 Clerow Wilson was born
December 8, 1933 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was not named
"Junior" even though his father, a carpenter when he could get
work, was also named Clerow Wilson. One of 24 siblings, he once
said" We were so poor even the poor looked down on me."
While a pre-schooler, his mother,
Cornelia Bullock Wilson, left the family and took two younger siblings
with her. Even as an adult, he agonized over why she didn't take
him too. "I was just slightly older than the kids she
took" he said. "Why couldn't she take one
more?" When his father was unable to keep the family
together, he was sent to numerous foster homes where he said he was
treated either with indifference or with cruelty. He kept running
away to live with an older sister, but authorities would find him and
send him back.
He excelled in school and, and in the
third grade, memorized all the lines for an entire play on Nurse Clara
Barton. When the girl who was to play the lead became ill, he was the
only person who knew her lines, so he was immediately cast.
Needless to say, the serious drama became a comedy hit - with everyone
except the little girl he had a crush on, Geraldine. "I could
not impress her," he said years later. "She wore pretty
dresses and had two long braids with bows on them. I figured she
didn't like me because I didn't have nice clothes." Though he
could not budge Geraldine, he realized that day making people laugh
would be his ticket to fame and fortune. He set his eyes on the
prize and never blinked.
Clerow dropped out of school in the
8th grade, again, because he was embarrassed by his clothing. At
16, he lied about his age and joined the U.S. Air Force. It was in
the Air Force that he got the nickname "Flip." Stationed
on the Island of Guam, he entertained his buddies and one remarked,
"He has flippeth his lid." The name stuck and after he
was discharged, he began to try his comedic talent in small night clubs,
then on the Chiltin Circuit in spots like the Apollo in Harlem. He
slept in pay toilet stalls, made ends meet by working as a bellhop, and
paid for the birth of his oldest son by working as a truck driver.
"But I was happy because I knew Where I was going," he said.
He got his big television break in
1965 on "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" after
holding the record for being bumped off the show more than any other
performer. Whenever the Show ran long, they bumped me, the new
comic, off the show, Flip said. but I made a lot of money getting
bumped because they had to pay me every time." He finally got
on . . . several times. He played other variety shows and
eventually guest-hosted "Tonight" for Carson. Some NBC
specials soon followed and then his top-rated television series,
"The Flip Wilson Show" which ran from 1970 to 1974 and is now
reruns on TV Land Cable. He won two Emmy Awards and the hearts of
television viewers all over the world.
After the series, Flip soon retired
from show business saying he "was blessed to have had the success
he always dreamed about." He developed a love for traveling,
acquired a passion for poetry of Kahlil Gibran, played golf, went
hot-air ballooning, and is his last years, enjoyed riding motorcycles.
Clerow "Flip" Wilson
departed this life on November 24, 1998. Calling him "Dad" are David, Kevin, Tamara,
Stacy Wilson and Michelle Trice. Missing
Granddad" are Clio, Eric, Kennedy, Kimberlyn, Kevin Jr., and Ila.
He is survived by two sisters, Mary and Lorraine; nephew Rashon Khan,; nieces, Tina and Colleen Wilson;
sister-in-law, Elizabeth Wilson, and numerous other relatives and
friends.
K. Fearn-Banks
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