Flip: The Inside Story of TV's First Black Superstar
“What you see is what you get” was one of comedian Flip Wilson’s most famous lines. Delivered in drag as Geraldine, it was always funny, but it also reflected Wilson’s policy of personal privacy. Most television viewers nationwide saw him as a happy soul akin to Bill Cosby, not a dangerous subversive, such as Dick Gregory or Red Foxx. His appeal was to all races. Forgotten was his early reliance on profanity-laced race material, and hidden were his sexual affairs and heavy use of marijuana and cocaine. In this frank but somewhat sympathetic biography, Cook recounts how the comedian constantly practiced his art through the 1950s and ’60s and achieved his dream of fame in the early ’70s only to be eclipsed soon after by younger, bolder comedians, including Richard Pryor and George Carlin. Though some readers may be offended by the language, this is a well-told story of a man desperate to succeed in the rapidly changing world of American entertainment. --Rick Roche