The Flip Wilson Show
Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne
TV Flash files “Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne” as a desk essential hour — The Flip Wilson Show (1970–1974) on NBC, season 4, episode 17, aired 1974-03-07, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E17: listed hour 43 of 43 in the The Flip Wilson Show guide, last listed hour of season 4. It aired 1974-03-07 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Tim Conway, Richard Pryor & Romark the Mentalist” (S04E07). No later hour is listed in this guide.
Essential hour: “Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne”. Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne closes 1974. Four seasons of a major network variety franchise with a Black host as the brand, not the guest — then the hour goes dark.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne sit in the The Flip Wilson Show guide?
S04E17 is listed hour 43 of 43 — last listed hour of season 4, season 4 episode 17.
When did The Flip Wilson Show S04E17 air?
Tony Randall, Bob & Ray, Lena Horne aired 1974-03-07 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start in a variety run?
Any complete hour: Wilson's host persona plus Geraldine and Reverend Leroy. Guest stars rotate; the characters are the brand.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Flip Wilson owns a hit NBC variety hour on his own brand terms: Geraldine, Reverend Leroy, musical guests, and catchphrases that invaded playgrounds. First Black host of a major network variety franchise at this scale, packaged as entertainment rather than a lecture. The devil made him do it — and the sketches did.
The devil made him do it — and NBC made Flip Wilson the first Black host to own a major hit network variety franchise on his own brand terms. The Flip Wilson Show (1970–1974) ran four seasons, 43 hours, mixing Geraldine Jones and Reverend Leroy with musical guests in a colorful early-1970s blast from Wilson and Bob Henry. Charm disarmed. Sketches invaded playgrounds. Variety's door opened wider without asking the audience to treat the hour as civic spinach. On the palate: sequins, a catchphrase, and a host who…
Filed against
- Flip Wilson as Host / Geraldine Jones / Reverend Leroy
Flip Wilson owned NBC variety as himself — Geraldine, Reverend Leroy, musical guests, catchphrases that invaded playgrounds, and the first Black host of a major network variety franchise at this scale, packaged as entertainment rather…