Willie Best Overview:

Character actor, Willie Best, was born on May 27, 1913 in Sunflower, MS. Best died at the age of 48 on Feb 27, 1962 in Hollywood, CA .

MINI BIO:

American performer who became the epitome of the black servant who panicked at the slightest provocation. The image was much castigated in later years but Best, who was initially billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat," after a character he played, milked it to great effect, especially in comic chillers. Busy in television after his film career until he became terminally ill with the cancer that killed him at 48.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Film Character Actors: an Illustrated Directory).

HONORS and AWARDS:

.

BlogHub Articles:

No article for at this time. Submit yours here.

Willie Best Quotes:

Alex: I just love talking to luggage. I used to be a porter.


Larry Lawrence: Must have been a frog in my throat.
Alex: It's better than havin' a knife in it.


Archibald Featherstone: I'll stay here and reconnoiter.
Driver: Don't get hurt doin' it.
Archibald Featherstone: You go and fetch the bobbies.
Driver: Yeah, I'll get the police too!


read more quotes from Willie Best...



Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
Also a Gemini






See All Geminis >>
Willie Best Facts
In his earliest film appearances, in the early 1930s, if he was given screen credit he was billed as "Sleep 'n' Eat".

He came to Hollywood serving as a chauffeur for a Mississippi white couple on vacation, and decided to stay and seek a career in show business.

Bob Hope referred to Best, as his comedic co-star in The Ghost Breakers (1940), as one of the finest talents he had ever worked with.

See All Related Facts >>