Flip Wilson | American Comedian - Encyclopedia Britannica

The Flip Wilson Show

After hosting a successful television special in the late 1960s, Wilson was catapulted to fame with his own program, The Flip Wilson Show. Wilson’s show was unique in that he used a theater-in-the-round studio and minimal sets, which emphasized the talents of the performers. During its run, the show featured guest spots by a dazzling array of celebrities from all genres of entertainment, including Lena Horne, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, George Carlin, Lily Tomlin, the Jackson 5, the Supremes, Muhammad Ali, Joe Namath, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, Burt Reynolds, and Mahalia Jackson. By its second season, the show had an audience of 40 million viewers.

Wilson fashioned a comedic style that attempted to deal honestly with social issues and perceptions, though he drew some criticism for relying too heavily on racial stereotypes. Although known for several characters, including the “Reverend Leroy of the Church of What’s Happening Now” and “Sonny the White House janitor” (whose distinguishing trait was that he was the sole voice of reason among political blowhards), Wilson was best known for the character of “Geraldine Jones,” an outspoken working-class Black woman with a boyfriend named “Killer.” In an interview with Time in 1972, Wilson said the notable quality about Geraldine was that “she demands respect…and she’s never asking for favors. Geraldine’s liberated—that’s where she’s at. Everybody knows she don’t take no stuff.” Of his other outlandish characters and his brand of comedy, he said, “I do these characters because they’re what I know. But people are just people to me. The way I see it, I don’t have to think Black—or not think Black. I just have to entertain. I’m just a comic.”

Through his characters, Wilson made famous such one-liners as “When you’re hot, you’re hot; when you’re not, you’re not!”; “What you see is what you get!”; and “The devil made me do it.” His fans and friendships included civil rights activists, such as the politician and minister Jesse Jackson and the actor and playwright Ossie Davis. Davis once told a Time interviewer of Wilson’s talent, “Flip touches more comic bases than anyone else. He retains some of the tradition of the clown as against the comic. A comic is a personality who deals with verbal delivery and usually with bland topics like mothers-in-law and taxes. A clown is a character complete unto himself. Flip Wilson can create characters who stand on their own.”

Quick Facts Byname of: Clerow Wilson (Show more) Born: December 8, 1933, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. (Show more) Died: November 25, 1998, Malibu, California (aged 64) (Show more) Awards And Honors: Grammy Award (1970) (Show more) On the Web: Television Encyclopedia - Flip Wilson (Jan. 23, 2026) (Show more) See all related content Access for the whole family! Bundle Britannica Premium and Kids for the ultimate resource destination. Subscribe