Cast
Willie Best
Acting
Cast
Willie Best
Known for
Acting
Born
1913-05-27
From
Sunflower, Mississippi, USA
Died
1962-11-27
Also known as Sleep 'n' Eat, Sleep 'n Eat, Sleep n' Eat
Biography
William âWillieâ Best (May 27, 1916 - February 27, 1962), sometimes known as âSleep n' Eat,â was an American television and film actor. Best was one of the first African-American film actors and comedians to become well known. In the 21st century, his work, like that of Stepin Fetchit, is sometimes reviled because he was often called upon to play stereotypically lazy, illiterate, and/or simple-minded characters in films. Of the 124 films he appeared in, he received screen credit in at least 77, an unusual feat for an African-American bit player. Willie Best appeared in more than one hundred films of the 1930s and 1940s. Although several sources state that for years he was billed only as âSleep n' Eat,â Best received credit under this moniker instead of his real name in only six movies: his first film as a bit player (Harold Lloyd's Feet First) and in Up Pops the Devil (1931), The Monster Walks (1932), Kentucky Kernels and West of the Pecos (both 1934), and Murder on a Honeymoon (1935). Best was first loved as a great clown, then later in the 20th century reviled and pitied, before being forgotten in the history of film. Hal Roach called him one of the greatest talents he had ever met. Comedian Bob Hope similarly acclaimed him as âthe best actor I know,â while the two were working together in 1940 on The Ghost Breakers. As a supporting actor, Best, like many black actors of his era, was regularly cast in domestic worker or service-oriented roles (though a few times he played the role echoing his previous occupation as a private chauffeur). He was often seen making a brief comic turn as a hotel, airline or train porter, as well as an elevator operator, custodian, butler, valet, waiter, deliveryman, and at least once as a launch pilot (in the 1939 movie Mr. Moto in Danger Island). Willie Best received screen credit most of the time, which was unusual for âbit players,â most in the 1930s and '40s were not accorded due credit. This also happened to white actors in small roles, but black actors were not credited even when their roles were larger. In more than 80 of his movies, he was given a proper character name (as opposed to simple descriptions such as âroom service waiterâ or âshoe-shine boyâ), beginning with his second film. Best played âChattanooga Brownâ in two Charlie Chan films âThe Red Dragon in 1945 and Dangerous Money in 1946. He also played the character of âHippâ in three of RKOâs six Scattergood Baines films with Guy Kibbee: Scattergood Baines (1941), Scattergood Survives a Murder (1942), and Cinderella Swings It in 1943. (Actor Paul White, who played a young version of Bestâs âHippâ in the first film, went on to play âHippâ in the next three films. Best returned to the role in the last two.) After a drug arrest ended his film career, he worked in television for a while and became known to early TV audiences as âCharlie the Elevator Operatorâ on CBS's My Little Margie, from 1953 to 1955. He also played Willie, the house servant, handyman and close friend of the title character of ABCâs The Trouble with Father, for its entire run from 1950 to 1955.
Racing Lady
as Brass
Juke Girl
as Jo-Mo
Blondie
as Porter
Vivacious Lady
as Porter
Hot Tip
as Apollo
Whispering Ghosts
as Euclid White Brown
Blackmail
as Bunny - the Janitor (uncredited)
Road Show
as Willie
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
Jalna
as Sam
High Sierra
as Algernon
Kisses for Breakfast
as Arnold
Merrily We Live
as George
Silly Billies
as Excitement
The Ghost Breakers
as Alex
Blondie on a Budget
as Newsboy (uncredited)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
Ellis in Freedomland
as Male Model
She Wouldn't Say Yes
as Porter (uncredited)
Dixie
as Steward (uncredited)
At the Circus
as Redcap (uncredited)
Cinderella Swings It
as Hipp
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
as Driver (uncredited)
Spring Madness
as Porter on Train
A-Haunting We Will Go
as Waiter
Slightly Honorable
as Art, Elevator Operator
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Soldier in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bob Hope's World of Comedy
as Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)
We Who Are About to Die
as Airport Porter (uncredited)
Virtuous Husband
as Luftus
The Littlest Rebel
as James Henry
Feet First
as Janitor
Nothing but the Truth
as Samuel
Murder on a Bridle Path
as 'High-Pockets'
The Girl Who Dared
as Woodrow
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Joshua
Ladies of Leisure
as George (uncredited)
The Kansan
as Bones
Super-Sleuth
as Warts, Martin's manservant
The Shanghai Chest
as Willie Best
Muss 'em Up
as Janitor at Spivali's Bar (uncredited)
The Arizonian
as Pompey
Everybody's Doing It
as Jasper - Elevator Operator
Suddenly It's Spring
as Porter on Train
The Saint Strikes Back
as Algernon, Simon's Butler (Uncredited)
The Bride Walks Out
as Smokie
Busses Roar
as Sunshine
The Powers Girl
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
The Red Stallion
as Jackson
Blondie Brings Up Baby
as Hotel Janitor (uncredited)
Dangerous Money
as Chattanooga Brown
Murder on a Honeymoon
as Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
Flight from Destiny
as George
I Take This Woman
as Sambo
Cabin in the Sky
as Second Idea Man
The Bride Wore Boots
as Joe
Money and the Woman
as George Washington Jones
To Beat the Band
as Elevator Operator
The Mark of the Whistler
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
Meet the Missus
as Bootblack
Two in Revolt
as Eph
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
as Launch Pilot
The Lady Fights Back
as McTavish
Highway West
as Bub Wellington
Little Miss Marker
as Dizzy Memphis (uncredited)
The Body Disappears
as Willie
Scattergood Survives a Murder
as Hipp
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Sam (Uncredited)
Pillow to Post
as Lucille, Colonial Auto Court Porter
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
as Apollo Johnson
The Adventures of Mark Twain
as Butler
Hold That Blonde!
as Willie Shelley
Youth Takes a Fling
as George
Private Detective
as Norton's Valet
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B"
as Hot-Breath Harry (voice) (uncredited)
South of Caliente
as Willie, Stable Boy
The Lady from Cheyenne
as George
The Smiling Ghost
as Clarence
Saturday's Heroes
as Sam
Night Waitress
as Black Pedestrian
The Monster and the Ape
as Flash
West of the Pecos
as Jonah (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
Crashing Hollywood
as Train Porter (uncredited)
The Green Pastures
as Henry - the Angel (uncredited)
Kentucky Kernels
as Buckshot (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
General Spanky
as Henry
Home in Indiana
as Mo' Rum (uncredited)
Thank You, Jeeves!
as Drowsy
Way Down South
as Chimney Sweep
The Red Dragon
as Chattanooga Brown
The Nitwits
as Sleepy
The Guilty Generation
as Club Merlin Doorman (uncredited)
The Hidden Hand
as Eustis, the chauffeur
Scattergood Baines
as Hipp
Hit and Rum
as Shoe Shine Man (uncredited)
Down the Stretch
as Noah
Breezing Home
as Speed
Music for Millions
as Red Cap (uncredited)
Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy
as Charlie (archive footage)
The Face of Marble
as Shadrach
Half Past Midnight
as Andy Jones
Deep South
Straight, Place and Show
as Hannibal
Mummy's Boys
as Catfish
Goodbye Broadway
as Jughead
I'm from the City
as Train Porter
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
as Andrew
Horse Heir
You Can't Buy Luck
as Airline Porter (uncredited)
The Monster Walks
as Exodus (as Sleep n' Eat)
The Covered Trailer
as Baltimore
Up Pops the Devil
as Laundryman
Raised and Called
Mississippi Moods
Minstrel Days
as Singer
Meet the O'Briens
as Willie