Flip Wilson
Overview
 
Clerow Wilson, Jr. known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show
The Flip Wilson Show is a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a...

. The series earned Wilson a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...

 and two Emmy Awards.

In January 1972, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

magazine featured Wilson's image on their cover and named him "TV's first black superstar".
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

, he was one of 18 children in an impoverished household.
Quotations

Don't order one for the road, because the road is already laid out.

Funny is an attitude.

Get well cards have become so humorous that if you don't get sick you're missing half the fun.

[about his alter-ego] I don't think Geraldine will be back. She was the girl of my dreams, and she carried me longer than my mother did.

It would be ridiculous for me to say anything negative regarding blacks having an equal opportunity on TV. After all, I was number one in the ratings four times last year and twice this season. What could be more damn equal than that? If they get any more equal, I don't want it.

Most drag impersonations are a drag. But women can like Geraldine, men can like Geraldine, everyone can like Geraldine.

My show is my statement. What I have to say is on the screen. My life is my own. I don't want to talk about my private self. Why should I?

The cost of living is going up and the chance of living is going down.

The secret of my success with Geraldine is that she's not a put-down of women.

Violence is a tool of the ignorant.

 
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