The Flip Wilson Show

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One The Funniest Shows I have ever seen. I now watch The Re runs on TV Land and love it when the infamous Gereldean says "What you see is What you Get!"

The 70s had a number of shows that broke new ground and changed TV. Before there was All in the Family, there was The Flip Wilson Show. It was the first variety show to be hosted by an African-American comedian and it was a major hit in its first two seasons. I remember watching the show on Thursday nights and I thought it was very funny. It proved that Flip can handle a variety show as he interacted well with celebrities such as Redd Foxx and George Carlin and as characters he created such as Geraldine and The Reverend Leroy. To me, he was one of the best comedians to perform in drag since Monty Python debuted on British TV in 1969. But in the fall of 1972 a new show came on the scene which would cause Flip's ratings to flop. It would be the most successful family drama of the 70s, The Waltons. Although the ratings took a tumble, the show would hang on for two more seasons until NBC canceled it in 1974. Before NBC had "Must See TV" in the 80s and 90s, The Flip Wilson Show was a must see that was a groundbreaker. The past tense of one of Geraldine's catch phrases best described the show "What you saw was what you got."

This show was the first major variety show hosted by an African-American (NBC had tried before in the 1950's with Nat King Cole, but the racial attitudes of the time doomed it to failure). The late, great Wilson was funny. His humor came out of situations and people's personality quirks; Wilson depended little on racial humor, which is probably why his appeal was so across-the-board. One of my favorite bits was the funky handshake that was done at least once during each episode. My favorite character, outside of the sassy Geraldine, was the Rev. Cleothis Wilson, pastor of the Church of What's Happening Now. Another bit Wilson used always involved meeting a woman for something naughty: "Meet me in the booth, in the corner, in the back, in the dark." New school comedians owe a lot to Flip Wilson.

When I was a kid, my brothers and I never missed Flip Wilson's show. We didn't know it was pioneering. We didn't know Flip Wilson was breaking through barriers. We just knew it was funny funny funny. Flip's catch phrases were frequently quoted in our all-white household. I was surprised on viewing the show all these years later just how brilliant it was, and just how many times I still laughed out loud. The theater in the round was such a fantastic idea, one that no shows dare to try now. This may be the best of all those variety shows from the 70s, per its hilarious (and sometimes even touching) skits, great LIVE (no Pro Tools!) musical performances (Flip was never afraid to sing a duet with anyone, including country music standards) and amazing lineup of guest stars (his friendship with Bobby Darin is oh-so-evident on the show - they adored each other). And this final note: many years later, when Flip Wilson came to our tiny town to do a charity golf event, we were beside ourselves! It was like royalty was coming to town.

Not only a groundbreaking variety offer for the early '70s, this blast from many of our pasts preserves appearances of guest stars that later made it big, in addition to showcasing the Geraldine routines of Wilson he honed in clubs and on Tonight show guest hosting gigs. This sort of thing is cable's promise: since most new stuff seems to be utter garbage, the multiplicity of pay channels can (potentially) mine the past for all the programming that ever bested the latest levels of drivel.

The Flip Wilson Show was a milestone for television during the 70's. It featured a African-American entertainer as the host and as the comic with a variety of special guest stars that appear on the show weekly. There was a time when the television air-waves were filled with Musical/Variety shows. In the early years of television,Sid Caesar,Milton Berle and The Cavalcade Of Stars were the hottest tickets on the tube. These were the shows that featured favorite celebrities in musical numbers,brilliantly written sketched comedy,and showed off more playful sides of themselves than audiences would normally have seen before. NBC did the experimental format of giving a black entertainer his own show in the decade of 1950's television,and basically worked very well in some markets,but not necessary so in parts of the Southern states. This was during the 1950's. The format would resurface later on in the late 1960's and early 1970's. However,NBC tried this during the 1950's with "The Nat King Cole Show",which featured television's first-ever African-American host that gave an array of special guest stars to boot as well as Nat King Cole's singing and dancing abilities as well which ran for one season due to the several stations that did not want to see a black man do a weekly television series,and this was definely so throughout the 1950's. During the late 1960's and throughout the 1970's,the musical-comedy-variety torch was carried high by the likes of Dan Rowan,Dick Martin, Carol Burnett,Sonny and Cher,Tony Orlando and Dawn,and of course Flip Wilson. It was Flip's infectious smile and slick comedic timing made him a fast favorite with audiences and from there with network executives over at NBC. "The Flip Wilson Show" debut on NBC-TV in September of 1970,and within its first season was the highest rated show on television,second to another successful NBC variety program as well,"Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In". But more than his guest stars,or his own personae,he was a showcase talent within himself and it shows with some of the outrageous characters he portrayed on his show. Here with the talents of Flip Wilson as the host of the show,this was a successful hit and also drew huge ratings as the most watched variety show on television during it four year run on the Peacock network,and one of the most successful variety shows of the early 1970's. NBC showcased his talents early on,giving him his own special, "The Flip Wilson Special" in 1969. Based on enthusiatic reviews and high ratings,this was the launching pad for his own weekly variety show,which ran for four seasons,from 1970-1974. And it was not to be missed when it came on every evening. Never before has an African-American hosted a successful variety program that won two EMMYS during its run on prime-time,and not to mention other awards during its time on the air. Here you have Flip's most memorable characters which consisted of the fast talking,flashy dressing,saucy alter-ego Geraldine Jones. If not for Wilson's Geraldine,we would have been without some catchy phrases as "The devil made me do it!",and "What you see is what you get",not to mention other characters as well as such as "Rev. Cliophis",and so much more. However,the laughs and the ratings didn't last long when the show was cancelled in 1974. A true master genius of his time. Recently,the episodes appeared on TV Land. If you want to know where the comedic talent of where Martin Lawrence, Steve Harvey,Jamie Foxx,Cedric The Entertainer,Bill Bellamy,and Dave Chappelle,Bernie Mac,and Steve Harvey? Because of such greats like Flip Wilson as their idol,the world of professional comedy would not have exist.

After the Flip Wilson show left the air, having been a top favorite for a full four years, it was quickly forgotten. TV Land fortunately has revived the series, and what a pleasure it is to tune in weekly for these delightful shows. The skits are genuinely funny, with hilarious lines concocted by a stable of great comic writers. Flip himself is wonderful to watch. He appears so innocent and good natured, and delivers his material effortlessly. He is a "natural" in the comic arena. The finest of guest stars clamored for a spot on his series, and Wilson appears cool and comfortable with all of them. So what happened that he was so quickly forgotten? The same reason the series is soon out of mind till the next show during this revival. It's like a nice desert: great while being consumed, which lasts for a short time only. The private life of Flip is an intriguing thought, since he apparently was an intensely private person. Then again, maybe that's all there was to him, and what we saw was what we got.

This is one of the funniest shows ever. It features excellent writing, largely due to its star, Flip Wilson, and frequent guest Richard Pryor, one of the funniest comics ever. The acting is great, and the film quality is the normal for the time. All in all a great show that will keep you laughing loud and often. Check out the TV Land reruns if you can.

Trailer—The Flip Wilson Show