Less than two weeks before this sketch aired, Michael Jackson had the number one song in America.
It was “Ben,” a sweet ballad about a boy and his pet rat, and it hit the top of the Billboard chart on October 14, 1972. Michael had turned 14 that August. His brothers had already topped the chart four times, but this was his first number one as a solo singer.
So when he and his brothers showed up on The Flip Wilson Show on October 26, 1972, nobody tuned in expecting a math lesson.
If you didn’t grow up with it, The Flip Wilson Show was huge. Flip was a comedian from New Jersey, and his NBC variety hour was the second-most-watched program in the country for two seasons straight. It was also the first network variety show with a Black host to become a real hit.
People loved his characters, especially Geraldine, the sassy lady Flip played in a dress. Her line “The devil made me do it!” was everywhere for a while.
The Jackson 5 had been on his stage before, back in November 1971.
This time they got more than a song, though. According to the episode listing, Flip spends part of the hour pushing ice cream on the boys and trying to talk his way into the group.
The Jackson 5 (Flip Wilson Show) – Ice Cream Skit
After that comes the classroom bit.
Flip stands next to a chalkboard in a dark suit, and young Michael walks up in a big peach jacket with his Afro and a piece of chalk in his hand. He’s going to show the grown-up that 28 divided by 7 equals 13.
You might know the joke already. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made it famous in their 1941 movie In the Navy, where Lou “proved” the wrong answer with division, then did it again with multiplication and again by adding it all up. Every time poor Bud tried to argue, the numbers seemed to take Lou’s side.
The trick plays with where each digit sits on the page. If you follow along fast, it almost makes sense.
And now a kid who’d just topped the charts was pulling it on one of the funniest men on television.
Michael had been performing since he was a little boy in Gary, Indiana, lined up with his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon. Audiences already knew his voice and his dance moves.
Comedy asked for something different. He had to land his lines and wait out the laughs, all while keeping a straight face next to a pro who could crack anyone up.
David Steinberg was also on that night. He was a Canadian comedian and one of the hot young stand-ups of the day, and actress Diana Sands rounded out the lineup.
Pay attention to Michael’s grin at the chalkboard, and to Flip’s face once the numbers start adding up.