Willie Best

William Willie Best May 27 1916 February 27 1962 sometimes known as Sleep n Eat was an American television and film actor Best was one of the first AfricanAmerican 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 andor simpleminded characters in films Of the 124 films he appeared in he received screen credit in at least 77 an unusual feat for an AfricanAmerican 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 Sleep n Eat Best received credit under this moniker instead of his real name in only six movies his first film as a bit player Harold Lloyds 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 the best actor I know 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 serviceoriented 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 bit players 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 room service waiter or shoeshine boy beginning with his second film Best played Chattanooga Brown in two Charlie Chan films The Red Dragon in 1945 and Dangerous Money in 1946 He also played the character of Hipp in three of RKOs 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 Bests Hipp in the first film went on to play Hipp 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 Charlie the Elevator Operator on CBSs My Little Margie from 1953 to 1955 He also played Willie the house servant handyman and close friend of the title character of ABCs The Trouble with Father for its entire run from 1950 to 1955