Iconic comedian Redd Foxx, has been gone from this earth for 27 years, after passing away from a heart attack at age 69. He’s still considered one of the ‘greatest’ by many of today’s hottest comedians though. Matter of fact, let Foxx’s closest friends tell it, there was also an even better side to him that many never knew.
One of those close friends, the late actress/comedian, Della Reese, was friends with Foxx for 40 years. Reese passed away in November 2017, after a long battle with Type-2 diabetes. But prior to her passing (in the video below), she told a great story about the time Foxx was working at a club in Pennsylvania. She met with him backstage and confided that she didn’t have a job and desperately needed some money. At that time, Redd Foxx was a huge star and thousands of people had gathered to watch him do stand-up at the venue that night.
Foxx was set to make a hefty pay day for that performance, but quickly decided to skip that payday and let Della have it instead. Redd surprised Della when he suddenly hunched over, as if he were in pain, and walked out onto stage to tell the promoter and the crowd that was anxiously waiting for him, that his back had gone out and his comedic friend, Della, would take his place. The crowd trusted Redd’s comedic judgement, so they welcomed Della with open arms and she nailed it on that stage. She was forever grateful for the thousands of dollars Redd unselfishly put in her pocket that day. See what else she said happened in the video clip below…
Della Reese: “We were hungry together. We were out of work together,” Reese laughs loudly. “We shared sandwiches together. He (Foxx) loved helping others. The public makes him out to be a nasty mouth, mean person. He was the total opposite – a gentle loving person. If you needed something, he would go into his pocket and give it to you.”
According to Reese, the reason Redd was broke at the end of his life, was due to his extraordinary generosity. In a 1983 interview with Tom Joyner, Foxx basically confirmed that claim, stating that he was a “provider” by nature.
Redd Foxx gained notoriety with his raunchy nightclub acts during the 1950s and 1960s. Known as the “King of the Party Records,” he performed on more than 50 records in his lifetime. While working together as television co-stars of the Eddie Murphy penned “Royal Family,” the man known for a few false alarm heart attacks, succumbed right there on the set during rehearsals. Della was the first to find him and immediately thought it was another one of his gags, but sadly it was the “big one” that time…it was also the day we lost one of the best comedians to have EVER done it.
Foxx’s character as a man, as a person, is something that also changed the lives and the character of the people who’s lives he personally touched. Redd was a great example that reminds us that when we have, we should reach back and give; and when we do that, our journey on this earth will become a greater movement that’ll affect others long after we’ve closed our eyes. May Redd Foxx and his beloved friend, Della Reese, continue to rest peacefully.
