as a teen in the 70s. Some of the funniest bits were the interactions between the character Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) and Aunt Esther (LaWanda Page). How they roasted each other ! [media=https://youtu.be/0ppXVtCoA_E] But unlike the relationship between the characters, Foxx & Page were longtime friends from the days of the "Chitlin Circuit" (a collection of performance venues for black entertainers during Jim Crow).
(Btw, I’m told that "Sanford & Son" was modeled after the British show "Steptoe & Son". The name was chosen from Redd Foxx’ original surname—John Elroy Sanford.)
In the past, I did a lot of theater -- both college and community theater.
In my experience, the kind of scene in which I felt closest to the other actor was a scene with an argument. Making an argument appear convincing is a cooperative effort. It's like playing tennis with the goal of prolonging the volley. You throw a zinger at the other actor in order to set him up to throw one back at you. And it's great fun.
So if these two were good friends, I bet they had a blast doing these scenes!
Interesting. Didn't know they had a history. There were so good together. Man..Norman Lear changed the TV game. I think this was the first all-black cast on network TV. It was before Good Times. And all those shows were just as appealing to white audiences as they were to black audiences. That was the real brilliance to them. "I'm comin' to join ya Elizabeth."
