In The Sons of Ham (1900) she made a hit with “Miss Hannah from Savanna”. ![]() Meanwhile, she was in the process of becoming the top female African American stage performer of her day. Overton was to gain inroads into white society by teaching the dance at private functions. The Walkers became the most celebrated cakewalking couple in the country. Overton was to choreograph all the Williams and Walker shows, as well as Cole and Johnson’s 1911 show Red Moon. That year, she also married George Walker and attained star status in the company, essentially becoming a third partner in the most celebrated African American act of the era. Overton and Halliday performed as the Honolulu Belles in the first of the Williams and Walker musicals The Policy Players (1899). In 1898, the comely chorine answered a call to model for an advertisement for Williams and Walker vaudeville revue at Koster and Bial’s. This led to her joining the show in the chorus, which then led to her being a featured performer with her partner Grace Halliday. ![]() In 1896-97 she was a member of the legendary Black Patti’s Troubadours. ![]() She was only 15 when she joined John Isham’s Octoroons, an all-black minstrel show in 1895. Her dancing talent was so evident from a young age that her parents provided her with formal training. Her birthday: today.īorn Ada Overton (she later embellished the spelling for professional reasons) in Greenwich Village, Overton was the daughter of a waiter and a seamstress. Aida Overton Walker (1880-1914): singer, dancer, actor, choreographer, comedienne and “Queen of the Cakewalk”.
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