Willie Best

Known For: Acting
Born: May 27, 1913
Place of Birth: Sunflower, Mississippi, USA
Died: November 27, 1962

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 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 Lloyd's Feet First) and in Up Pops the Devil (1931), The Monste…

Filmography

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

2004 · Self (archive footage)

Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

2001 · Self (archive footage)

Bob Hope's World of Comedy

Bob Hope's World of Comedy

1976 · Self - Tribute Montage (archive footage)

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

1975 · Self (archive footage)

Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy

1962 · Charlie (archive footage)

Waterfront

1954 · Billy Slocum

Meet the O'Briens

1954 · Willie

My Little Margie

1952

Ellis in Freedomland

1952 · Male Model

South of Caliente

1951 · Willie, Stable Boy

Racket Squad

1951

The Stu Erwin Show

1950 · Willie

The Shanghai Chest

1948 · Willie Best

Half Past Midnight

1948 · Andy Jones

The Red Stallion

1947 · Jackson

Suddenly It's Spring

1947 · Porter on Train

Dangerous Money

1946 · Chattanooga Brown

The Bride Wore Boots

1946 · Joe

The Face of Marble

1946 · Shadrach

She Wouldn't Say Yes

1945 · Porter (uncredited)

Hold That Blonde!

1945 · Willie Shelley

The Red Dragon

1945 · Chattanooga Brown

Pillow to Post

1945 · Lucille, Colonial Auto Court Porter

The Monster and the Ape

1945 · Flash

Music for Millions

1944 · Red Cap (uncredited)

The Mark of the Whistler

1944 · Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)

The Girl Who Dared

1944 · Woodrow

The Adventures of Mark Twain

1944 · Butler

Home in Indiana

1944 · Mo' Rum (uncredited)

Thank Your Lucky Stars

1943 · Soldier in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)

The Kansan

1943 · Bones

Dixie

1943 · Steward (uncredited)

Cabin in the Sky

1943 · Second Idea Man

Cinderella Swings It

1943 · Hipp

The Powers Girl

1943 · Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)

The Hidden Hand

1942 · Eustis, the chauffeur

Scattergood Survives a Murder

1942 · Hipp

Busses Roar

1942 · Sunshine

A-Haunting We Will Go

1942 · Waiter

Maisie Gets Her Man

1942 · Sam (Uncredited)

Juke Girl

1942 · Jo-Mo

Whispering Ghosts

1942 · Euclid White Brown

The Body Disappears

1941 · Willie

Breakdowns of 1941

1941 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Nothing but the Truth

1941 · Samuel

The Smiling Ghost

1941 · Clarence

Minstrel Days

1941 · Singer

Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B"

1941 · Hot-Breath Harry (voice) (uncredited)

Highway West

1941 · Bub Wellington

Kisses for Breakfast

1941 · Arnold

The Lady from Cheyenne

1941 · George

Scattergood Baines

1941 · Hipp

Road Show

1941 · Willie

Flight from Destiny

1941 · George

High Sierra

1941 · Algernon

Who Killed Aunt Maggie?

1940 · Andrew

Money and the Woman

1940 · George Washington Jones

The Ghost Breakers

1940 · Alex

Blondie on a Budget

1940 · Newsboy (uncredited)

I Take This Woman

1940 · Sambo

Slightly Honorable

1939 · Art, Elevator Operator

Private Detective

1939 · Norton's Valet

The Covered Trailer

1939 · Baltimore

Blondie Brings Up Baby

1939 · Hotel Janitor (uncredited)

At the Circus

1939 · Redcap (uncredited)

Blackmail

1939 · Bunny - the Janitor (uncredited)

Way Down South

1939 · Chimney Sweep

Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation

1939 · Driver (uncredited)

Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter

1939 · Apollo Johnson

Mr. Moto in Danger Island

1939 · Launch Pilot

The Saint Strikes Back

1939 · Algernon, Simon's Butler (Uncredited)

Blondie

1938 · Porter

Spring Madness

1938 · Porter on Train

Straight, Place and Show

1938 · Hannibal

Youth Takes a Fling

1938 · George

I'm from the City

1938 · Train Porter

Vivacious Lady

1938 · Porter

Goodbye Broadway

1938 · Jughead

Merrily We Live

1938 · George

Gold Is Where You Find It

1938 · Joshua

Everybody's Doing It

1938 · Jasper - Elevator Operator

Crashing Hollywood

1938 · Train Porter (uncredited)

Saturday's Heroes

1937 · Sam

The Lady Fights Back

The Lady Fights Back

1937 · McTavish

Mississippi Moods

Mississippi Moods

1937

Super-Sleuth

1937 · Warts, Martin's manservant

Meet the Missus

1937 · Bootblack

You Can't Buy Luck

1937 · Airline Porter (uncredited)

Breezing Home

1937 · Speed

Racing Lady

1937 · Brass

We Who Are About to Die

1937 · Airport Porter (uncredited)

Deep South

1937

Night Waitress

1936 · Black Pedestrian

General Spanky

1936 · Henry

Thank You, Jeeves!

1936 · Drowsy

Mummy's Boys

1936 · Catfish

Down the Stretch

1936 · Noah

The Green Pastures

1936 · Henry - the Angel (uncredited)

The Bride Walks Out

1936 · Smokie

Murder on a Bridle Path

1936 · 'High-Pockets'

Two in Revolt

1936 · Eph

Silly Billies

1936 · Excitement

Muss 'em Up

1936 · Janitor at Spivali's Bar (uncredited)

The Littlest Rebel

1935 · James Henry

To Beat the Band

1935 · Elevator Operator

Hot Tip

1935 · Apollo

Jalna

1935 · Sam

The Arizonian

1935 · Pompey

The Nitwits

1935 · Sleepy

Hit and Rum

1935 · Shoe Shine Man (uncredited)

Raised and Called

Raised and Called

1935

Murder on a Honeymoon

1935 · Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)

Horse Heir

1935

West of the Pecos

1934 · Jonah (as Sleep 'n' Eat)

Kentucky Kernels

1934 · Buckshot (as Sleep 'n' Eat)

Little Miss Marker

1934 · Dizzy Memphis (uncredited)

The Monster Walks

1932 · Exodus (as Sleep n' Eat)

The Guilty Generation

1931 · Club Merlin Doorman (uncredited)

Up Pops the Devil

1931 · Laundryman

Virtuous Husband

1931 · Luftus

Feet First

1930 · Janitor

Ladies of Leisure

1930 · George (uncredited)

Willie Best · Virelixia