Born Eric Bishop, Jamie Foxx picked the pseudonym that would make him famous for two reasons. Practically, he noticed women were more easily called up from the list on improv nights. And sentimentally, the actor, singer and comic wanted to pay tribute to his favorite comedian, Redd Foxx.
“It was a tip of the hat to him that I chose that name, and the name stuck, and I have to be thankful to him for blazing the trail as a comedian and allowing me to sort of ride on his coattails,” Jamie says in a new version of SiriusXM’s audio documentary Redd Foxx: We’ve Come to Join You.
In October, The Foxxhole premiered We’ve Come to Join You, which features interviews with those closest to the raunchy Sanford and Son star, plus his own rare stand-up material. Now, we’re revamping the special with narration by Jamie and a holiday song written by Redd before he died in 1991.
Sung by his sister-in-law Linda Griner aka Lyn Roman, When You Love Someone, It’s Christmas Everyday was released on iTunes last month.
“This song is my promise kept to him to record it,” Griner says.
