Today in 1972: Flip Wilson

To those who say that he should do more to advance the ‘cause,’ Flip has a ready reply: ‘I have feelings about these things, but I'm selling professional entertainment. Politics is for politicians. Each man has his own style; mine is that “the funny” has no color. I do these characters because they're what I know. But people are just people to me. The way I see it, I don't have to think black—or not think black. I just have to entertain. I'm just a comic.’ The ratings bear witness to Wilson's success at comedy and to his appeal to whites as well as blacks. In their second season on NBC—which, Flip jokes, now really is ‘the full-color network’—Flip, Geraldine and his other characters have become regular Thursday-night fare for an estimated 40 million Americans.” (Jan. 31, 1972)