# Nathaniel Taylor (actor)
**Nathaniel Taylor** (March 31, 1938 – February 27, 2019) was an American film and television actor best known for playing Rollo Lawson, the street-smart best friend of Lamont Sanford on the 1970s NBC sitcom *Sanford and Son*. He also appeared in two films by the L.A. Rebellion filmmaker [Larry Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-clark), *As Above, So Below* (1973) and *Passing Through* (1977).[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html) • [2](https://liquidblackness.com/news/nathaniel-taylor)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | March 31, 1938, St. Louis, Missouri; February 27, 2019, Los Angeles, California, of a heart attack at age 80[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html) |
| Signature role | Rollo Lawson on *Sanford and Son*, 1972–1977; IMDb lists 32 episodes, TMDB 31[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068128/fullcredits/cast) • [4](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2586-sanford-and-son/cast?language=en-US) |
| Early screen name | Credited as Jitahadi (or Jita Hadi) in his earliest work, including the 1969 TV movie *Listen to the Man*[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor) |
| L.A. Rebellion films | Jita Hadi in Larry Clark's *As Above, So Below* (1973, 52 min) and Eddie Warmack in Clark's *Passing Through* (1977, 111 min)[2](https://liquidblackness.com/news/nathaniel-taylor) • [6](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/passing-through/) |
| Other TV | *Grady*, *Sanford* (1980–81), *The Redd Foxx Show* (1986, as Jim-Jam), *The Bill Cosby Show*, *Adam-12*, *Harry O*, *Police Story*, *What's Happening!!*, *227*[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nathaniel-taylor) |
| Film credits | *Black Girl* (1972), *Trouble Man* (1972), *Willie Dynamite* (1974), *The Hunter* (1980)[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor) |
| Family | Married to Loretta Taylor until his death; four daughters and three sons[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html) |
## Rollo Lawson on Sanford and Son
Taylor joined *Sanford and Son*, the NBC sitcom adapted from the British series *Steptoe and Son* and starring [Redd Foxx](https://www.edgepedia.org/redd-foxx) and [Demond Wilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/demond-wilson), in its second season, first appearing as Rollo in the episode "Have Gun, Will Sell."[8](https://sanfordandson.fandom.com/wiki/Rollo_Lawson) Rollo was Lamont Sanford's best friend and a recurring presence through the end of the series in 1977. The character drew the suspicion of Fred Sanford, who believed Rollo was a bad influence on Lamont because he had spent time in jail; the fast-talking, sharply dressed Rollo called Fred "Pops," and the banter between Rollo and Fred became one of the show's running pleasures.[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html)
Taylor carried the role across the franchise's spinoffs: a guest appearance as Rollo on *Grady* in 1975, and a return as Rollo, now working as Fred's delivery man, on the short-lived 1980–81 sequel series *Sanford*.[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nathaniel-taylor) • [9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf) In 1986 he rejoined Redd Foxx on *The Redd Foxx Show*, playing a different character, Jim-Jam.[7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nathaniel-taylor)
## Early career and the Jitahadi name
Taylor worked early in his career under the name Jitahadi. His first screen appearance was the 1969 television movie *Listen to the Man*, followed by an episode of *The Bill Cosby Show* in 1971 and small parts in the blaxploitation films *Trouble Man* and [Ossie Davis](https://www.edgepedia.org/ossie-davis)'s *Black Girl* before he was cast in *Sanford and Son* in 1972.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor) Before acting he had worked as an electrician at the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA), where Larry Clark, acting as his mentor, encouraged him to audition; Clark sent him to read for Redd Foxx, who offered him the role that became Rollo.[10](https://sanfordandson.fandom.com/wiki/Nathaniel_Taylor) He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.[11](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852951/bio/)
## The L.A. Rebellion films of Larry Clark
Alongside his television work, Taylor was an important film actor within the L.A. Rebellion, the movement of African-American filmmakers associated with the UCLA film school that included Charles Burnett, Haile Gerima, and Julie Dash.[2](https://liquidblackness.com/news/nathaniel-taylor) • [12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/larry-clark-passing-through-la-rebellion-movement)
In Clark's *As Above, So Below* (1973), a 52-minute film about a Black underground preparing for revolution in the wake of the 1965 Watts rebellion, Taylor played Jita-Hadi, a Marine veteran whose political consciousness develops as he returns to South-Central Los Angeles after postings in Cuba, the [Dominican Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominican-republic), and Vietnam.[13](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/as-above-so-below/) The film is counted among the more politically radical works of the L.A. Rebellion.[13](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/as-above-so-below/)
