The Carlos Reid Gallery

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A Natural Born Gambler -1916- Bert Williams -A great comedian and a fine silent comedy- Full movie

"A Natural Born Gambler" is a 1916 silent comedy, the first of only two films starring Broadway comic and singer Bert Williams. It was produced by the Biograph Company and released by The General Film Company. Williams directed and G. W. Bitzer, usually D. W. Griffith's cameraman, was the cinematographer. A still surviving film featuring Williams in his famous blackface routine.

The most important thing about this film is that it features the great stage comedian Bert Williams (1874-1922) in one of his few motion picture appearances. There seems to be only one other survivor among his movies, a short comedy simply entitled FISH, which is very hard to find. Otherwise, for those interested in Bert Williams and in the early history of African-Americans on stage and screen, A NATURAL BORN GAMBLER is a milestone of sorts.

For what it's worth, it's not entirely accurate to refer to Bert Williams as "African-American," as he came from Nassau in the Bahamas, of African, Danish, and Spanish ancestry. He was a light-skinned man whose speech retained his West Indian accent, but he was compelled by the stage conventions of his day to darken his face with burnt cork makeup, and to speak in the thick patois of the American black-face minstrel; in fact, that's where his show business career began, in minstrelsy. But according to those who saw him perform (including my grandmother), Bert Williams was touched by genius, and brought a unique sensitivity, pathos, and dignity to his work that somehow transcended the degrading Sambo roles with which he found himself saddled. Williams belongs in the pantheon of great clowns, alongside Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Fanny Brice, etc. His phonograph recordings of comic monologues and droll songs, some of which he wrote, are still funny and worth seeking out.

Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams (November 12, 1874 -- March 4, 1922) was one of the preeminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920. In 1918, the New York Dramatic Mirror called Williams "one of the great comedians of the world."

Williams was a key figure in the development of African-American entertainment. In an age when racial inequality and stereotyping were commonplace, he became the first black American to take a lead role on the Broadway stage, and did much to push back racial barriers during his career. Fellow vaudevillian W.C. Fields, who appeared in productions with Williams, described him as "the funniest man I ever saw -- and the saddest man I ever knew."

In 1910, Booker T. Washington wrote of Williams: "He has done more for our race than I have. He has smiled his way into people's hearts; I have been obliged to fight my way." Gene Buck, who had discovered W. C. Fields in vaudeville and hired him for the Follies, wrote to a friend on the occasion of Fields' death: "Next to Bert Williams, Bill [Fields] was the greatest comic that ever lived."

In 1940, Duke Ellington composed and recorded "A Portrait of Bert Williams," a subtly crafted tribute. In 1978, in a memorable turn on a Boston Pops TV special, Ben Vereen performed a tribute to Williams, complete with appropriate makeup and attire, and reprising Williams' high-kick dance steps, to such classic vaudeville standards as "Waitin' for the Robert E. Lee".

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Bert Williams was named in his honor.

The 1980 Broadway musical Tintypes featured "I'm a Jonah Man", a song first popularized by Williams in 1903.

In 1996, Bert Williams was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame.

The Archeophone label has collected and released all of Williams' extant recordings on three CDs.

Dancing in the Dark (2005) by Caryl Phillips is a novelization of the life of Bert Williams.

Son of Ingagi (1940) - First Black Sci-Fi/Horror Film

Son of Ingagi is the first science fiction-horror film to feature an all-black cast. The film is about Eleanor and Bob Lindsay inheriting the house of Dr. Helen Jackson, who had just returned from her trip to Africa. Jackson also had returned with a missing link monster named Ingina (a.k.a. N'Gina) as well as African gold. When Ingina drinks the doctor's potion, it puts him into a rage that makes him murder Dr.Jackson. The Lindsay family inherits Jackson's house where they soon find the presence of the monster. Son of Ingagi was written by Spencer Williams based on his own short story House of Horror. The production company was impressed with Williams' script and allowed him to direct and write his own feature film The Blood of Jesus in 1941.

Cast (IMDB): Zack Williams as N'Gina; Laura Bowman as Dr. Helen Jackson; Alfred Grant as Robert Lindsay; Daisy Bufford as Eleanor Lindsay; Arthur Ray as Zeno Jackson; Spencer Williams as Detective Nelson (as Spencer Williams Jr.); Earle Morris as Bradshaw (as Earl J. Morris); Jesse Graves as Chief of Detectives; The Four Toppers as Singing Quartet (as The Toppers); Maggie Hathaway as Party Guest (uncredited).

Stormy Weather is a 1943 American musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox.

Swing! (1938) - Oscar Micheaux Film

1955 - Rhythm and Blues Revue - Count Basie, Nat 'King'

Rose Masterpol

Masterpol in the studio

Miss Aniela

London, United Kingdom

KAI FACE by Miss Aniela

Dice Kayek x Marie Schuller - Pearl

DICE KAYEK BLUE - Film by Marie Schuller

Zena Holloway

London, United Kingdom

Underwater Art photography Elle Style Awards by zenaholloway.com

Alexander Ilichev

Russia

Bill Viola

Bill Viola - Ascension

Bill Viola, The Raft, maggio 2004

Bill Viola: Tristan's Ascension

Claudio Di Claudio

Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

Claudio Di Carlo Frame to Frame, 2000

Claudio Di Carlo Tutto questo per te 2003

Jose Arturo Hinojos

Mexico

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