When Isabel Sanford first auditioned for All in the Family, she aimed for a different role altogether. The journey to landing the part that would define her career was a process, as she later explained.
Sanford was a big fan of All in the Family
In 2002, Sanford told the Television Academy Foundation about the moment in 1971 when a friend called her while she was on the phone and urged her to watch the new comedy series, All in the Family.
By May 1971, The New York Times reported that All in the Family was outranking popular shows like Marcus Welby, M.D., Laugh-In, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and Lucille Ball’s programs. Sanford’s friend insisted she not miss the hilarious show the following week. Sanford made sure to tune in and was instantly hooked.
“I fell down laughing,” she recalled. “It was so funny.”
At that time, the show’s creator, Norman Lear, told The Times he didn’t plan on changing the successful show, except “to use the Black neighbors more next year.” As Sanford explained, Lear kept his word.
The role she originally auditioned for
A few days after watching the new CBS comedy, Sanford’s agent called her with exciting news: she had an audition for All in the Family.
“He had me read for Louise Jefferson’s sister,” she remembered.
Sanford detailed how, shortly after watching All in the Family, her agent called with an audition. “I went for this audition, and Norman Lear auditioned me. This was before it was an empire,” she said, gesturing expansively.
Louise’s sister, as Sanford explained, was a minor role. The character, in the episode titled “Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood,” briefly appears to borrow a pail to help clean up the Jeffersons’ new home.
She finally got the job of Louise
Sanford initially thought her appearance on All in the Family would be a one-episode gig. But Lear was so impressed with her performance that they kept calling her back.
The Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? star, who began her career in theater, wasn’t sure if they really wanted her back. She recalled telling the show’s casting manager, “Do you know who you’re calling? This is Isabel Sanford.”
They replied, “Yes, I know. They want to see you again.”
Sanford then auditioned for the role of Louise Jefferson. She expressed her concern to director John Rich that viewers might be confused about whether she was playing Louise’s sister or Louise herself.
Rich’s reply? “Well, who’s going to remember that?”
And so, Isabel Sanford transitioned from auditioning for a minor role to becoming the beloved Louise Jefferson, a character that would become iconic in television history.
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