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.....Foxx's own life was anything but a party.
.....He was born in 1922 as John Sanford in the ghetto of East St. Louis. His father walked out on the family, and his mother, who couldn't contend with John and his brother, Fred Sanford, sent them out to a Catholic boy's home in Chicago.
..........— Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon. Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America (2008), companion book to the PBS series of the same name.
.....In Harlem, John Sanford got the nickname Red because of his hair color and light skin, and he later added another d. Sometimes he was called Chicago Red to differentiate him from his pal Detroit Red — Malcolm Little, the young Malcolm X. "They busted suds together, they worked in the chicken shack tother," said Rey. "They were the best of friends. Redd and Malcolm whored together, stole things, robbed and stole. They did all sorts of little things, but they never got caught."
..........— Ibid.
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