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. 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 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 “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 “shoe-shine 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 RKO’s 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 Best’s “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 ABC’s The Trouble with Father, for its entire run from 1950 to 1955.

영화 산업 unavailable from Willie Best

Ellis in Freedomland

Male Model

영화 1952

Blondie

Porter

영화 1938

Blondie Brings Up Baby

Hotel Janitor (uncredited)

영화 1939

Scattergood Survives a Murder

Hipp

영화 1942

Cinderella Swings It

Hipp

영화 1943

The Covered Trailer

Baltimore

영화 1939

Feet First

Janitor

영화 1930

The Ghost Breakers

Alex

영화 1940

Hit and Rum

Shoe Shine Man (uncredited)

영화 1935

The Red Dragon

Chattanooga Brown

영화 1945

Highway West

Bub Wellington

영화 1941

Little Miss Marker

Dizzy Memphis (uncredited)

영화 1934

Murder on a Honeymoon

Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)

영화 1935

The Face of Marble

Shadrach

영화 1946

Nothing But the Truth

Samuel

영화 1941

Juke Girl

Jo-Mo

영화 1942

Maisie Gets Her Man

Sam (Uncredited)

영화 1942

She Wouldn't Say Yes

Porter (uncredited)

영화 1945

The Girl Who Dared

Woodrow

영화 1944

The Lady from Cheyenne

George

영화 1941

Kisses for Breakfast

Arnold

영화 1941

The Monster and the Ape

Flash

영화 1945

Raised and Called

영화 1935

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?

Andrew

영화 1940

Home in Indiana

Mo' Rum (uncredited)

영화 1944

Goodbye Broadway

Jughead

영화 1938

Money and the Woman

George Washington Jones

영화 1940

Muss 'em Up

Janitor at Spivali's Bar (uncredited)

영화 1936

Meet the Missus

Bootblack

영화 1937

Saturday's Heroes

Sam

영화 1937

Deep South

영화 1937

The Lady Fights Back

McTavish

영화 1937

The Powers Girl

Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)

영화 1943

Youth Takes a Fling

George

영화 1938

We Who Are About to Die

Airport Porter (uncredited)

영화 1937

Dixie

Steward (uncredited)

영화 1943

Hold That Blonde!

Willie Shelley

영화 1945

Everybody's Doing It

Jasper - Elevator Operator

영화 1938

At the Circus

Redcap (uncredited)

영화 1939

Two in Revolt

Eph

영화 1936

Mummy's Boys

Catfish

영화 1936

Kentucky Kernels

Buckshot (as Sleep 'n' Eat)

영화 1934

Horse Heir

영화 1935

The Saint Strikes Back

Algernon, Simon's Butler (Uncredited)

영화 1939

Way Down South

Chimney Sweep

영화 1939

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

Driver (uncredited)

영화 1939

South of Caliente

Willie, Stable Boy

영화 1951

Blackmail

Bunny - the Janitor (uncredited)

영화 1939

You Can't Buy Luck

Airline Porter (uncredited)

영화 1937

Night Waitress

Black Pedestrian

영화 1936

Crashing Hollywood

Train Porter (uncredited)

영화 1938

Music for Millions

Red Cap (uncredited)

영화 1944

Ladies of Leisure

George (uncredited)

영화 1930

Blondie on a Budget

Newsboy (uncredited)

영화 1940

The Green Pastures

Henry - the Angel (uncredited)

영화 1936

The Mark of the Whistler

Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)

영화 1944

Breakdowns of 1941

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

영화 1941

Hot Tip

Apollo

영화 1935

I'm from the City

Train Porter

영화 1938

The Arizonian

Pompey

영화 1935

Mississippi Moods

영화 1937

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Soldier in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)

영화 1943

Silly Billies

Excitement

영화 1936

The Monster Walks

Exodus

영화 1932

Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy

Charlie (archive footage)

영화 1962

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

Self (archive footage)

영화 2004

Straight, Place and Show

Hannibal

영화 1938

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Self (archive footage)

영화 1975

Half Past Midnight

Andy Jones

영화 1948

Flight from Destiny

George

영화 1941

The Adventures of Mark Twain

Butler

영화 1944

Scattergood Baines

Hipp

영화 1941

Private Detective

Norton's Valet

영화 1939

Minstrel Days

Singer

영화 1941

Virtuous Husband

Luftus

영화 1931

The Guilty Generation

Club Merlin Doorman (uncredited)

영화 1931

The Body Disappears

Willie

영화 1941

TV 시리즈 unavailable from Willie Best

My Little Margie

Tv 1952

Racket Squad

Tv 1951

Waterfront

Billy Slocum

Tv 1954