Today in our History – March 4, 1922 – Bert Williams Dies.

GM – LIF – Today’s American Champion was a Bahamian-American entertainer, one of the pre-eminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. In 1918, the New York Dramatic Mirror called Williams "one of the great comedians of the world."

Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage and did much to push back racial barriers during his three-decade-long career. UNDERSTAND YOUR HISTORY!!

Remember –" Bert Williams is the funniest man I ever saw—and the saddest man I ever knew." – W.C. Fields

Today in our History – March 4, 1922 – Bert Williams Dies.

As a central figure on America’s vaudeville circuit, Williams sang, danced, and pantomimed in clubs, cabarets, and theaters across the country. Williams was one of, if not the most, famous African-American performers in the 1900s. In an age when the “white vaudeville stage did not welcome black performers,” Williams pioneered an important role for black performers who had so profoundly shaped the genre.

With unfortunate regularity, he was often the only African American on stage. In the 1900s Williams was the toast of the cities he toured, and in 1904 he played a command performance in England for King Edward VII. Facing Racism.

Racial prejudice shaped Williams’ career. Unlike many other blackface performers, Williams did not play for laughs at the expense of other African Americans or black culture. Instead, he based his humor on universal situations in which any members of his audience might find themselves.

In the style of vaudeville, Williams performed in blackface makeup like his white counterparts. Blackface worked like a double mask for him. It emphasized the difference between Williams, his fellow vaudevillians, and his white audiences.

Many white vaudevillians refused to appear on the same bill with Williams, and others complained that his material, which he wrote himself, was better than theirs. Williams, like many black performers, faced discrimination from the hotels and restaurants in which he often performed.

Hotels routinely refused to let Williams ride in the same elevators used by their white patrons. He once told a friend how much such seemingly petty discrimination hurt. “It wouldn’t be so bad. … if I didn’t hear the applause [from his performance] still ringing in my ears.”

Williams pioneered an important role for black performers who had so profoundly shaped the genre.

Early Life. Williams was born in New Providence, Nassau, in the British West Indies, in 1874. He became a showman in 1893 when he joined Martin and Seig’s Mastodon Minstrels. While performing with the Minstrels he met African American song-and-dance man George Walker, and the two men teamed up.

The twosome debuted in New York’s Casino Theatre in 1898 in a short-lived show, “The Gold Bug.” Their act consisted of songs, dance, and quick-paced patter that centered on Walker trying to convince the slower Williams to join him in get-rich-quick schemes. Williams and Walker’s popular act continued until Walker’s death in 1911.

.Ziegfeld Follies. Williams struck out on his own when, in 1909, Walker became too ill to perform. In 1910 Florenz Ziegfeld hired Williams to be one of the stars of “The Ziegfeld Follies.” He performed in the “Follies” almost continually, and his national popularity and fame grew. In 1918 Williams broke another color line when he topped the bill at New York City’s Palace.

Williams became famous for his pantomimed poker game. In this skit, a single spotlight illuminated Williams’ head and shoulders as he mimicked all the gestures of the player, from drawing cards to losing the game. The popularity of this skit led to a brief film career in the summer of 1916 when Williams appeared in the film A NATURAL BORN GAMBLER.

In addition to the poker-game skit, Williams introduced many popular songs to audiences across the country, such as “You Ain’t So Warm,” “Nobody,” “That’s Harmony,” and “You Got the Right Church but the Wrong Pew.”

Later Life. In 1920 Williams left the “Follies” and signed with another New York company, the Shuberts. On 21 February 1922 Williams collapsed onstage while touring with the production of “Under the Bamboo Tree.”

Williams returned to New York City, where he died a month later. Williams' stage career lagged after his final Follies appearance in 1919. His name was enough to open a show, but they had shorter, less profitable runs. In December 1921, Under the Bamboo Tree opened, to middling results. Williams still got good reviews, but the show did not.

Williams developed pneumonia but did not want to miss performances, knowing that he was the only thing keeping an otherwise moribund musical alive at the box office. However, Williams also emotionally suffered from the racial politics of the era and did not feel fully accepted. He experienced almost chronic depression in his later years, coupled with alcoholism and insomnia.

On February 27, 1922, Williams collapsed during a performance in Detroit, Michigan, which the audience initially thought was a comic bit. Helped to his dressing room, Williams quipped, "That's a nice way to die. They were laughing when I made my last exit." He returned to New York, but his health worsened. He died at his home, 2309 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York City on March 4, 1922, at the age of 47.

Few had suspected that he was sick, and news of his death came as a public shock. More than 5,000 fans filed past his casket, and thousands more were turned away. A private service was held at the Masonic Lodge in Manhattan, where Williams broke his last barrier. He was the first black American to be so honored by the all-white Grand Lodge.

When the Masons opened their doors for public service, nearly 2,000 mourners of both races were admitted. Williams was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, New York City. Research more about this great American Champion and share it with your babies. Make it a champion day!