Ebook: Introducing Bert Williams: Burnt Cork, Broadway, and the Story of America's First Black Star

It is not hard to argue that every black performer in show business owes something to Bert Williams. Discovered in California in 1890 by a minstrel troupe manager, Williams swiftly became a regular player in the troupe. Traveling on from the rough-and-ready "medicine shows" that then dotted the West, he rose through the ranks of big-time vaudeville in New York City, and finally ascended to the previously all-white pinnacle of live-stage success: the fabled Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway. Inspite of his triumphs-he brought the first musical with an all-black cast to Broadway in 1903-he was often.;Contents; A Note on Usage; Preface; 1: The Early Years; 2: The Williams and Walker Years; 3: Bert Williams -- A Show in Himself; Epilogue; Acknowledgments; Notes; Bibliography; Index.