Clerow “Flip” Wilson Jr. (December 8, 1933 – November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor, best known for his television appearances during the late 1960s and 1970s. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show. The series earned Wilson a Golden Globe and two Emmy Awards, and at one point was the second highest rated show on network television. Wilson also won a Grammy Award in 1970 for his comedy album The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress.
In January 1972, Time magazine featured Wilson’s image on its cover and named him “TV’s first black superstar”. According to The New York Times, Wilson was “the first black entertainer to be the host of a successful weekly variety show on network television.”
Born Clerow Wilson Jr. in Jersey City, New Jersey, he was the tenth child out of 24 children born to Cornelia Bullock and Clerow Wilson Sr. His father worked as a handyman but, because of the Great Depression, was often out of work. When Wilson was seven years old, his mother abandoned the family. His father was unable to care for the children alone and he placed many of them in foster homes. After bouncing from foster homes to reform school, 16-year-old Wilson lied about his age and joined the United States Air Force. His outgoing personality and funny stories made him popular; he was even asked to tour military bases to cheer up other servicemen. Claiming that he was always “flipped out,” Wilson’s barracks mates gave him the nickname “Flip” which he used as his stage name. Discharged from the Air Force in 1954, Wilson started working as a bellhop in San Francisco’s Manor Plaza Hotel.
At the Plaza’s nightclub, Wilson found extra work playing a drunken patron in between regularly scheduled acts. His inebriated character proved popular and Wilson began performing it in clubs throughout California. At first Wilson would simply ad-lib onstage, but eventually he added written material and his act became more sophisticated.
Opportunity found him in 1959 when a Miami businessman sponsored him for one year for $50 per week, enabling him to concentrate on the work he loved. For the next five years,Flip Wilson appeared regularly at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The Tonight Show was his next stop. in 1965, he began a series of nationwide appearances, followed by long-term contracts and a number of hit records. With “The Flip Wilson Show” in the early 1970s, he became the first Black American to have a weekly prime-time television show under his own name.
In 1970, on the nation’s TV screens, Flip Wilson put on a wig and a minidress and became Geraldine, who screeched: “What you see is what you get!” The man who gave the world Geraldine and the catch phrase, “The devil made me do it!” crossed all lines with his comedy, said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who had known the comedian since the 1970s. “Flip was a breakthrough artist for African-Americans,” Jackson said. “He led with a brand of comedy that was clean and decent and not vulgar.”
Wilson made the cover of Time Magazine in 1972 and made his dramatic debut on the Six Million-Dollar Man in 1976. Other television credits include “People Are Funny” (1984) and “Charlie & Co.” (1985).
Wilson was married twice. In 1957 he wed Lavenia Wilson née Dean. They divorced in 1967. In 1979 he married Tuanchai MacKenzie. They divorced in 1984. After winning custody of his children in 1979, Wilson performed less, in order to spend more time with his family.
Before becoming ill, he was an active lighter-than-air pilot.
Wilson had undergone surgery Oct. 2 at St. John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica for a malignant tumor that was close to his liver. He died November 25, 1998. He was 64.
Written by Dianne Washington