This is a chronicle of the course, and significance of the career of Bert Williams, a Black showman (comedian, singer, dancer, actor). Williams was the first to become a star with both whites and Blacks, appearing in first class theaters, which often barred black patrons. And therein lies the controversy. When Williams began, the main venue for black performers was the minstrel show. Williams adapted the characters and created a persona with more depth. But was he still caving in to white stereotypes, or carving out a new space for Black performers? He and his partner George Walker created all-Black shows He was the first Black headliner in the Ziegfield Follies, but did his individual success create possibilities for future Black performers, or was he abandoning his race?

Camille F. Forbes tells us that Williams, and his wife Lottie, were both very private people, and that it is difficult to find material on his personal life. So she concentrates on his career and its broader significance for racial issues. She is clearly sympathetic to Williams, and to the ironies of his career being on one hand extremely lucrative, and making him a beloved character, and on the other hand condemning him to a lonely life: his white colleagues would often ignore and shun him. Poignantly, he would sit in bars and drink just hoping that someone he could talk to would come along. Light-skinned, Williams would play in blackface all of his life.

The book is very readable and moving, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a serious book on either show business history or race relations, as well as those interested in this funny, tragic comedian. Lyrics from many of Williams' famous songs are reproduced. The book is illustrated throughout with pictures of Williams on and off stage, sheet music. ( )