Flip patterned one of his best-loved characters—Reverend Leroy, pastor of the Church of What’s Happening Now—on one of his foster fathers. (Everett Collection)
Flip patterned one of his best-loved characters—Reverend Leroy, pastor of the Church of What’s Happening Now—on one of his foster fathers. (Everett Collection)
In 1965, after bumming money and drugs from his friend, Redd Foxx (right) told Johnny Carson, “Flip Wilson’s the funniest comedian out there.” (Everett Collection)
“Here come the judge!”—an old Pigmeat Markham line—became the rising star’s first famous catchphrase on Laugh-In in the late 1960s. (Everett Collection)
Geraldine cracked up David Frost on the September 17, 1970, debut of The Flip Wilson Show. (Everett Collection)
The star’s secret weapon was a writing team featuring his volatile friend Richard Pryor (right) and George Carlin. (Everett Collection)
George Carlin recorded six comedy albums for Flip’s label, Little David Records. (Courtesy of Kevin Wilson)
Frequent guest Lily Tomlin calls Flip “a transitional figure . . . he charmed middle America into accepting a black TV star.” (Photofest)
The Flip Wilson Show’s second season found thirteen-year-old Michael Jackson singing and joking on TV’s top variety show. (Everett Collection)
By 1971 Flip was one of the country’s favorite celebrities, joining Elton John, Cher, and Bette Midler on a sparkly holiday special. (Everett Collection)
Tim Conway (center, with Pryor and Flip) says the host ran a tight ship that rocked when Pryor came aboard. (Everett Collection)
Offstage, the married funnyman hit the town with women, including longtime girlfriend Sylvia Davis. (Photofest)
While gushing over Muhammad Ali (right), Geraldine swore she was faithful to a never-seen boyfriend, Killer, “currently incarcerated.” (Everett Collection)
Years after his buddy Bobby Darin stood up for him in Vegas, Flip helped resuscitate Darin’s career. (Photofest)
Rookie comic Franklyn Ajaye found himself among “the giants” when he debuted on Flip’s show. (Courtesy of Kevin Wilson)
When The Flip Wilson Show closed in 1974, viewers finally met the mysterious Killer, played by none other than O. J. Simpson.
(Everett Collection)
On the day of Geraldine’s TV wedding, Flip smooched longtime manager Monte Kay. (Courtesy of Roberta Kay)
The Rev’s cameo stole the show in Sidney Poitier’s and Bill Cosby’s surprise 1974 hit, Uptown Saturday Night. (Everett Collection)
In the mid-1970s, Flip befriended President Gerald Ford and Ford’s secretary of state, Henry Kissinger (center, with Nancy Maginnes Kissinger). (Photofest)
As a Las Vegas headliner, the dropout from Jersey City rubbed elbows with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. (Courtesy of Kevin Wilson)
In 1979, Flip married Thailand-born Cookie Davis at his friend Rocky Aoki’s Benihana restaurant at the Las Vegas Hilton. (Courtesy of Cookie Mackenzie)
Flip loathed starring in the 1985–86 sitcom Charlie & Co. despite his affection for Gladys Knight and nine-year-old Jaleel White—the future Urkel. (Photofest)
Semiretired after Charlie & Co’s cancellation, Flip lounged in the sunken living room of his Malibu mansion with sons Kevin (left) and David (center). (Family photo)
After years of Las Vegas gigs and TV guest shots, Flip bought a Harley-Davidson and began biking through the California desert. (Family photo)
Son David reluctantly followed his father’s lead, taking Flip’s Harley for a spin and then riding a motorcycle of his own, until tragedy struck. (Family photo)
The guest of honor got emotional during a 1993 tribute to Flip Wilson at the Museum of Radio and Television. (Family photo)
On December 8, 1993, a happy Clerow Wilson Jr. celebrated his sixtieth birthday with his family and a cake reading “You devil you!” (Family photo)
After a troubling diagnosis in 1998, Flip sought peace in the verses of Kahlil Gibran and the sea breezes that came into his living room. (Family photo)