When The Flip Wilson Show debuted in 1970, black faces were still rare on television, black hosts nonexistent. So how did Clerow Flip Wilson go from Jersey City grade-school dropout to national celebrity, heralded on the cover of Time as TVs First Black Superstar. Flip is a candid, entertaining biography of a consummate comedian who changed the face of American popular culture. Kevin Cook chronicles Flips meteoric rise through the Chitlin Circuit of segregated nightclubs to his breakthrough on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show to his hit variety show, on which he created such outrageous and hilarious characters as the sassy Geraldine and flock-fleecing Reverend Leroy. As one of the biggest stars of his time, he performed and partied with Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and other stars of the 1970s. Drawing on interviews with family, friends, and celebrities, Cook delivers the inspiring story of a complex man who broke the prime-time color barrier, blazing a trail for generations of African American performers who followed him-- An account of the popular entertainers rags-to-riches story traces his rise through the segregated nightclub circuit, to his breakthrough on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show to his hit variety show, describing the creations of his popular characters and his barrier-breaking work with forefront 1970s stars. Traces the popular entertainers rise through the segregated nightclub circuit, to his breakthrough on Johnny Carsons Tonight Show, to his own hit variety show, and describes the creations of his popular characters.
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