Listen to Show | how to listen Select Another Show ......................... Lucille Ball Jack Benny Shelley Berman Lenny Bruce George Burns & Gracie Allen Jean Carroll Phyllis Diller Ruth Draper Totie Fields Redd Foxx Tom Lehrer Robert Klein Steve Martin Bob Newhart Mike Nichols and Elaine May Minnie Pearl Gilda Radner Reiner and Brooks Anna Russell Mort Sahl The Smothers Brothers Stiller and Meara Lily Tomlin Sophie Tucker Ruth Wallis Betty Walker Flip Wilson Henny Youngman

Born Clerow Wilson into a New Jersey family of 18, Flip got his nickname while in the air force. His mock-Shakespearean clowning had fellow soldiers saying, "he flippith his lid!" Though he recorded some albums for adults only, Flip was never too "blue." His 1967 album, Cowboys and Colored People, was nominated for a Grammy, and The Flip Wilson Show premiered on television in 1970. In the early '60s, black comedians could either ignore race or make it the entire act. Flip Wilson managed to find the middle ground, and in doing so, emerged a star. Ultimately, he earned two Emmys, a Grammy, and a Golden Globe Award.

Material excerpted from: Geraldine: Don't Fight The Feeling; 1972, Little David Records (LD 1001), Distributed by Atlantic Recording Corp. Published by Jazz Theater, Inc.

Cowboys and Colored People; Atlantic Records AT 8149. All material written by Flip Wilson.

*Written material used with permission from Ronald L. Smith and Goldmine Comedy Record Price Guide, by Ronald L. Smith, copyright 1996. Published by krause publications, Iola, WI.