#vaudeville star

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Vaudeville star Jeanette Hackett being cured of neuralgia by the "zone therapy" of William S. Thompson, known as "Thompson the Egyptian," December, 1922. She is holding an aluminum comb and he is putting pressure on nerves in her back.

Photo: Underwood Archives/pixels.com

[dreamadot]

Annette Kellermann in the silent film A Daughter of the Gods (1916)

[whb2-blog]

we changed the game

egbert austin (bert) williams (1875 – 1922)

Bert Williams, the legendary comedian, is considered by many to be the greatest vaudeville performer in the history of the American stage. His considerable success extended into the realm of musical comedy as well. Bert did not simply replicate the white conventions of minstrelsy. Instead, he humanized blackface by transforming his blackface characters into surrogates for anyone who was down on his luck, who never caught a break, or who shuffled from one mishap to the next. Indeed, that Williams performed in blackface and turned his character into a forlorn everyman that audiences, white and black, empathized with was a feat of remarkable and subversive artistry.   There is some controversy as to where he was born, (It was either Antigua or Nassau, Bahamas) the year was 1875. From a young age Bert had a natural sense of humor and was said to be at his best as a mimic. He had also learned to play music by ear. His family later moved to New York, and when he was 12 they moved to California.   His father was in poor health and had lost his money. So following Bert's graduation from high school, he had to abandon his civil engineering studies in college to help earn a living. He naturally turned to entertaining and went from café to café in San Francisco singing minstrel ditties and passing the hat.   Bert had developed a particular interest in the mannerisms of a certain type of peasant while in Antigua. He later shifted his attention to a similar type of African American—the humble, shiftless, slouch Negro who could neither read nor write but who had a certain hard, and not altogether inaccurate, philosophy of life. He would study this type patiently and rejoice whenever he discovered a new twist of dialect or expression. From this Bert would go on to develop an act into what became his trademark character—"Mr. Nobody" (Charlie Chaplin would later develop a white character who was similar), and the accompanying song he composed, "Nobody," became his signature work.

Even though he had natural born wit, his career was struggling. He fortunately had met a young African American, George Walker, with whom he had a natural affinity. George was even poorer than he was and could neither dance nor play. But Bert took him under his wings and groomed him as a partner. They went on to become a successful vaudeville team. They staged several shows, including Bandana Land (original sheet music photographed above) Abyssinia, and The Policy Players and had tremendous success. When George took ill, Bert continued working and shared his earnings with him until he died in 1911.   Bert continued on working alone and later joined the Ziegfeld Follies. It was the top production of its kind in America, and Bert was its highest paid star for ten years. He often had to use his "Mr. Nobody" routine to save the show's reputation. As a single act, Bert was the first black to become a star comedian on Broadway. Shortly after his opening on Broadway, Theatre Magazine called Bert Williams "a vastly funnier man than any white comedian now on the American stage." He was the first Black featured in a Broadway revue and was the first Black actor to join Actor's Equity. In London he played a command performance before King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace.    Bert Williams is remembered today not only for his comic gifts, but also as a man whose life was a struggle against racial prejudice. The hostility he encountered as a Black male limited his professional achievement and ultimately also destroyed his chances for personal happiness.    Despite 20 plus years as one of the most successful and respected stage performers in New York, Williams had never been invited to join Actors Equity. It was thanks to the efforts of W C Fields that Williams was eventually allowed to join Actor's Equity. W. C. Fields once said that Bert Williams was "the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew.   Bert Williams enjoyed full popularity until the end. While in Chicago he fell seriously ill, but continued to perform rather than have the promoter suffer financial loss. He would later suffer a complete breakdown because of this behavior to the point that even doctors could not help. He died on March 4, 1922.   Bert Williams was one of the greatest pantomimists of all time. He read many of the great literary masterpieces, and could discuss Darwin, Voltaire, Kant, and Goethe among others. It was said that next to the stage his greatest interest was the history of Africa and of his people in America and the West Indies. Booker T. Washington once modestly observed, "Bert Williams has done more for the race than I have. He has smiled his way into people's hearts. I have been obliged to fight my way."  

By J. A. Rogers