Flip : the inside story of TV's first Black superstar / Kevin Cook.
Material type:
TextPublication details: New York, N.Y. : Viking, c2013.Description: 242 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN: - 0670025704 (hbk.)
- 9780670025701 (hbk.) :
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | Biography | Wilson, F. C771 | Available | 33111007129733 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
The rags-to-riches story of a groundbreaking, beloved entertainer
When The Flip Wilson Show debuted in 1970, black faces were still rare on television, black hosts nonexistent. So how did Clerow "Flip" Wilson go from Jersey City grade-school dropout to national celebrity, heralded on the cover of Time as "TV's First Black Superstar"?
Flip is a candid, entertaining biography of a consummate comedian who changed the face of American popular culture. Kevin Cook chronicles Flip's meteoric rise through the Chitlin' Circuit of segregated nightclubs to his breakthrough on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show to his hit variety show, on which he created such outrageous and hilarious characters as the sassy Geraldine and flock-fleecing Reverend Leroy. As one of the biggest stars of his time, he performed and partied with Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and other stars of the 1970s.
Drawing on interviews with family, friends, and celebrities, Cook delivers the inspiring story of a complex man who broke the prime-time color barrier, blazing a trail for generations of African American performers who followed him.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [233-234]) and index.
Killer ride -- Rags. Jersey City runaway ; He flippeth! ; Look at the lights ; Circuit rider ; Miami vise ; Flip flops -- Riches. Surprises ; One giant leap ; Thursday night lights ; Top of the world ; Crossroads -- Liberty. Looking for the why ; Flip out ; God's fool ; Naked in the wind -- Back to the beach.
Chronicles Wilson's meteoric rise through the Chitlin' Circuit of segregated nightclubs to his breakthrough on Johnny Carson's Tonight show to his hit variety show, on which he created such outrageous characters as the sassy Geraldine and flock-fleecing Reverend Leroy.