Bert Williams Begins Vaudeville Career on the Pacific Coast

Bert Williams began his vaudeville career in San Francisco in the early 1890s, teaming with George Walker by 1895. Born in the Bahamas and raised in California, Williams became the most celebrated Black entertainer of his era. His deadpan comedic style, despite the degrading blackface minstrel conventions he was forced to work within, earned him a recording contract and eventual Broadway stardom.