His only starring role in a feature film came in Clark's *Passing Through* (1977), in which he played Eddie Warmack, a jazz saxophonist released from prison who rejects the mobster-controlled music industry and searches for his mentor and grandfather, the legendary musician Poppa Harris, played by Clarence Muse.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor) • [6](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/passing-through/) Clark cast Taylor, a PASLA actor who had just won the *Sanford and Son* role, after developing the film with a $10,000 [American Film Institute](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-film-institute) grant in 1975; the score was composed by the Los Angeles jazz musician Horace Tapscott, founder of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra.[14](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/9734/1/121.pdf.pdf) • [6](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/passing-through/) The film premiered at the Filmex Los Angeles Film Festival in 1977 and won a special jury prize at the Locarno Film Festival.[6](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/passing-through/)
## Later life
Taylor worked only sporadically after the 1970s, with a small role in [Steve McQueen](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-mcqueen)'s final film, *The Hunter* (1980), and a 1986 appearance on *The Redd Foxx Show* among his last credits; he appeared as himself in Kevin Jerome Everson's 2016 short film *Auditioning for Nathaniel*, his final screen role.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor) After leaving acting he opened a performing arts studio for young actors and taught acting and community theater.[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html) • [7](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nathaniel-taylor)
He was hospitalized on February 23, 2019, after suffering a heart attack, and died on February 27 at [Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronald-reagan-ucla-medical-center) in Los Angeles at age 80. He was survived by his wife, Loretta, four daughters, and three sons.[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html) • [15](https://doyouremember.com/93184/nathaniel-taylor-dead) His son Kaedi Taylor said his father never tired of being recognized as Rollo, telling the Associated Press, "It was a time and an era — just to be on TV as a black man, it was an honor."[1](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html)
## References
1. [Nathaniel Taylor, who played Rollo on 'Sanford and Son,' dies at 80, Associated Press via Los Angeles Times (March 3, 2019)](https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-nathaniel-taylor-dies-20190303-story.html)
2. [In Memoriam: Nathaniel Taylor, 1938–2019, liquid blackness project](https://liquidblackness.com/news/nathaniel-taylor)
3. [Sanford and Son (1972–1978) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068128/fullcredits/cast)
4. [Sanford and Son (1972) cast, The Movie Database](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/2586-sanford-and-son/cast?language=en-US)
5. [Nathaniel Taylor, Rotten Tomatoes celebrity profile](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nathaniel_taylor)
6. [Passing Through, UCLA Film & Television Archive, L.A. Rebellion collection](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/passing-through/)
7. [Nathaniel Taylor, Television Academy bio](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/nathaniel-taylor)
8. [Rollo Lawson | Sanford and Son Wiki | Fandom](https://sanfordandson.fandom.com/wiki/Rollo_Lawson)
9. [Sanford, NBC, in Total Television Programming 1948–1991 (McNeil), WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/History/Total-Television-Programming-1948-1991-McNeil.pdf)
10. [Nathaniel Taylor, Sanford and Son Wiki (Fandom)](https://sanfordandson.fandom.com/wiki/Nathaniel_Taylor)
11. [Nathaniel Taylor biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0852951/bio/)
12. [A neglected jazz movie classic: Larry Clark looks back on Passing Through and the LA Rebellion movement, BFI (July 12, 2023)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/interviews/larry-clark-passing-through-la-rebellion-movement)
13. [As Above, So Below, UCLA Film & Television Archive, L.A. Rebellion collection](https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/collections/la-rebellion/as-above-so-below/)
14. [L.A. Rebellion history chapter (Passing Through production account), ndl.ethernet.edu.et](https://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/9734/1/121.pdf.pdf)
15. [Nathaniel Taylor From 'Sanford And Son' Dies At Age 80, DoYouRemember? (March 1, 2019)](https://doyouremember.com/93184/nathaniel-taylor-dead)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Sw to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license