1. Isabel Sanford was the youngest of seven children and was the only child to survive beyond infancy.
14 Facts About Isabel Sanford
1. 2.
Isabel Sanford performed at amateur night at The Apollo Theater.
3.
Isabel Sanford made her professional stage debut in 1946 in On Strivers Row, and appeared in several off-Broadway productions while working as a keypunch operator at IBM.
4.
In 1945, Isabel Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond, with whom she had three children.
5.
In 1960, Isabel Sanford withdrew money from her retirement fund, boarded a bus with her three children, left her husband in New York, and moved to Los Angeles.
6.
Isabel Sanford caught the attention of major Hollywood players, including Norman Lear, who cast Sanford in the role of Louise Jefferson in All in the Family.
7.
Isabel Sanford was initially reluctant to commit to working on a weekly series, as she was already working steadily, but decided to accept the offer.
8.
Isabel Sanford appeared in Kojak Season 1 Episode 14 "Die Before They Wake" in 1974.
9.
Isabel Sanford later reprised her role as Louise Jefferson in a touring company of The Real Live Jeffersons stage show in the mid-1990s alongside Sherman Hemsley.
10.
In January 2004, Isabel Sanford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the television industry.
11.
Isabel Sanford married house painter William Edward "Sonny" Richmond in 1945.
12.
In September 2003, Isabel Sanford underwent preventive surgery on her carotid artery.
13.
Isabel Sanford was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on July 4,2004, where she died five days later at the age of 86.
14.
Isabel Sanford was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles.