Flip Wilson
Stand-up comedian · 1933–1998

Flip Wilson

Who Flip Wilson is

American comedian and actor from Jersey City, New Jersey, who worked the Chitlin' Circuit and the Apollo Theater before Redd Foxx's praise on The Tonight Show led to national bookings in 1965. From 1970 to 1974 he hosted NBC's The Flip Wilson Show, the first successful TV variety show hosted by a Black comedian, which introduced his character Geraldine and won him a Golden Globe and two Emmys. His 1970 album The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress won a Grammy Award.

At a glance

Born
1933
Died
1998
Style
Characters, Characters and television
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Albums
Flippin, Flip Wilson's Pot Luck, Cowboys and Colored People and 3 more
On screen
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Ed Sullivan Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and 10 more

Specials, shows and podcasts

Albums

On screen

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Flip Wilson

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1933Born
  2. 1961Flippin (1961) Album
  3. 1964Flip Wilson's Pot Luck (1964) Album
  4. 1965The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (frequent guest, from 1965) On screen
  5. 1967Cowboys and Colored People (1967) Album
  6. 1968You Devil You (1968) Album
  7. 1970The Flip Wilson Show (host, NBC, 1970–1974) On screen
  8. 1970The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress (1970) Album
  9. 1972Geraldine (1972) Album
  10. 1976Pinocchio (the Fox, TV musical, 1976) On screen
  11. 1976Nadia: From Romania With Love (host, TV special, 1976) On screen
  12. 1983Saturday Night Live (host, NBC, 1983) On screen
  13. 1984People Are Funny (host, 1984) On screen
  14. 1985Charlie & Co. (lead, CBS, 1985–1986) On screen
  15. 1998Died

Questions about Flip Wilson

What TV shows and films is Flip Wilson in?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Ed Sullivan Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Flip Wilson Show, People Are Funny and Charlie & Co., among 13 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (frequent guest).

Who are some comedians like them?

Rodney Dangerfield (also in The Ed Sullivan Show), Dick Shawn (also in The Ed Sullivan Show), Shecky Greene (also in The Ed Sullivan Show), Totie Fields (also in The Ed Sullivan Show) and Phyllis Diller (also in The Ed Sullivan Show).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.

Their SUCDb record →

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026