[1] He often produced and played minstrel shows with George H. Primrose, first with a minstrel troupe owned by J. H. Haverly, and later in a show known as Primrose and West starring entertainers Milt G. Barlow and George Wilson, under the management of Henry J. Sayers.

Primrose and West had a hit, and they came to be called "The Millionaires of Minstrelsy".

[2] He became the sole producer of the supposedly Richest and Costliest Minstrel Organization in Existence: West's Big Minstrel Jubilee, which featured some of the leading performers of the day, always ending with the cast, in blackface, singing songs of the period.

His brides were: With the exception of Lizette Morris, all of the wives of West appeared on stage with him in various productions throughout the US.

[1] He was buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.