100 Years Ago Today: The Passing of Bert Williams

A credo for the times, for good or for ill. 100 years ago this day black Broadway star Bert Williams left the earth at the young age of 47. The causes were a bad heart and, more immediately, pneumonia.

Williams was, I believe, the most significant black artist to come out of vaudeville. To commemorate this day, I have created a special audio documentary about him and his stage partner George Walker, and what was lost to the world when they both died early. Listen to it here.

I’ve also written these two posts about him here on Travalanche:

On the vaudeville team of Williams and Walker

On his recently rediscovered feature film

I visited Williams’ grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in 2015 — a very moving experience for this admirer.

Again, my special podcast is here. I hope you will give it a listen!

For more on vaudeville please see No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous,and for more on silent film read  Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.Bert Williams throve in them both!