According to Fred, his wife Elizabeth died around 1950. In a running gag in the series, during times of distress, Fred looks up (as to heaven) with his hand across his chest, faking a heart attack and saying, "This is the big one, Elizabeth! I'm coming to join ya, honey," but nobody ever falls for this transparent ruse. Fred raised Lamont alone and missed Elizabeth deeply. According to Fred, his son was named for Lamont Lomax, a pitcher from the Homestead Grays. In one episode, Lamont asks why he had no middle name; Fred tells him that Lamont is his middle name: Elizabeth and he never came up with a first name. However, in the third episode of the first season, Lamont was revealed to be named "Lamont Grady Sanford".