fred died at just forty-six, and Redd later named his most famous TV character after him as a personal tribute.

This early hardship, including time spent living with his grandmother in a small wooden house in St. Louis, shaped the resilience and sharp humor that later defined his stand-up career. His younger brother Leonard largely stayed out of the public eye, while his older brother Fred, whom young Redd Foxx looked up to, passed away in his forties, an event that clearly influenced how the comedian later wrote his most famous character.

Redd Foxx Net Worth

At the peak of Sanford and Son, Redd Foxx earned a substantial income and lived a lavish lifestyle in Las Vegas. However, poor financial management and unpaid taxes caught up with him. By the time of his death, reports place his net worth at roughly negative $5 million, following bankruptcy filings and IRS liens against his property.

This financial collapse became public knowledge in the 1980s, and it was even referenced in a 1990 sketch on In Living Color, where a young Damon Wayans parodied his tax troubles. It’s a sobering reminder that television fame rarely guarantees lasting financial security.

Redd Foxx Comedy Career and TV Shows

Before television, Foxx built his name through raw, uncensored stand-up on the Chitlin’ Circuit, earning the nickname “King of the Party Records” for more than fifty risqué comedy albums. His breakout mainstream role came with Sanford and Son (1972–1977), followed by The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, The Redd Foxx Show, and finally The Royal Family alongside Della Reese.

Fans who search for Redd Foxx TV shows and Redd Foxx tv series usually land on the same three titles: Sanford and Son, The Redd Foxx Show, and The Royal Family. His film work included Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Norman… Is That You? (1976), and Harlem Nights (1989) opposite Eddie Murphy. He also released dozens of raunchy comedy records, often referred to loosely as Redd Foxx songs, though they were really spoken-word stand-up albums rather than music. Comedians like Richard Pryor, Chris Rock, and Jamie Foxx (who took his stage surname as tribute) have all cited him as a defining influence on modern stand-up.

Redd Foxx Cause of Death

Fans want to know the details of Redd Foxx’s death in addition to the timeline of his spouse. The Redd Foxx cause of death was a heart attack. He collapsed on the set of The Royal Family while rehearsing a scene on October 11, 1991. Because Foxx was famous for faking heart attacks as Fred Sanford on television, cast and crew initially assumed he was joking. By the time anyone realized the emergency was real, it was too late to save him.

He was 68 years old when he died. Anyone asking when did Redd Foxx die can pin the exact date to October 11, 1991, in Los Angeles, California.

Redd Foxx Death

Understanding the full Redd Foxx death timeline shows just how sudden the loss was. His fourth Redd Foxx spouse, Ka Ho Cho, had married him only three months earlier and appeared to be entering a new, hopeful chapter with The Royal Family. On the day of his death, he was on a break from rehearsal when he clutched his chest, a gesture audiences instantly recognized from his sitcom days, before collapsing for real. Paramedics could not revive him.

His sudden passing shocked co-star Della Reese and the wider entertainment industry, cutting short what many hoped would be a career comeback.

Redd Foxx Last Words and Legacy

While no single verified quote is documented as his literal final words, Foxx was famous for his on-screen catchphrase as Fred Sanford: pretending to have “the big one” while calling out to his late TV wife, Elizabeth. The eerie irony is that a joke he had done for years was reflected in his actual death. His legacy lives on through the comedians he mentored and the sitcom formula he helped popularize for Black-led television casts.

Redd Foxx Age, Height and Physical Details

So how old is Redd Foxx, or rather, how old was he? He was 68 years old when he died, having been born on his Redd Foxx birthday of December 9, 1922, and passing in October 1991. His height measured approximately 5 feet 9 inches, a detail fans often search for as Redd Foxx height alongside his age. On Sanford and Son, he played a character written as being in his sixties, even though he was only 48 when the series began, a testament to how his hard-living lifestyle aged his appearance ahead of his years.

Is Redd Foxx Still Alive?

No, Redd Foxx is not alive today. He died on October 11, 1991. Because streaming services continue to promote Sanford and Son to younger generations who are not familiar with his story or his death decades ago, this question is still popular on the internet.

Quick Facts Table

FAQs

What was Redd Foxx’s real name? 

His real name was John Elroy Sanford. He adopted “Redd Foxx” as a stage name in the 1940s, combining his nickname with a tribute to baseball star Jimmie Foxx.

How many times was Redd Foxx married? 

He was married four times: to Evelyn Killebrew, Betty Jean Harris, Yun Chi Chung, and finally Ka Ho Cho, who was his spouse at the time of his death.

Who was Redd Foxx’s wife when he died? 

Ka Ho Cho was the Redd Foxx spouse at the time of his death in October 1991. The couple had married only three months earlier, in July of that year.

How did Redd Foxx die? 

On October 11, 1991, he passed away at the age of 68 from a heart attack while practicing on the set of his sitcom, The Royal Family.

What was Redd Foxx’s net worth? 

Despite decades of television success, financial mismanagement and unpaid taxes left him with an estimated net worth of about negative $5 million at the time of his death.

Does Redd Foxx have children? 

He had one publicly known child, his adopted daughter Debraca Denise, from his marriage to second wife Betty Jean Harris.

Conclusion

This full Redd Foxx life story is bigger than any single spouse or headline about his death. It’s a story of a poor kid from St. Louis who became a comedy pioneer, married four times while chasing stability, and left behind a legacy that shaped generations of comedians. If this breakdown helped answer your questions, share it with another Sanford and Son fan, or explore our other classic Hollywood biography guides for more verified, well-researched profiles.