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Introducing Bert Williams
Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway, and the Story of America's First Black Star | Camille F. Forbes
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According to critics of his time, Bert Williams was the Greatest Comedian on the American Stage. A black Bahamian immigrant, Williams made his start as a barker advertising the rough-and-tumble medicine shows that dotted the Wild West at the end of the nineteenth century. Not long after joining a minstrel troupe and donning the burnt- cork makeup of blackface, he teamed up with African American George Walker in a sixteen-year partnership that would take them from rural western mining towns to the bright lights of Broadway. In Introducing Bert Williams, historian Camille Forbes reveals a fascinating figure, initiating the reader into the vivid world of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century popular entertainment. Williams's long and varied career is a whirlwind of drama, glamour, and ambitionnothing less than the birth of American show business.
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Moj8668
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If you want to understand, very clearly, how the struggle for racial equality played out in the early years of Broadway, read this book.

If it were in my power to do so, I would make this book required reading for every student interested in pursuing a career in the performing arts. Understanding our past can help us to build a better future.

RaimeyGallant Interesting. 7y
RaimeyGallant And welcome to Litsy! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you need it. Or if you prefer how-to videos, @chelleo just put some together. 7y
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quote
Moj8668

From “Introducing Bert Williams” ~

“Then, as they parted, Bert said that he was on his way to the back elevator.

As [Eddie] Cantor listened, he noticed that Bert‘s voice betrayed the merest trace of bitterness. Speechless, he stopped, and the two stood together ‘in understanding silence‘. Then, Bert opened up, just for a moment: ‘It wouldn‘t be so bad, Eddie, if I didn‘t still hear the applause ringing in my ears. ‘“