Mae West: Bert Williams

MAE WEST adored the vaudevillian Bert Williams.
• • "Baby Mae" performed his famous song "Nobody" during her earliest amateur outings, impersonating her idol with accuracy.
• • Bert Williams [12 November 1874 – 4 March 1922], the pre-eminent Black entertainer of his era (birthname Egbert Austin Williams), was born on the island of Antigua [West Indies]. In 1888 his family moved to Los Angeles. He began his entertainment career in 1892 in San Francisco.
• • Bert Williams became one of vaudeville's top names, both as a solo performer and as part of the successful team "Williams & Walker" with partner George Walker. Together they popularized the Cakewalk. Light-skinned, the Caribbean native was also famous for performing in blackface.
• • After George Walker's death, Williams appeared with Eddie Cantor and in major shows such as the Ziegfeld Follies.
• • After collapsing onstage on 25 February 1922 while singing "Under The Bamboo Tree," Bert Williams died in a hospital on March 4th. He was 48 years old.
• • Last year two books about his outstanding career were published.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Mae West
• • Artwork: • • Bert Williams • • 1919 • •
NYC
Mae West.