Black and Blue: the Redd Foxx Story
*Starred Review* The thing about a biography of a celebrity who's slipped under the radar (comedian and TV star Foxx died in 1991) is that, if you do it right, you can, in effect, bring back to life a fascinating character. Starr, who's also written bios of Art Carney and Raymond Burr, does it right. This biography of the Sanford and Son star is full of things you probably don't know, like the fact that Foxx's character, Fred G. Sanford, was named after his older brother (Foxx was born Jon Elroy Sanford); that Foxx used to hang out with Malcolm Little, before he became Malcolm X; that, in the 1950s and '60s, Foxx was a wildly popular stand-up comedian (and a huge star in the comedy-album business). His postSanford and Son career never had the same impact, mostly involving failed business ventures, personal problems, and a string of canceled TV shows. Still, Starr refuses to paint Foxx as a pathetic has-been, the way some observers were doing at the time, preferring to show him as a supremely talented man whose own failings (gambling and drugs, primarily) drove him to make a series of unfortunate choices. For Starr, Foxx's 1991 death of a heart attack, on the set of yet another television series, was the tragic culmination of a life and career that had peaked two decades earlier. An excellent biography, respectful and compassionate about its subject and revealing and perceptive about American popular culture. --Booklist, Sept. 1, 2011Biographical information on John Sanford (1922 91) better known as Redd Foxx is scarce, and this book returns life to a well-deserving comedic legend. Journalist and biographer Starr (Hiding in Plain Sight: The Secret Life of Raymond Burr) covers Foxx's early days in St. Louis and Chicago, his struggles after his mother abandoned him, his jazz band, and his time in New York's Harlem, where he took the nickname Foxy and became best buddies with the future Malcolm X. Foxx perfected his natural comedic skills when he joined the Chitlin' Circuit along the East Coast. According to Starr, Foxx's dependence on cocaine, alcohol, and women kept him from continued success. Generous to a fault, he also trusted the wrong people and spent money as quickly as he made it. Still, Foxx became a Vegas superstar and after the creation of the TV show Sanford and Son, a household name.  Verdict Starr reconstructs Foxx's life in a raw, honest manner, interspersing fascinating historical facts along the way. This well-presented biography will be especially valuable to those who were not around when Foxx was at the top of his game. Recommended for anyone interested in TV and African American history. --Library Journal Xpress Reviews, Aug. 12, 2011