Willie Best

Personal Info

Birthday

May 27, 1913

Day of Death

1962-11-27

(49 years old)

Place of Birth

Sunflower, Mississippi, USA

Also Known As

Sleep 'n' Eat

Sleep 'n Eat

Sleep n' Eat

Willie Best

Biography

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 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.

Known For

Waterfront

The Stu Erwin Show

The Ghost Breakers

High Sierra

Youth Takes a Fling

Jalna

Hit and Rum

At the Circus

Filmography

2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
1975
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1962
Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy
as Charlie (archive footage)
1952
Ellis in Freedomland
as Male Model
1951
South of Caliente
as Willie, Stable Boy
1948
The Shanghai Chest
as Willie Best
Half Past Midnight
as Andy Jones
1947
The Red Stallion
as Jackson
Suddenly It's Spring
as Porter on Train
1946
Dangerous Money
as Chattanooga Brown
The Bride Wore Boots
as Joe
The Face of Marble
as Shadrach
1945
She Wouldn't Say Yes
as Porter (uncredited)
Hold That Blonde!
as Willie Shelley
The Red Dragon
as Chattanooga Brown
Pillow to Post
as Lucille, Colonial Auto Court Porter
The Monster and the Ape
as Flash
1944
Music for Millions
as Red Cap (uncredited)
The Mark of the Whistler
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
The Girl Who Dared
as Woodrow
The Adventures of Mark Twain
as Butler
Home in Indiana
as Mo' Rum (uncredited)
1943
Thank Your Lucky Stars
as Soldier in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)
The Kansan
as Bones
Dixie
as Steward (uncredited)
Cabin in the Sky
as Second Idea Man
Cinderella Swings It
as Hipp
The Powers Girl
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
1942
The Hidden Hand
as Eustis, the chauffeur
Scattergood Survives a Murder
as Hipp
Busses Roar
as Sunshine
A-Haunting We Will Go
as Waiter
Maisie Gets Her Man
as Sam (Uncredited)
Juke Girl
as Jo-Mo
Whispering Ghosts
as Euclid White Brown
1941
The Body Disappears
as Willie
Breakdowns of 1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nothing But the Truth
as Samuel
The Smiling Ghost
as Clarence
Minstrel Days
as Singer
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B"
as Hot-Breath Harry (voice) (uncredited)
Highway West
as Bub Wellington
Kisses for Breakfast
as Arnold
The Lady from Cheyenne
as George
Scattergood Baines
as Hipp
Road Show
as Willie
Flight from Destiny
as George
High Sierra
as Algernon
1940
Who Killed Aunt Maggie?
as Andrew
Money and the Woman
as George Washington Jones
The Ghost Breakers
as Alex
Blondie on a Budget
as Newsboy (uncredited)
I Take This Woman
as Sambo
1939
Slightly Honorable
as Art, Elevator Operator
Private Detective
as Norton's Valet
The Covered Trailer
as Baltimore
Blondie Brings Up Baby
as Hotel Janitor (uncredited)
At the Circus
as Redcap (uncredited)
Blackmail
as Bunny - the Janitor (uncredited)
Way Down South
as Chimney Sweep
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation
as Driver (uncredited)
Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter
as Apollo Johnson
Mr. Moto in Danger Island
as Launch Pilot
The Saint Strikes Back
as Algernon, Simon's Butler (Uncredited)
1938
Blondie
as Porter
Spring Madness
as Porter on Train
Straight, Place and Show
as Hannibal
Youth Takes a Fling
as George
I'm from the City
as Train Porter
Vivacious Lady
as Porter
Goodbye Broadway
as Jughead
Merrily We Live
as George
Gold Is Where You Find It
as Joshua
Everybody's Doing It
as Jasper - Elevator Operator
Crashing Hollywood
as Train Porter (uncredited)
1937
Saturday's Heroes
as Sam
The Lady Fights Back
as McTavish
Super-Sleuth
as Warts, Martin's manservant
Meet the Missus
as Bootblack
You Can't Buy Luck
as Airline Porter (uncredited)
Breezing Home
as Speed
Racing Lady
as Brass
We Who Are About to Die
as Airport Porter (uncredited)
1936
Night Waitress
as Black Pedestrian
General Spanky
as Henry
Thank You, Jeeves!
as Drowsy
Mummy's Boys
as Catfish
Down the Stretch
as Noah
The Green Pastures
as Henry - the Angel (uncredited)
The Bride Walks Out
as Smokie
Murder on a Bridle Path
as 'High-Pockets'
Two in Revolt
as Eph
Silly Billies
as Excitement
Muss 'em Up
as Janitor at Spivali's Bar (uncredited)
1935
The Littlest Rebel
as James Henry
To Beat the Band
as Elevator Operator
Hot Tip
as Apollo
Jalna
as Sam
The Arizonian
as Pompey
The Nitwits
as Sleepy
Hit and Rum
as Shoe Shine Man (uncredited)
Murder on a Honeymoon
as Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
1934
West of the Pecos
as Jonah (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
Kentucky Kernels
as Buckshot (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
Little Miss Marker
as Dizzy Memphis (uncredited)
1932
The Monster Walks
as Exodus (as Sleep n' Eat)
1931
The Guilty Generation
as Club Merlin Doorman (uncredited)
Up Pops the Devil
as Laundryman
Virtuous Husband
as Luftus
1930
Feet First
as Janitor
Ladies of Leisure
as George (uncredited)