Download Your Copy Flip: The Inside Story Of TVs First Black Superstar Drafted By Kevin Cook Supplied As Paperback

I wasor, Flip Wilson was probably my favorite comedian, and I looked forward to watching his show each week, But then he went off the air, and in the years to come, I rarely gave Flip any thought at all, Kevin Cook, however, remembered Flip Wilson enough to be motivated to write this biography,

The book was fast moving, Too fast moving, I would have appreciated a bit more depth, Not necessarily RobertCarostyle depth, but I think the book would have been better if it was aboutpages, maybe, instead of only,

Note to animal lovers, especially cat lovers: there's one anecdote that will disturb and perhaps enrage you, I won't recount it here, but you've been warned,

Flip Wilson could sometimes be sweet and generous, but on balance, more often than not, it seems, he was a jerk that I would say people were better off not having in their lives.
The tenyearold version of me would have been very disappointed to learn these details of Flip Wilson's private life, but the currentyearold me has become a lot more jaded to this kind of stuff.

adjusted originalpost fromstar down tostars, since I did not finish this book, and I understand that no will not reflect in the books average.
When I originally placed it on my Abandoned list I had included the comments below, . .

I simply could not finish this book, It was an impulse pick up for me on CD at the local library, I anticipated light listening full of interesting details, After starting thest ofdisks, I thought this book is going places I do not want to go foul language, foul content, anger, bitterness, drugs.
So I popped out diskafter aboutminutes and did something I never do I went to the last disk to see if things lightened up theydid not.
Bottomline, this brief glimpse into Flip Wilson's tortured life is saddening, and I just could not bring myself to read it in all the gory details.
I read this sentence in another review that really sums it up,

"Flip" is the deeply researched and wellwritten story of a tortured man, one that gives equal play to his strengths and his demons.

I remember watching the Flip Wilson Variety Show when I was a little girl, and I loved it, My favorite character, of course, was Geraldine "What you see, is what you get, honey!"with a snap of the finger, Flip was so ahead of his time, and paved the way for so many comedians today, like Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor and Tyler Perry.
He made dressing up in drag the thing to do, and how groundbreaking was that!

But, like with most comedians, Flip had his fair share of

demons to combatmarijuana and coke! He wasn't the best father figure to have around, but I believe he truly loved his children.
This was an outstanding book, and if you're looking to learn more about this iconic comedic symbol, this book will give you what you're looking for, honey, in my best Geraldine voice.


There are many things you'll learn about the man that may surprise you, as it did me, I wish he was still with us today, but the legacy he left behind is golden! Way to go, Clerow! I'm, The Flip Wilson Show never aired in real time programming for me, However even as a kid I was a sucker for NickatNite which spawned TV Land and a host of pretty funny variety shows of yesteryear.


This autobiography spans across Flips neglected childhood of unfortunate circumstances, his chitlin circuit tours, his lifetime drug abuse, faithless husbandry, devotion to self and disregard of racial barriers prevalent during this time.


There are also many exchanges and connections with entertainment of the past and present, Most notably Richard Pryor, Elvis Presley, Lily Tomlin, Redd Foxx, George Carlin amp the Jackson

Mirron Willis did the narration, Author Kevin Cook I thought did a fantastic job with time lining and reflection, Like most, the character Geraldine remains in memory, That she became the monster that haunted him is very similar to how Tyler Perry feels about Madea,

Great read for Flip fans and nonFlips too,
I really enjoyed this book, It is clearly an inspirational work about a guy who overcame many obstacles including poverty and an extremely difficult childhood,

I highly recommend this work, It's entertaining and very funny, Worth the read! Flip Wilson changed tv as we know it and you've probably never even heard of him,

Before Sanford amp Son
Before The Cosby Show
Before Martin
Before Saturday Night Live
Before The Chappelle Show
Before Key amp Peele

There was The Flip Wilson Show.


Flip Wilson's sketch comedy/variety show was the first successful show to be written, produced and to star a black person, Many had tried and failed before him, Nat King Cole and Sammy Davis Jr to name a few, But The Flip Wilson Show was the first to top the ratings and earn instant acclaim,

Flip Wilson inspired a lot of well known comedy legends such as George Carlin and Richard Pryor, It could be argued that without the overwhelming success of The Flip Wilson Show, The Cosby Show would never existthat's not necessarily a bad thing.


So why then isn't Flip Wilson mentioned with the greats like Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle

Its a hard question to answer but I tend to think it has to do with the time period in which he rose to fame.
The Flip Wilson Show debuted inand ended, In those few short years comedy and society overall changed, What seemed risky inwas considered tame and maybe even lame by, Hanging out with Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan inwouldn't raise too many eyes but bythat was considered super suspect, Other comedians both white and black were talking about politics and race relations but Flip wasn't interested in that kind of comedy, Flip wanted "middle America" to watch his show, Somewhere along the way he lost touch with his core audienceblack people, Basically the world changed but Flip stayed the same,

I've never seen an episode of The Flip Wilson Show but I knew about him because my dad grew up loving himmy mom thought he was an Uncle Tom.
I was shocked to learn just how big a star Flip was, He was a difficult man to know, He seemed to hate women but also he needed their love and attention, He wanted to be a good father but I just don't think he had it within to be one,

I came away from this book with a better understanding of Flip Wilson but I don't think I got to know him.
. . but I don't think anyone ever did,

I highly recommend it! Totally readable biography of the funny guy of my childhood, Flip Wilson, I was so excited to see this book come out, We loved his tv show when we were kids, I remember that it was on opposite the Waltons When Grandma babysat, we had to do some sophisticated negotiation to get to choose the channel.


It's no surprise that it's a tale of a sad and uncertain childhood, It seems to be the case for so many comedians, Still, Wilson comes off as likable and Cook moves the narrative along at a good clip,

I so wish this book could have ended on Flip's high note why do so many celebrity life stories have to peak and then plummet You can feel theds coming: disillusionment, drug addiction, death.
If only these people who made their audiences so happy could hold on to some happiness for themselves, I waswhen Flips variety show premiered, While I dont know if I caught that first episode, I was a fan throughout hisyear run, I was a dedicated TV watcher, and Flip was one that I watched religiously, He was a king of the catch phrase, which came in handy the next day at elementary school, And I watched his guest appearances on all the other talk shows I watched, like Dinah Shore, Mike Douglas, and Johnny Carson, But when his show disappeared, so did he, at least to me, I always wondered what happened to him, and thats why I chose to listen to this audiobook,

This ends up being a strange biography, in that Wilsons life is almost as mysterious to me after reading it as before.
He had a difficult upbringing, joining the Air Force and finding his comedic voice there, The author positions him as an inbetweener in comedic generations, learning in a kind of raucous postvaudeville environment and being at the top of his game prior to the Priors and Carlins, who he helped by giving writing jobs.


The most interesting insight I gleaned from the book is that Flip was the prototypical early retiree wannabe, He had a plan to reach the pinnacle of his career and get out withinyears of leaving the air force, And he made investments to make this happen, The author relates that Flip produced his show and was known for pinching pennies, but also for taking the savings and sharing with the production staff of the show.
He was a role model for early retirees, except for the drug habit, at least,

The end of the book showed Flip was a successful man in his career who was not successful in his family life.
His actions with his family were described as very strange, sometimes living for the moment, like flying to Hawaii on a whim, and sometimes very guarded.
You might think these behaviors were his response to shepherding his wealth, but his actions were the same throughout his life,

The book has many funny and interesting anecdotes about Flips life, While my question of what really happened to him wasnt answered to my satisfaction, it was still quite an entertaining book,
.