Redd Foxx was an outstanding comedian and actor whose career spanned several decades. He was married four times, and his third marriage ended in a bitter divorce.
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John Elroy Sanford, popularly known as Redd Foxx, is primarily famous for his role as the grumpy Fred Sanford in “Sanford and Son.” As a black comedian, he opened many doors for his peers in the entertainment industry and inspired many.
Foxx’s professional and personal lives had many ups and downs, even after becoming a Hollywood superstar. Still, he never lacked the company of a woman. Let’s look at the entertainer’s private life away from the camera.
FOXX’S FIRST TWO MARRIAGES
During his lifetime, the comedian was married four times. He tied the knot for the first time with Evelyn Killebrew in 1948, but the marriage was short-lived, and the pair went their separate ways three years later.
A few years after his divorce from Killebrew, Foxx got married to Betty Jean Harris. The pair walked down the aisle on July 5, 1956, and stayed married for eighteen years before calling it quits.
Betty Jean Harris, and Redd Foxx, attend the “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” 10th Anniversary party on September 30, 1972 | Photo: Getty Images
Betty Jean Harris, and Redd Foxx, attend the “Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” 10th Anniversary party on September 30, 1972 | Photo: Getty Images
FOXX’S RELATIONSHIP WITH JOI
On December 31, 1976, the comedian said “I do” for the third time in a chapel in Las Vegas, the city where he met his bride Yun Chi Chung, whom he affectionately called Joi.
The duo met two years before their marriage. Joi, 20 years younger than Foxx and worked as a cocktail waitress at the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. In an interview, Joi revealed that she met that actor in a hallway, and they exchanged pleasantries.
However, she claimed that their relationship only developed six months before getting married. The pair finally got married under a floral canopy on the showroom stage at the Thunderbird Hotel in Las Vegas.
After their wedding ceremony, Foxx began performing an X-rated act, and at midnight, the actor brought his wife out on stage to join the festive crowd at the hotel’s Cardinal Room.
INSIDE THE COUPLE’S HOME
Before their divorce, the couple lived in a home furnished and decorated in Korean style. Joi, originally from Korea, opted for cushions, an elbow mat, and a low table for serving tea in place of chairs.
Apart from the above-listed items, there were also beautifully carved cabinets hanging on the wall. The couple’s home also had several other paintings patterned after artists in the period of European Realism, waiting to be hung.
BARRIERS IN THE PAIR’S MARRIAGE
Although Foxx and Joi were head over heels in love with each other, they faced some barriers in communication. Hailing from Korea, Joi found it challenging to understand her husband completely.
The Korean native found it challenging to understand and speak English, even though she learned it in school, and Foxx always tried to explain words that were difficult to comprehend.
