Wilson was a breakthrough performer, the first African-American to host his own successful television variety series. From 1970 to 1974, his NBC show was a top 10 hit, making number one during its first two years. In 1971, "The Flip Wilson Show" won two Emmys and a Golden Globe, and the comic took home a Grammy for his album "The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress."

Unlike other variety series, which featured a host and a company of regulars, "The Flip Wilson Show" was Flip and only Flip. Aside from musical acts and some high profile guests, including John Wayne and Bob Hope, it was a one-man show, with Wilson doing all the characters. The most famous was Geraldine, a mini-skirted, high-heeled sexual predator whose favorite topic was her boyfriend "Killer." Geraldine's catchphrases, "The devil made me do it!" and "What you see is what you get" became so popular, they passed into the national lexicon.

Wilson earned his nickname during an Air Force stint for "flipping out" his fellow servicemen with his irreverent humor. For a decade after his 1954 discharge, he honed his act in small clubs, eventually getting bookings at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. His first TV appearance came in 1965 on "The Tonight Show." Then he landed guest shots on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," "The Ed Sullivan Show" and, in 1968, his own network variety special. The series followed in 1970.

It was an immediate success, and became a firm family favorite, thanks to Wilson's adroit balance of clean humor and streetwise savviness. "The Flip Wilson Show" also broke new ground by showcasing African-American musical acts like Isaac Hayes and James Brown who found appearances on national primetime TV hard to come by in those days.

After a 1974 divorce, Wilson was awarded custody of his four children, and quit the series to care for them. He resurfaced infrequently in movies, on TV, and in the tabloid press, which reported a rumored drug habit, and legal problems. In 1984, he made a comeback, hosting the short-lived quiz show "People Are Funny." "Charlie & Company", CBS' attempt to cash in on the success of "The Cosby Show," followed in 1985. That didn't last long either, and Wilson left the scene once more.

In 1993, he sold his old variety series to TV Land for more than $10 million. Unlike many performers of his era, he had retained the rights to his own work, ensuring financial security. He told an interviewer that his years away from the entertainment industry had enabled him to do things he used only to dream about-playing golf, flying helium balloons, and riding motorcycles.

But by 1999, Wilson was thinking about trying show business again. Sadly, it was not to be. In October 1998, he was admitted to a Santa Monica hospital for the removal of a malignant tumor that turned out to be liver cancer. On November 25, 1998, Flip Wilson died peacefully at his Malibu home, age 64.

Flip Wilson was a pioneer in television and in comedy, but he remains an unsung hero. Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Bill Cosby are often cited as inspirations by contemporary black comics, but Wilson tends to get overlooked unfairly. Flip Wilson's legacy can be seen not only in the work of Martin Lawrence and Jamie Foxx, who both created popular female characters, but in every television show with black protagonists. If Flip Wilson hadn't proved in 1970 that African-American entertainers could be viable and successful on network TV, the opportunity for others would have been much longer in coming. For that achievement alone, he deserves his place in the pantheon of influential performers. Being smart and funny to boot makes him a shoo-in.