Sanford and Son Quotes
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Source: Sanford and Son
Speaker: Fred Sanford
"Elizabeth, I'm coming!"
I've never had pains like this before! Oh, this is the worse one I've ever had, son! Oh, it's the worst one! This is the big one! I'm dying! You hear that, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join you, honey!
Context
This line is spoken by Fred Sanford, played by Redd Foxx in the TV show Sanford and Son (1972-1977).
Even though Fred Sanford's beloved wife, Elizabeth, died over 20 years before the show Sanford and Son began, she was actually part of one of the show's most famous catchphrases. Whenever things weren't going Fred's way or the cantankerous old man just wanted to get a little sympathy, he would clutch his chest dramatically and look up to Heaven while shouting, "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you!"
We all have to meet our maker eventually, but Fred ended up getting more practice than most.
Where you've heard it
This line only works if you're pretending to have a heart attack and die. Saying "Elizabeth, I'm coming!" during an actual heart attack will crack up an entire room, but will probably delay some much-needed medical attention. We can't recommend that.
Additional Notable References:
- In Shrek 2, Donkey mutters "I'm coming, Elizabeth!" as he passes out. Yeah, we caught that.
- During a Star Wars-inspired fight on an episode of Family Guy, Fred Sanford gets blown up in an X-wing fighter, but not before pulling out this classic line.
- In real life, Redd Foxx actually died of a massive heart attack in 1991 while on set filming the series The Royal Family. At the time, he was cracking jokes and, for a moment, the cast and crew thought he might have been going into this famous routine when he collapsed.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Fred Sanford wasn't a pretentious guy…but pretending to die every other week might be just a little bit wacko.