The Flip Wilson Show
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The Flip Wilson Show was a variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from 1970 to 1974. It starred Flip Wilson, and the show was unique in that it became the first show headed by a black comedian to become a ratings winner.
The show consisted of many skits over an hour. Flip Wilson was most famous for creating the role of Geraldine Jones, a sassy, modern woman who had a boyfriend (who, when he wasn't in prison, he was at the pool hall) named Killer. Flip also created the role of Reverend Leroy, who was the minister of the Church of What's Happening Now!. New parishioners were wary of coming to the church as it was hinted that Reverend Leroy was a con artist.
In addition to the skits, Flip Wilson also signed many popular singers to provide entertainment. African-American singers such as The Jackson Five, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, The Pointer Sisters, and Roberta Flack appeared on the program, as well as many contemporary white entertainers. Usually, the singers also chose to partake in skits with Wilson.
Wilson's clout allowed him to get both the new breakout performers (such as Sandy Duncan, Lily Tomlin, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Albert Brooks, Lola Falana and Melba Moore all of whom became very popular during this period) as well as established singers. In late 1971, gospel legend Mahalia Jackson made one of her last public performances on The Flip Wilson Show.
List of Guest Stars
- David Frost
- the cast of Sesame Street
- Roy Clark
- Bobby Darin
- Denise Nicholas
- The Temptations
- Lily Tomlin
- Redd Foxx
- Roger Miller
- Charlie Callas
- Lola Falana
- Perry Como
- Raymond Burr
- Louis Armstrong
- Bill Cosby
- Gina Lollobrigida
- Robert Goulet
- Robert Klein
- Dean Martin
- Arte Johnson
- Doug Kershaw
- Moms Mabley
- Marcel Marceau
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Charley Pride
- Johnny Brown
- John Byner
- Stevie Wonder
- Connie Stevens
- Lena Horne
- Tony Randall
- Sid Caesar
- B.B. King
- Slim Gaillard
- Burl Ives
- The Supremes
- David Steinberg
- Bing Crosby
- Roberta Flack
- Steve Lawrence
- Zero Mostel
- Barbara McNair
- Muhammad Ali
- Nancy Wilson
- Joe Namath
- George Carlin
- Johnny Mathis
- Art Carney
- Barbara Feldon
- Aretha Franklin
- Ray Charles
- Leslie Uggams
- Don Rickles
- Diahann Carroll
- Tim Conway
- Hamilton Camp
- Sandy Duncan
- Lucille Ball
- Ed Sullivan
- The Osmond Brothers
- George Gobel
- Mahalia Jackson
- Joan Rivers
- Ruth Gordon
- Ruth Buzzi
- Pat Boone and his family (which includes his daughter Debby Boone)
- Sugar Ray Robinson
- Willie Tyler
- Melba Moore
- The Smothers Brothers
- The Jackson 5
- Dom DeLuise
- Andy Griffith
- Clara Ward
- Carl Reiner
- Phyllis Diller
- Billy Eckstine
- Petula Clark
- Marty Feldman
- Carol Channing
- Johnny Cash
- June Carter Cash
- Phil Silvers
- Jim Nabors
- Slappy White
- Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller
- Ed McMahon
- Sammy Davis Jr.
- Lee Marvin
- Eugene Record
- Jackie Vernon
- Pearl Bailey
- Jack Benny
- The 5th Dimension
- Don Knotts
- Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber
- Paul McCartney
- Bill Russell
- Diana Sands
- Ed Asner
- Donny Hathaway
- Don Adams
- The Staples Singers
- Roberta Flack
- Burt Reynolds
- Frank Gorshin
- Gladys Knight
- Albert Brooks
- Jim Brown
- Rita Coolidge
- Kris Kristofferson
- James Coco
- Roscoe Lee Browne
- Curtis Mayfield
- Howard Cosell
- Marilyn Michaels
- Amazing Kreskin
- Helen Reddy
- Della Reese
- Rich Little
- Cicely Tyson
- Bill Withers
- Papa John Creach
- Oscar Brown Jr.
- Buddy Hackett
- Richard Pryor
- The Pointer Sisters
- Monty Hall
- William Windom
- Ralph Edwards
- Harry Belafonte
- Carol Lawrence
- Lee Grant
- Hank Aaron
- Ted Knight
- Chuck Norris
- Isaac Hayes
- James Brown
- O.J. Simpson
- Anthony Newley
- Leonard Nimoy
- Jack Klugman
- Dennis Weaver
- Mac Davis