Gustave Wilhelm Leweck Jr. (July 19, 1848 – January 16, 1915) was an American comedian and songwriter.

Early life

Gustave Wilhelm Leweck Jr. was born on July 19, 1848,Storms, A. D. (1901)
''The Players Blue Book''
Sutherland & Storms. p. 282. the son of a

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German-American fur importer.1870 US Census Records While in his early teens Williams left home to seek adventure in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. He made it as far as Indiana where circumstances deemed it necessary for the boy to find work as a farmhand. On August 12, 1862, fourteen-year-old Williams left farm work behind and joined Company F of the 48th Indiana Infantry to serve in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

.''The Elyria Chronicle'', Jan. 18, 1915

Career

Williams, who was probably a drummer boy, soon became popular in the service providing entertainment that helped alleviate the daily boredom of camp life. He first took to the stage on November 14, 1864, during the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

’s occupation of

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with J. B. Ashton’s Dramatic Company playing Carney in ''"The Pirate Legacy: The Wrecker’s Fate"'' by Charles H. Saunders. Three years after the war’s end, Williams joined

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes referr ...

’s vaudeville show where he would remain throughout his twenties. With Pastor he became popular as a Dutch-style comedian performing skits and singing songs in a comedic German accent. Two of his more popular tunes from that period were "Keiser Do You Want to Buy a Dog?" and "Dot Little German Band". Gus-Williams001

Around 1879 Williams began touring in German farce comedies such as ''Our German Senator'', ''One of the Finest'', ''Keppler’s Fortunes'', ''April Fool'' and ''Oh! What a Night''. Over his career Williams would not only pen a number of popular comic songs but also a few sentimental ones, such as ''See that my Grave is Kept Clean'', ''Pretty Little Dark Blue Eyes'' and ''Don’t Forget Mother''. In 1885 he assumed his stage name, Gus Williams, as his permanent legal name. At the peak of his career Williams became active in the campaign to better the wages of vaudeville players and was the first to demand and receive $500 for a week’s engagement as a monologist.

Death

Williams continued to work well into his sixties though eventually no longer as a headliner. On January 16, 1915, Williams had a meeting with his booking agent, J. J. Armstrong, in New York and on his return trip home sent his sister-in-law a telegraph message from the

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Train Station in Yonkers, asking her to tend to his wife Emma who was not well. Upon leaving the telegraph office Williams pulled out a pistol and shot himself in the temple. There was no suicide note, leaving family and friends to speculate on why he ended his life, though health issues and career concerns would appear to have topped the list.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Gus 1848 births 1915 deaths 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors Suicides by firearm in New York (state) Comedians from New York City