Everyday Black History ~ Williams and Walker

Art recreates art

The comedy team of Bert Williams and George Walker billed themselves as "Two Real Coons" as a genuine alternative to white comedians who performed in blackface. The duo, who met and teamed up in San Francisco, moved to New York in 1896. When discussing the popularity in 1906 of white comedians in blackface billing themselves as "coons" with New York's Theatre Magazine, Walker explained the duo's rhyme and reason:

"Bert and I watched the white "coons" and were much amused at seeing white men with black cork on their faces trying to imitate black folks. We thought that as there seemed to be a great demand for black faces on the stage, we would do all we could to get what we felt belonged to us by the laws of nature."

Bert Williams and George Walker wrote, produced and acted in their own musical revues, filling theatre seats with New Yorkers, both black and white in productions named Sons of Ham (1900), Bandanna Land (1908), and Abysinnia (1906). One of the first Negro comedy revues to appear on Broadway -- the "Great White Way"-- was In Dahomey, Williams & Walker's Broadway debut, which opened at the New York Theatre in February, 1903.

Bert Williams (1874-1922)

When Williams & Walker began including the "cakewalk" dance in their musical shows, it became one of of Manhattan's most popular. Cakewalk contests were held regularly at Madison Square Garden, perhaps to the music of the duo's 1902 recording of Good Morning Carrie, one of Bert Williams' many musical compositions.

George Walker (1873-1911)

George Walker's death in 1911 broke up one of the most creative and lauded artists in American theatre. Bert Williams wrote music, collaborated and continued his contribution to the theatre with appearances on Broadway and in mainstream stage productions, including five with the hugely-successful Ziegfeld Follies.

Williams & Walker Redux

Williams & Walker, a 1986 musical described in a March 11, 1986 New York Times review as a "musical portrait" of popular black vaudevillians George Walker and Bert Williams. Most of Williams & Walker focused on Williams as the "first black entertainer to headline an integrated show on Broadway."

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