Former TV star turned minister Demond Wilson related his life experiences as Friday’s keynote speaker for the 2014 Florida Chautauqua Assembly.
Wilson, who co-starred with Redd Fox in the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” spoke to a full auditorium of students and adults at Walton High School.
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The spark he had as Lamont Sanford showed again as visitors laughed at his anecdotes and gave him a standing ovation following his words of encouragement.
“His life story was very inspirational,” senior Cody Adams said. “It made you want to try hard to strive for you goals and do your best at whatever you’re going to do.”
Wilson told how he and Fox broke ground in Hollywood when shows about minorities were unchartered territory.
After the show was turned down by other major networks, “when we aired on NBC, the ratings went through the roof. We found gold,” he said.
Wilson and Fox found they could leverage their vision for the show. “We want a black director, a black writer,” he said.
Richard Pryor was among the talent.
Early on, Wilson was grounded in the hardships of life. At 12 years old he nearly died of a ruptured appendix and vowed one day to serve God in ministry, he said. He also served as a soldier in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968 “up North where the fighting was hard.”
Still, Wilson’s core message was that of the future. Contrasting some perceptions that today’s youth do not have the same moral fiber as past generations, the preacher in Wilson came through.
“I believe we can’t give up on anybody because Jesus didn’t give up on us,” Wilson said to applause. “Judge not lest ye be judged … every generation has older people who revile the younger generation.”
Parents, teachers and other role models must be relevant to today’s youth and reach them with what they are interested in, such as technology, he said.
With six children having graduated from college, Wilson spoke with contentment about their careers and his community outreach. In 1995 he formed Restoration House of America to teach former prison inmates how to become self employed.
He focuses now on spending time with his family.
“I was always gone,” he said. “You’ve given everybody everything, but you didn’t give you.”
He has written 11 children stories, a book exposing Masonic and Illuminati cult imagery and hidden agendas and his latest, a memoir about his days with “Sanford and Son.”
As for tomorrow?
“Now I go mostly to the mailbox.”
