Billy King

William King (circa 1869 or 1875 Some of his shows there starred Bessie Brown and Howard Kelly.

Between 1916 and 1923, he wrote, staged and starred in a succession of shows at the theater, often changing shows every week. He was responsible for introducing girls clowning at the end of chorus lines, an innovation later developed by Josephine Baker, and his shows sometimes included satire on race issues, with Lester Walton likening one of his shows to an NAACP protest meeting. Some of his shows went on tour to Harlem and other established vaudeville circuit stops, and he employed a large group of performers who included his protégé Gertrude Saunders, and Billy Higgins. King was also involved in running theaters in Louisville, Chattanooga, Atlanta and elsewhere. King continued to perform occasionally, playing with Ethel Waters in 1926. In 1937 he was elected president of the Colored Actors' Protective Society in New York City.

He is believed to have died in New York in 1951.