Nobody, The Story Of Bert Williams

by Ann Charters

Williams, Bert, -- 1874-1922. African American entertainers -- Biography.

Genres: Biography

155 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

Reviews

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been searching for this book for a while and fortunately found it in the midst of being buried in Powell's in Portland, OR. This book is one of a very few that tells the life and work story of Bert Williams, a black vaudevillian who had grown quite famous in his time and did so performing in blackface, cakewalk revues, etc. If you've seen the picture of the performer wearing a black rooster outfit complete with chicken feet, that's Bert Williams. A talented humorist, passable singer and pantomimist, W.C. Fields described Williams as "The funniest man I ever knew, and the saddest."

As there is very little footage of Williams performing, it was marvelous to be able to find this biography and learn about a performer that usually serves as little more than a footnote in American performance history, let alone the history of black culture in the States.