Will Mastin

Will Mastin
Name	Will Mastin
Birth date	1878
Birth place	Salem, New Jersey
Death date	1979-12-01
Occupation	Dancer, actor, singer, choreographer
Years active	1898–1960s

Will Mastin Will Mastin was an American entertainer, dancer, and choreographer best known for leading a vaudeville act that helped launch the career of Sammy Davis Jr. and included Sammy Davis Sr. and others. His career spanned vaudeville, Broadway, and nightclubs during eras shaped by figures such as Al Jolson, Bert Williams, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and institutions like the Apollo Theater and the Cotton Club. Mastin's work intersected with touring circuits, booking agents, and venues associated with performers including Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, and Judy Garland.

Early life and background

Mastin was born in 1878 in Salem, New Jersey, during a period when minstrel shows, African American vaudeville, and touring troupes such as the Williams and Walker Company and the Irvine–Grace troupe shaped American popular entertainment. He grew up amid the cultural currents linked to cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and touring stops including Atlantic City and Chicago, where impresarios such as Marcus Loew and theater owners like Florenz Ziegfeld influenced booking circuits. Influences on his early style included tap innovators such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and the comedic timing of performers like Bert Williams and Stepin Fetchit.

Career and the Will Mastin Trio

Mastin formed a successful vaudeville unit that became known as the Will Mastin Trio, performing in venues administered by agencies like the William Morris Agency and appearing on bills alongside stars including Al Jolson, Ethel Waters, and Paul Robeson. The Trio's repertoire included tap routines, song-and-dance numbers, and sketches that fit into bills at the Apollo Theater, the Savoy Theatre (Glasgow), and revue houses frequented by patrons of the Ziegfeld Follies and touring circuits run by Orpheum Circuit and Keith-Albee-Orpheum. Their collaborations brought them into contact with composers and arrangers tied to Broadway productions by George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter; they also performed in nightclubs alongside entertainers like Lena Horne and Cab Calloway.

The Trio adapted as vaudeville declined and musical theater and Hollywood rose, appearing on Broadway and in variety programs that connected with the emerging radio and early television markets. They worked with managers and choreographers who had collaborated with Martha Graham, Ethel Merman, and Busby Berkeley era productions, and they shared stages with swing-era bands such as those led by Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.

Relationship with Sammy Davis Sr. and Sammy Davis Jr.

Mastin mentored Sammy Davis Sr. and became a guardian figure to Sammy Davis Jr. after the young Davis joined the Trio as a child performer. The Trio provided Davis Jr. with training in tap, song, and stagecraft that linked him to traditions embodied by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and introduced him to networks of producers and agents including representatives from the William Morris Agency and managers who worked with artists like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Their association placed Davis within circles that included members of the Rat Pack and collaborators such as Jackie Gleason, Judy Garland, and Pearl Bailey, eventually influencing Davis Jr.'s film and television opportunities.

Mastin's role combined choreography, stage direction, and paternal mentorship; he guided repertoire choices and stage business, helping Davis Jr. navigate transitions from vaudeville to Broadway, Hollywood, and high-profile nightclub engagements at venues such as the Copacabana (nightclub) and headline residencies associated with promoters like MCA Inc..

Personal life and legacy

Mastin's personal life reflected long-term ties to touring communities and theatrical families in New York City and on the national vaudeville circuit. His legacy is preserved through the careers he nurtured, archival collections at institutions like the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and performance histories chronicled by historians of American theater and African American entertainment, who also study figures like Bert Williams, Paul Robeson, and Josephine Baker. The Trio's influence is noted in biographies of Sammy Davis Jr. and in retrospectives about the transition from vaudeville to mid-20th-century popular entertainment involving producers such as Samuel Goldwyn and David O. Selznick.

Mastin is associated with a lineage of African American performers who bridged minstrel, vaudeville, and mainstream stages alongside contemporaries like Bill Robinson and Florence Mills, and his mentorship contributed to the diversity of talent represented in mid-century venues and media outlets such as NBC and CBS variety programs.

Death and tributes

Mastin died in 1979; his death was noted in obituaries that connected him to the career and public persona of Sammy Davis Jr. and the broader history of vaudeville. Tributes and reminiscences appeared in publications and programs that discussed the development of American popular music and theater, referencing institutions such as the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, museums like the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and documentary projects about entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Ella Fitzgerald. Posthumous recognition often situates him within narratives alongside performers who influenced twentieth-century staging and choreography, including Ethel Waters and Noble Sissle.

Category:American dancers Category:Vaudeville performers Category:1878 births Category:1979 deaths