James A Hudson

When I was young in the 1970s, there were several popular variety shows on television. My favorite was the Flip Wilson Show. The comedian was likable, incredibly funny and innovative. Decades later I still remember his antics and jokes fondly, especially his character Geraldine who had sass and loved Ray Charles. I even had an LP vinyl album that had some of his best routines on it. His version of the adventures of Christopher Columbus was one of my favorites. (here is a link to the routine on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZTtsKgJDdA )

I love reading biographies of entertainers I enjoy, so I read this Scholastic book about Flip Wilson's life and the progression of his career. The book, published in 1971, is certainly dated as it was published at the height of Wilson's career. And at 80-pages long, it's obviously light reading meant for younger readers. But, I loved it! I never knew that Flip came from a family of 18 children and grew up in poverty. He started his career as an entertainer while in the Air Force. And with a lot of hard work and determination -- plus his incredible talent -- he made it big.

I'd like to read a biography that goes more in depth about the man and his life. He was a very private person. In this book it mentions that Flip was writing a book on comedy and being a comedian. I looked online for the title and information on a book....but it doesn't appear that Flip Wilson ever published his manuscript. In the 1980s, he stepped away from the entertainment industry to spend more time with his family and just kind of faded away from the limelight. He wanted it that way. Sounds like a lovely man. I'm definitely going to read more about his life and career. I loved his comedy and I'm thankful for all the laughs he gave me as a child, and even now as an adult.

I found a copy of this long out of print book on Open Library. Very enjoyable read!… (mer)