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| Chicago Whip, 11-March-1922 |
Bahamian-American comedian Bert Williams died 100 years ago today, on 04-March-1922. Williams broke racial barriers, appearing in mainstream vaudeville and the Ziegfeld Follies. He appeared in about three movies. One was apparently not completed.
7000 AT BERT WILLIAMS' BIER
POLICE HOLD
BACK CROWD
AT FUNERAL
Whole Nation Mourns As
Curtain Rings Down On
Premier Entertainer
NEW YORK CITY, March 8. -- More than 7,000 persons jammed the streets leading to the church at Bert Williams’ funeral here Tuesday. Details of mounted policemen patrolled the streets to keep the crowds back.
NEW YORK CITY. March 11 -- Bert Williams, considered by many critics the foremost American comedian of all times, died at his home here Saturday night of pneumonia. He was 52 years of age.
He collapsed on the stage at Detroit
Monday night in the midst of the second
performance of "Under the Bamboo
Tree," in which he was starring. He
had been in ill health for more
than a year, and shortly before his
collapse was under the constant
attendance of physicians, who remained with
him at all times, even accompanying
him to and from the theatre, and sleeping
in adjoining rooms with him.
Immediately after his collapse in Detroit
he was taken to New York City,
where it was hoped a blood transfusion
would restore his health. A relapse
occurred Saturday from which he was
unable to recover.
Funeral services were held Tuesday
afternoon at St. Phillip's Church, with
a second ceremony to be held Wednesday
afternoon under auspices of St.
Cecile Lodge of Masons. He was a
member of Haverly Lodge, of Edinburgh,
Scotland.
Scores of telephone and telegraph
messages were received by his widow at
their home, 135th Street and Lenox
Avenue. All day Sunday and Monday
Bert's admirers, both on the stage and
off thronged the house and requested
the opportunity personally to pay their
respects to the memory of the great
entertainer.
Went on Nerve
During his recent engagement at the
Studebaker Theatre in Chicago Wiliams
is said to have gone through his '
performances on sheer nerve, expecting
a collapse at any moment, although the
audience was unaware oi the fact.
Born in West Indies
Williams was born in Nassau, British
West Indies and came to this country
when two years of age. He worked at
odd jobs in New York, and after serving
an enlistment in the army, went on
the stage.
He began his stage career as a banjo
player with a minstrel show. He then
joined with George Walker in a variety
show and made a name along the
Pacific Coast.
Their first hit was at Jack Halahan's
Midway Theatre in San Francisco.
From variety the team went to "three
a-day" in vaudeville. Success finally
crowned their efforts in "Dahomey," and
Williams & Walker became an American
institution.
One of Williams' greatest shocks was
the death of his partner, George Walker.
He threatened to leave the stage at
Walker s death, but was persuaded by
his friends to remain. Williams &
Walker appeared both in this country
and abroad at private entertainments
and at special showings before royalty
and nobility.
Scored with Follies
Bert Williams reached the zenith of
his career with the Ziegfeld Follies,
being even a greater drawing card than
Ziegteld's far-famed. shapely limbed
chorus girls. Declining health compelled
him to forsake the "Follies" for a
production which taxed his strength less.
No figure on the American stage was
impersonated more often than was Bert
Williams. Every vaudeville impersonator
of stage celebrities included Bert
Williams in his repertoire. His pantomime
of "the poker game" is familiar
to thousands of theatre-goers who never
even saw Bert.
He created a comedy method of his
own, which has been imitated universally.
The slow, shambling gait, the
balanced intonation, the clear diction
and the skillful pauses, are familiar to
theatre-goers.
When the famous comedian broke
down in Detroit, the play. "Under the
Bamboo Tree," in which he was starring
was immediately disbanded. No
attempt was ever made to find an
understudy for him. It is said that Shelton
Brooks, noticing his failing health,
applied for the position.
He is survived by his widow, Mrs.
Lottie Williams, formerly of Chicago.
His best-known songs were "Constantly," "I Never Done Nothing to Nobody,"
"Woodman, Spare That Tree,"
"Nothing From Nothing Leaves Me,"
"When the Moonshine Shines Upon the
Moonshine," "Save a Little Dram for
Me," and "Puppy Dog."
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| Washington Herald, 11-May-1913 |
Bert Williams is listed last among the performers in the
Ziegfeld Follies. Ching Ling Foo (Chee Ling Qua) was a Chinese-born magician who toured the United States in vaudeville and the Follies. Their fellow performers in this edition of the Follies included Australian Leon Errol, who later starred in short films and B features for RKO, Elizabeth (not Fanny) Brice. Williams and Errol performed as a team, and Errol was the only white pallbearer at Williams' funeral.
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| Moving Picture World, 19-August-1916 |
"America's Greatest Comedian."