Bert Williams

Bert Williams was a Bahamian-born 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 born in the Bahamas in November of 1874. 

His parents emigrated when he was 11 years old. He graduated from Riverside High School and attended Stanford with plans to become a civil engineer. He had to abandon his studies to help his family and began to work for Martin and Selig’s Mastodon Minstrels. He met George Walker who would be a lifelong friend for a dynamic comedy team. They were one of the most successful teams in their era, performing in the US and abroad, even delivering a command performance in England for King Goerge in 1903.

The two performed together until Walker was too sick to perform in 1909. He died in 1911. Williams would strike out on his own and it would change everything.

Williams is credited as being the first Black man to have the leading role in a film: Darktown Jubilee in 1914. Known as one of the highest paid African American performers in history, Williams worked in many productions including the Ziegfeld Follies of 1917 with WC Fields, Fannie Brice, Eddie Cantor and more. In 1922 Williams collapsed on stage during a performance in Detroit, Michigan. He returned to New York and died at his home in March at the age of 47.

This portrait was drawn by brother, Devin Anderson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Williams