Bodysuit worn by Flip Wilson portraying the character Geraldine
date: label: date made
content: ca 1970
name: label: wearer
content: Wilson, Flip
notes: label: Description
content: This bodysuit was worn by Black comedian Flip Wilson portraying his character Geraldine Jones in a sketch on his comedy/variety program The Flip Wilson Show. In the sketch, part of Episode #1.15, Geraldine is a cocktail waitress serving Felix Cornwall, an inebriated member of the International Order of Snakes (portrayed by Bing Crosby), at a Playboy Club-type establishment on New Year's Eve. The episode aired on January 7, 1971.
label: Description
content: The Flip Wilson Show aired on NBC from 1970 until its final episode on March 7th, 1974. One of the best-loved recurring in the series was Geraldine, portrayed by Wilson in a wig and makeup, sashaying around the stage and offering sassy, diva-style commentary in a high pitched voice. Geraldine was known for memorable catch phrases such as “What you see is what you get,” and “The Devil made me do it.” The Geraldine character often mentioned her incarcerated boyfriend “Killer,” and embodied some harmful stereotypes about Black womanhood, which scholars and critics have decried as reinforcing negative perceptions about Black Americans. However, the character was extremely well received by viewers, and Wilson stuck to his character, which became one of his most recognized bits for the remainder of both his career and his life.
label: Description
content: Clerow Wilson Jr., known for most of his life by his nickname Flip, was an American comedian and variety show host. The first Black entertainer to host his own prime time television show, The Flip Wilson Show, Wilson was considered a T.V. pioneer and described by former co-star Lily Tomlinson as “a transitional figure. He was so loveable and cute he charmed middle America into accepting a black T.V. star.” Born the 10th of 12 children, Wilson grew up in foster homes around impoverished 1930s Jersey City, New Jersey throughout his childhood and adolescence. Wilson was inspired to pursue a career in comedy when a relative took him to a stage show at the Mosque Theater when he was a child. After illegally enlisting in the United States Air Force at the age of 16, Wilson began performing recreationally around Air Force and Navy bases in Guam in the 1950s to entertain airmen and sailors. Following his discharge in 1954, Wilson found work as a bellhop at the Manor Plaza in San Francisco, where he was permitted to perform in between sets for musician Louis Jordan. Taking his skits on the road with featured entertainer Joe DeCosta and his group, Wilson developed two of his most popular characters during his travels. The Rev, who would become a staple in his later career, and his unnamed character who appeared in a curly blond wig and tight skirt, drew laughs wherever he performed. Struggling to find consistent work, Wilson would perform for a meal, hitchhike, and sleep in public places while perfecting his craft with his copy of Max Eastman’s Enjoyment of Laughter and a legal pad for notes. He worked his way around the country and in the Chitlin’ Circuit, a collection of nightclubs and music halls catered to entertaining Black audiences.
label: Description
content: Flip Wilson began performing as an amateur at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York during the early 1960s, where he crossed paths with comedian Redd Foxx (of Sanford and Sons fame). Failing time and time again to make it big, Wilson was eventually given a time slot on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson after Foxx named him as the funniest comedian at the time. This endorsement, and Wilson’s positive reception by the audience, led to his feature as a guest host on the show. Flip Wilson was eventually offered his own television show by NBC, The Flip Wilson Show, which quickly rose to the #1 new show of 1970, as well both NBC’s #1 program and #1 variety show on television. In 1971, Wilson won a Grammy for comedy record of the year with his album The Devil Made Me Wear This Dress, and later a pair of Emmy’s for his team’s comedy writing and for Outstanding Variety Show. Working with such names as Richard Pryor (relatively unknown at the time), Redd Foxx, Bobby Darin, Gladys Knight, and featuring many more iconic figures as guests on his show, Flip Wilson paved the way for many Black comedians and television personalities to emerge after him, leaving behind a legacy of humor with his death in 1998.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Entertainment
label: Subject
content: Television
label: Subject
content: Entertainment, general
label: Subject
content: Comedy
label: Subject
content: Comedians
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
label: See more items in
content: Popular Entertainment
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Donated by James & Amber Comisar, The Comisar Collection, INC.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2018.0065.01
label: accession number
content: 2018.0065
label: catalog number
content: 2018.0065.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bodysuit
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 32 in x 17 in; 81.28 cm x 43.18 cm