Comediennes: LaWanda Page

LaWanda Page (1920-2002) was an American actress, comedian, and dancer whose career spanned over 60 years. She was best known for her role as Aunt Esther in Sanford and Son – a pious, buttoned-up foil to the show’s main character, Fred Sanford. 

For Further Reading:

• LaWanda Page, 81, the Aunt On TV's 'Sanford and Son'
• LaWanda Page, comedic genius and evangelist
• LaWanda Page, 81, Of ‘Sanford * Son’ Fame Succumbs in Los Angeles

This month, we’re talking about comediennes — women throughout history who have made us laugh. They transgressed societal norms through comedy and often spoke out against injustice using their sharp wit.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more.  Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures. 

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, and Abbey Delk. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. 

Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Womanica. This month, we're talking about comedians women throughout
history who've made us laugh. They transgressed societal norms through
comedy and often spoke out against injustice using their sharp wit. Today,
we're talking about a woman who went from swallowing fire
to lighting up a crowd with her jokes. Let's talk

(00:27):
about the woman once dubbed the Queen of Comedy, Lawanda Page.
Lawanda Page was born on October nineteenth, nineteen twenty, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Lawanda always knew she wanted to work in entertainment. She
never had formal training in singing, dancing, or acting, but

(00:48):
that didn't matter. Lawanda insisted she was born talented. When
Lawanda was still in elementary school, her family moved to
Saint Louis. There, Lawanda met Red Fox, another elementary schooler
two years younger than her. They were both budding comics,
and their friendship would span decades. By the time Lawanda

(01:08):
was fifteen years old, she'd started her dancing career. She
was billed as the Bronze Goddess of Fire. On stage,
she would walk over flames, swallow fire, and dance. She
also started performing on the Midwestern Chitlin circuit alongside comics
like Red Fox. The circuit was a product of the
Jim Crow era, spaces carved out specifically for black musicians

(01:32):
and performers to entertain mostly black audiences. These were the
rooms where Lawanda honed her comedy, performing skits and stand up.
She did her work even when it proved risky. She
later called many of the places she performed dumps where
danger was constantly around the corner. Eventually, Lawanda moved to

(01:54):
Los Angeles to continue pursuing comedy. Her jokes were raw
and on censored rough in a little crass. She dealt
with heckler's by heckling them right back. Soon she joined
the comedy group Skillet, Leroy and Coe and started recording
comedy albums for Laugh Records. But by the end of
the sixties, Lawanda was getting jaded. She was considering leaving

(02:18):
entertainment and moving home to Saint Louis. Then, one day
in nineteen seventy two, she was woken up by a
phone call. It was Red Fox calling to ask her
to join him on an upcoming NBC sitcom that he
was slated to star in. Lawanda assumed he was joking
and hung up on him. He called again, she hung

(02:39):
up again. It wasn't until Red threatened to come over
and fight her that Lawanda realized his offer was the
real deal. The show was called Sandford and Son. Red
Fox was Fred Sandford, a cranky, politically incorrect patriarch. Lawanda
played aunt Esther, Fred's buttoned up highest sister in law.
Some of the sho she show's funniest moments involved Fred

(03:01):
and aunt Estra clashing with each other, with Lawanda heckling Red,
just like she heckled her audience on the stand up circuit.
When Lawanda first started performing as aunt Esther, the producers
wanted to replace her. They loved the character, but Lawanda
had no TV training. The producers wanted to hire a
trained thespian, but Red Fox refused. He knew the role

(03:23):
didn't need someone trained as much as it needed someone funny,
and he knew Miwanda was funny, So instead, Red taught
Lawanda everything she needed to know about acting on TV.
Sandford and Son was one of TV's top rated shows
at the time, and Lawanda's character, aunt Esther was an
audience favorite. The show introduced black comedians like Lawanda to

(03:45):
a national audience and paved the way for future black sitcoms.
Sandford and Son ended in the late nineteen seventies, but
Aunt Esther didn't disappear right away. Lawanda appeared in a
couple of spinoff shows, but by the early eighties her
character had left the screen. Lawanda continued acting. She had

(04:06):
small roles in films like My Blue Heaven with Steve
Martin and guest starred on TV shows like Martin, Different Strokes,
and Family Matters. On set, she was known to give
advice to young up and coming actors. Offset She was
a fierce advocate for equal pay. Lewanda Page died in
two thousand and two at the age of eighty one.

(04:29):
All month We're talking about comedian ends. For more information,
find us on Facebook and Instagram at Womanica Podcast special
thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co creator.
Talk to you tomorrow.