Esther Anderson (fictional Character) - Character History

Character History

Esther Anderson is the Bible-toting sister-in-law of Fred Sanford. She is a staunchly religious Baptist who finds little use for humor and often criticizes Fred. Elizabeth, Esther's younger sister, was married to Fred, and Esther and the rest of the Winfield family were against the marriage from the outset. However, Esther often expressed that if anything good came out of the marriage it was her nephew, Fred's son, Lamont.

Lamont adored his aunt Esther, and would, against Fred's and Grady's wishes, allow her to stay in their house and often defended her against their insults. Since Esther and her family were the only real connection he had to his late mother, Lamont welcomed her often. She, in turn, was there to counsel Lamont on his life, and did her best to help him to get out of living in his father's junkyard house. She did so because she felt that Elizabeth would not have wanted Lamont, whom Esther felt was very intelligent, to remain in such a limited life.

Fred responded to Esther's entrances by making exaggerated grimaces. He would then proceed to insult her, likening her to animals and fictitious movie monsters. Fred often focused on Esther's looks, once telling her, "I could stick your face in some dough and make some gorilla cookies!" He also often insulted her by calling her "ugly" and pronouncing it Ug-leee!.

Esther's usual reactions to Fred's antics were to cringe and say, "Watch it, sucka!" Sometimes, cracking from the constant barrage of insults, she would swing her purse wildly in Fred's direction while angrily calling him a "fish-eyed fool" or "heathen". Once, during a public prayer, Esther made reference to Fred, calling him a "Snaggle-toothed jackass." She also clashed with Fred's friend, Grady Wilson, whom she also disliked due to his friendship with Fred.

Despite their constant arguments, some episodes reveal that Esther and Fred actually cared about each other, such as when Fred helped her adopt a child. In one episode, Fred gave Esther $100 he won gambling to help her church, leaving him 35 cents.

Esther's long-suffering but loving alcoholic husband Woodrow (played by Raymond Allen began appearing infrequently later in the series. Woodrow was massively inebriated and somewhat henpecked. He eventually became sober so he and Esther could adopted a young orphan, Daniel, played by Eric Laneuville in "Aunt Esther Meets Her Son".

In the final two seasons of Sanford and Son, as well as its failed spin-off Sanford, Esther lived next door to Fred at the Sanford Arms, the boarding house owned and run by Fred, which was located next to his junk shop.