 In the midst of filming episodes for the 1974 season, Redd Foxx had  a feud with NBC when he demanded a salary that the network could not  afford. Unable to reach an agreement Foxx walked off the show for  the rest of the season and the producers were forced to create  episodes around his absence. The continuity of the show explained  that Fred Sanford was away in St. Louis attending his cousins  funeral and leaving his friend Grady (Whitman Mayo (qv)) in charge  of the business. Oddly enough, this would turn out to be the highest  rated season of the shows entire run.