Ada Overton Walker
Encyclopedia
Aida Overton Walker also billed as Ada Overton Walker and as "The Queen of the Cakewalk
", was an African-American vaudeville
performer and wife of George Walker
. She appeared with her husband and his performing partner Bert Williams
, and appeared in groups such as Black Patti's Troubadours
. She was also a solo dancer and choreographer for vaudeville shows such as Bob Cole
, Joe Jordan
, and J. Rosamond Johnson
's The Red Moon (1908) and S. H. Dudley's His Honor the Barber (1911).
Cakewalk
The Cakewalk dance was developed from a "Prize Walk" done in the days of slavery, generally at get-togethers on plantations in the Southern United States. Alternative names for the original form of the dance were "chalkline-walk", and the "walk-around"...
", was an African-American vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer and wife of George Walker
George Walker (vaudeville)
George Walker was an African American vaudevillian. In 1893, in San Francisco, Walker met Bert Williams, who became his performing partner. Walker and Williams appeared in The Gold Bug , Clorindy , The Policy Player , Sons of Ham , In Dahomey , Abyssinia , and Bandanna Land...
. She appeared with her husband and his performing partner Bert Williams
Bert Williams
Egbert Austin "Bert" Williams 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...
, and appeared in groups such as Black Patti's Troubadours
Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones
Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, known as Sissieretta Jones, was an African-American soprano. She sometimes was called "The Black Patti" in reference to Italian opera singer Adelina Patti...
. She was also a solo dancer and choreographer for vaudeville shows such as Bob Cole
Bob Cole (composer)
Robert Allen "Bob" Cole was an American composer, actor, playwright, and stage producer and director.In collaboration with Billy Johnson, he wrote and produced A Trip to Coontown , the first musical entirely created and owned by black showmen. The popular song La Hoola Boola was also a result of...
, Joe Jordan
Joe Jordan (musician)
Joe Jordan was an African American musician and composer. Jordan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, grew up in St...
, and J. Rosamond Johnson
J. Rosamond Johnson
John Rosamond Johnson , most often referred to as J. Rosamond Johnson, was an American composer and singer during the Harlem Renaissance. Johnson is most notable as the composer of Lift Every Voice and Sing which has come to be known in the United States as the "Black National Anthem"...
's The Red Moon (1908) and S. H. Dudley's His Honor the Barber (1911).