Mayo, Whitman 1930–2001

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Whitman Mayo 1930–2001

Actor

Whitman Mayo is best known for his work as a television actor, where he earned fame by playing an older gentleman on one of the most successful sitcoms in television history. Mayo was in his forties when he portrayed the much older “Grady” on Sanford and Son. Sanford and Son, which starred Redd Foxx, a comedian, looked into the life of a father living with his son on a junkyard. With his scraggly grey beard and droopy eyes, Mayo made “Grady” one of the most notable characters on Sanford and Son, which aired from 1972 to 1977 on NBC. Mayo joined the show after being asked to audition for just one episode. Though Mayo successfully molded and mastered the role, he was typecasted and most roles offered to him were portrayals of elderly men. Still, Mayo did not allow the elderly depiction on camera to affect his contributions to other actors. In his later years, Mayo would pass along his wisdom to college students as a professor, who taught drama to undergraduate students.

Whitman Mayo was born in Harlem, and later, his family moved to Queens. As a teen-ager, Mayo had made his career choice: he wanted to become an actor. When he was in high school, Mayo’s family moved to southern California, where he excelled in the drama and speech clubs.

Mayo overcame life’s hard knocks to pursue his dream of acting. Persistence is the best quality that any person who desires to become an actor should have and Mayo certainly had a testimony there. Though the chances of him becoming an actor appeared slim, Mayo was prepared to work against all odds. On his own website, www.the-cape.com/the_cape/whit/biograph.htm, Mayo was candid about his goal of becoming an actor: “I knew at 13 that my first choice was to be an actor. My second choice was a short order cook, and the third, a garbage man. Needless to say, I did not have to resort to plans B and C.”

After his freshman year in college, Mayo was drafted into the Army, where he served for two years. When his stint ended, Mayo worked several jobs, including as a counselor for delinquent youths and picking grapes, among other things. While waiting for his big break, Mayo was not deterred and showed great humility. Moreover, he had to make a living for himself and did almost everything imaginable to make money: he waited tables, worked on the railroad and at a dairy. He also pursued a college degree, attending Chaffey College, Los Angeles City College and UCLA. Mayo never gave up on his dream, but did not have a direct path to

At a Glance…

Born on November 15, 1930, in Harlem, New York; died May 22, 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia; married Gail Reid Mayo; three children.

Career: Actor. Performed in Amen Corner, which played Broadway in the late-1960s to early-1970s; co-starred in television series, Sanford and Son, 1972–77; was the star in Grady, 1975; Sanford Arms, 1977; also appeared in these feature films: The Main Event, 1979; D.C. Cab, 1983; Boyz N the Hood, 1991; made appearances on the Conan O’Brien Late Show, 1996; adjunct professor at Clark-Atlanta University, film/theater, 1996–2001.

Hollywood. By the late 1960s, he had moved back to the East Coast and had joined the New Lafayette Theater Repertory Company in New York City. With New Lafayette, Mayo began to get more consistent opportunities at acting. He finally got his break, when a friend from New Lafayette, who was a writer for television executive Norman Lear, recommended Mayo for a part in a single episode.

At www.the-cape.com, Mayo said, “After years of doing theater in New York and Los Angeles … I was asked to audition for Sanford and Son. They wanted me for one show; it developed into six years of having fun.” Mayo had not had any television experience, prior to his role on Sanford and Son.

Something can be said for the desire to achieve your goal and the willingness to sacrifice parts of yourself to attain it. That’s what Mayo did and ultimately, it helped him to have a very satisfying career as an actor. Clearly, Mayo took whatever came in his direction to become an actor, even if it meant playing parts that were undesirable. As a young man, he was often asked to play the role of an older man and he did not scoff at the opportunity. Rather, Mayo pressed forward and seized the moments. At imbd.com, Mayo was quoted as saying, “I’ve always played older parts. When I was 19, I played 60. When I was a kid I got pleasure out of studying old people. I took joy in their idiosyncrasies. Older folk are like children. They can do and say what they want and get away with it.”

Little did he know at age 19, that his acting career would be defined by his role as “Grady” on Sanford and Son. Paired with Foxx, Mayo became the funny sidekick to the main character. He was often looked upon as someone who did not know much—an old fool, of sorts—on the show, but that persona contributed greatly to his success. It added side-cracking humor and whenever there was trouble or a precarious situation, Grady had a patented, “Good goobily goop!” The catchy phrase became Grady’s trademark and the line is probably what most Sanford and Son aficionados most remember about Mayo’s role.

According to an article in the June 1974 issue of Ebony Magazine, Foxx became embattled with NBC when they questioned if he had some health problems. During Foxx’s hiatus, Mayo’s “Grady” character moved into the junkyard with Demond Wilson, who played the son in Sanford and Son. In 1974 Los Angeles Times reporter Dick Adler wrote that “Sanford and Son had regained its second-place spot in the ratings, which it had been losing to The Waltons, but that NBC had received an extra-large volume of telephone calls, mostly favorable, regarding the substitution of Mayo for Foxx.” Mayo, who was friends with Foxx, told Ebony’s Louie Robinson: “Nobody could ever replace Redd, but I’m doing the best I can under these circumstances.” Eventually, NBC parlayed Mayo’s success on Sanford and Son into two sitcoms—one of which he was the star: Grady and Sanford Arms, which ran in 1975 and 1977, respectively, for one year each.

Despite his successful television career, Mayo never became content. According to Jimkukral.com, Mayo opened a travel agency in Inglewood, California, which helped him to become financially stable. By 1994, burned out on Los Angeles, he moved to Fayetteville, Georgia, a tiny town near Atlanta. Though he kept acting, roles came few and far between, so Mayo became an adjunct college professor at Clark-Atlanta University, where he taught film and theater until his death on May 22, 2001 at age 70.

In 1996 NBC late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien had a funny bit that asked the question, “Where’s Grady?” It received rave reviews and led to thousands of Grady sightings and his appearance on the show. Besides teaching, Mayo also hosted Turner South cable network’s original series, Liars and Legends. Mayo’s age in the role of “Grady,” had caught up to him, albeit only in a figurative sense. Until his death, Mayo was a spry, energetic person, who loved life and all of its trials.