Raymond Allen, an actor who had memorable recurring roles on classic sitcoms of the ’70s “Sanford and Son” and “Good Times,” died yesterday of a non-COVID respiratory illness in a long-term care facility in California. He was 91.
Allen’s death was announced yesterday by his daughter, Ta Ronce Allen, on a Facebook post.
The actor was best known for his “Sanford and Son” character from Uncle Woodrow “Woody” Anderson, brother-in-law of Redd Foxx’s Fred Sanford and long-suffering husband of Aunt Esther of LaWanda Page. On another Norman Lear-created series, “Good Times,” Allen played Ned the Wino, a neighborhood street character and friend of the series’ central Evans family. Both Woody and Ned showed Allen’s comic painting of cheerful intoxication.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, the youngest of 12 children, Allen also appeared in the 1970s series ‘What’s Happening !!’, ” Starsky and Hutch, ” The Love Boat ‘and’ The Jeffersons. ‘For the most part, he was reluctant to act after his string of ’70s roles.
He is survived by daughters Brenda Allen and actress Ta Ronce Allen, who also appeared in the 1970s series, including a recurring role in “Good Times” as Yvonne, girlfriend of series regular Ralph Carter’s Michael Evans.
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