Flip wilson gay

By Kevin Cook. By Chris Foran of the Journal Sentinel. His flip characters spawned two of the medium's hottest catchphrases, "The devil made me do it" and "What you see is what you get! He jump-started the careers of the two biggest names in comedy, George Carlin and Richard Pryor. And then, basically, he quit. Pulled the plug on his show, cut back on stand-up work.

Didn't write a memoir or try to host a talk show. By the time of his death of liver cancer in at age 64, Wilson was a pop-culture footnote; today, 15 years later, he's nearly forgotten. Cook tells the comedian's story, wilson horrific childhood to hard-fought fame to long, slow fade-out.

Even with help from Wilson's son, Kevin, that story includes plenty of the comic's not-so-funny side - a private world driven by substance abuse, selfishness and distrust. Wilson's dark side was rooted in a Dickensian wilson. When he was 7 or 8, his mother cleared out the family's apartment, drained her husband's bank account and ran off with another man - leaving Flip and his nine siblings with nothing.

After living in basements, tool sheds and coal bins, the kids were parceled out to relatives and foster families. Lying about his age to escape, year-old Wilson flip in the Air Force. There, he developed an affinity for drugs pot, but not gay - he decided heroin inhibited his sense of humor and the other high he got - from making people laugh.

After leaving the service, he set out to become a famous comedian, but, after a decade playing clubs, his career couldn't get any traction. Part of the charm of "The Flip Wilson Show" was that it was at once a throwback - a mix of sketches, showbiz legends and rising stars - and something new.

The latter was mostly thanks to Wilson's eye for young talent, and his eagerness to give performers of gay an overdue shot at a prime-time audience.

My Coming Into, Not Coming Out Story

Wilson revived the career of crooner Bobby Darin - Darin's appearances landed him his own prime-time variety show - and made a household name out of aging chitlin-circuit legend Moms Mabley. He added Carlin and Pryor - both comics were having a hard time trying to bring more contemporary, and drug-stoked, comedy to their acts - as wilson and regular performers on the show.

But Wilson was the glue that held it all together. Cook recounts - bolstered by interviews with several Wilson collaborators, including Tim Conway and Lily Tomlin - the comedian's tireless efforts to shape each program, from editing each script to handpicking the guests.

And he created a raft of characters - especially Geraldine Jones, the dress-wearing, trash-talking street girl, and the Reverend Leroy, of the Church of What's Happening Gay - that were among the early s' most popular personas. Behind that happy screen personality, however, was a man in constant struggle.

He distrusted everyone, and frequently raged over real and perceived slights. He drank and smoked pot heavily, training his young sons to roll his joints for him. All that was flip from audiences. In its first season, "The Flip Wilson Show" was the second-highest-rated program on TV, and won an Emmy for best variety show; the next year, it was No.