Nathaniel Taylor aka Rollo Lawson has died

by Billy Ingram

Nathaniel Taylor, the actor who portrayed Rollo Lawson, Lamont Sanford’s sidekick on Sanford and Son, has passed away. He was a genuinely accomplished comic actor and one of the most memorable characters from 1970’s TV. His battles with Fred Sanford, who Rollo called “Pops”, were almost as funny as Fred’s conflicts with Aunt Ester. The actor appeared on 32 episodes of Sanford and Son.

“It was a time and an era — just to be on TV as a black man, it was an honor,” said Nathaniel Taylor’s son Kaedi who works in the television and film industry. “It was an honor for people to remember him.”

The elder Taylor was 80 when he died on February 27, 2019. He also appeared on Redd Foxx’s subsequent series including The Redd Foxx Show and wound up playing Rollo again on Sanford and Sanford and Son's short-lived spinoff Grady as well as roles in Blaxpoitation films such as Dynamite and Trouble Man.

He was also a member of the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA) and was friends with Hip-Hop promoter Alonzo Williams

This is a very funny second season episode of Sanford and Son featuring Nathaniel Taylor where Fred, Lamont, and Rollo try to get rid of a gun they discover after a burglary.

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