The last childhood hero:
One of the most beautiful Americans to enter and exit human existence, the Flip Wilson: “…I mean, I’m not one to make comments about anyone’s kid — but this was an UGLY baby.”
Charles Mudede—who writes about film, books, music, and his life in Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, the USA, and the UK for The Stranger—was born near a steel plant in Kwe Kwe, Zimbabwe. He has no memory... More by Charles Mudede
Flip was cool, but he stole “here come de judge” from Pigmeat Markham (who also wrote the line “you can put that in your Funk & Wagnalls”, also featured on “Laugh-In”).
I love the story in Wikipedia that his character Geraldine’s catch phrase “What you see is what you get” was the inspiration for Xerox PARC’s acronym WYSIWIG, pronounced “wizzy wig”, at the dawn of modern computing.
I had a talking Flip Wilson doll – Flip on one side and Geraldine on the other. Pull the string: “If I’d known you were comin’ I’d have stayed at home” – Geraldine. I can’t remember how many phrases it said but I know there were at least six. Gee, I wish I had kept my teenage toys!!
I remember when I was in the Navy forty-plus years ago, Southern whites were “Here come de judge”-ing all over the place. They loved Markham! I was surprised to find that working-class black people did also.
The Devil Made Me Do It!
Flip Wilson: Deacon of the Church of What’s Happening Now!
I still make lemonade the way he says he did as a kid from that great routine from The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress. Classic!
This might have already been mentioned, but, wasn’t Flip Wilson like America’s first televised Drag Queen? Geraldine? With the tag line “What you see is what you get?”
Funny, my grandparents just loved watching him in drag. They also love Liberace.
Sorry for repeating. Geraldine and her famous tag line was mentioned.
Next time, I’ll read the comments first, before posting.
“Hero” is not a synonym for celebrity…. Or at least it shouldn’t be.
Flip didn’t use “Here Comes the Judge” on Laugh-In. That was Sammy Davis Jr.