Nathaniel Taylor, best known for his recurring role as Rollo on the 1970s sitcom “Sanford and Son,” died on Feb. 27 in Los Angeles. He was 80.

His son Kaedi said he died in a hospital after a heart attack.

Mr. Taylor’s character on “Sanford and Son,” the long-running NBC series that starred Redd Foxx as the irascible junk dealer Fred Sanford, was the friend and sidekick of Fred’s son, Lamont, played by Demond Wilson. The fast-talking but good-hearted Rollo affectionately called Fred “Pops,” but Fred viewed him with skepticism and sometimes hostility because he thought Rollo, who had spent time in jail, was a bad influence on Lamont. Mr. Taylor appeared in 32 episodes between 1972 and 1977.