Bert Williams

Biography Egbert Austin Williams, better known as Bert Williams, was born on November 12th 1874 in Nassau, Bahamas. At the age of ten, Bert Williams and his parents went to New York City. From New York City, Bert Williams and his parents moved to Riverside, California, where Bert attended and graduated from Riverside High School. Soon following his graduation Bert’s father became very ill, which forced Bert to abandon his civil engineering studies to help earn a living. Bert started singing minstrel ditties in Cafes around San Francisco and collecting the little money people gave. Williams was struggling to provide for himself and his family, fortunately Williams met George Walker, another African American, who was also struggling to make a living. In 1895 he and George Walker auditioned and became a very popular vaudeville team. In 1902, Williams wrote and produced an all-African American musical show In Dahomey, where Williams and Walker appeared with great success. He continued to write similar shows like Abyssinia (1906), Bandanna Land (1907), and others until the death of Walker in 1909. In that year Williams joined the Ziegfeld Follies, and continued to write songs and other materials. In the December of 1921, Williams received good reviews from Under the Bamboo Tree, but the show did not. Right after, Williams developed pneumonia, but he didn’t want to miss any performances, because he knew very well that he was the only thing that kept the show alive. On February 27th, William collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan, and was assisted to his dressing room, the audience thought it was a comic bit, little did they know that he was actually sick. He returned to New York City, however his health worsened and he died at the age of 47 on March 4th 1922.
Vaudeville Experience W.C. Fields called Bert Williams: "the funniest man I ever saw, and the saddest I ever knew." Williams was an African-American vaudeville star in the early 1900s. On October 11, 1901, Williams and Walker made their first recordings, including a comic duet called "Good Morning, Carrie" which was a great success. Soon they began work on a new production, In Dahomey, which became the first major musical ever to be written and performed by only black entertainers to run on Broadway. The show was a great success, not only in New York but also in Europe, a performance was also held at Buckingham Palace. Williams’s own composition, "Nobody" was a massive hit in 1906. It became his signature song, and was nominated into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Williams and Walker continued to be successful on Broadway as a duo, but George Walker in 1907 became too ill from syphilis and was unable to continue performing with Williams. Walker soon died in 1911. Bert Williams faced little trouble in becoming a solo act. He still continued his comic skits on stage, finally joining the Ziegfeld Follies. He began performing interracially with Eddie Cantor and W.C. Fields. Williams was well liked by the other performers but he did have to break down the racial barriers of the time.
Post Vaudeville
In the August of 1920, Williams became the first black member of the Actors Equity Union. Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American music. In an age when racial inequality and stereotypes were an accepted part of life, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did a lot to push back racial barriers during his career. Bert Williams was still in Vaudeville when he died, and therefore had no post vaudeville experience because he died at a young age. However, Bert had a profound impact on future entertainment.

Work Cited
Forbes, Camille F. Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway, and the Story of
America's First Blackstar. Print.
Padgett, Ken. "Blackface." N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jun 2011.
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"The Life and Death of Bert Williams: Celebrated African-American Comedian." Literary
Digest. 1922: Print.
"Williams, Bert (Egbert Austin) (1875-1922)." Benet's Reader's Encyclopaedia of
American Literature. George B. Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger.
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