He moved into vaudeville in 1911, and established his own company, writing prolifically and touring between bases in Atlanta, Kansas City, Savannah and elsewhere.
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.
[2][3] From 1923 until 1925 he took his Billy King Road Show on tour until it disbanded in Oklahoma City.
In 1937 he was elected president of the Colored Actors' Protective Society in New York City.