Willie Best
Personal Info
Know For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1913-05-27 (49 years old)
Deathday
1962-11-27
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. Although several sour...
Acting
1952
as Male Model
1938
as Porter
1939
as Hotel Janitor (uncredited)
1942
1943
as Hipp
1939
as Baltimore
1941
as Algernon
1930
as Janitor
1940
as Alex
1935
as Shoe Shine Man (uncredited)
1942
as Waiter
1935
as James Henry
1945
as Chattanooga Brown
1946
as Chattanooga Brown
1939
as Apollo Johnson
1936
as 'High-Pockets'
1941
as Bub Wellington
1941
as Clarence
1942
as Eustis, the chauffeur
1934
as Dizzy Memphis (uncredited)
1935
as Willie (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
1943
as Second Idea Man
1946
as Shadrach
1941
as Samuel
1942
as Euclid White Brown
1942
as Jo-Mo
1942
as Sam (Uncredited)
1942
as Sunshine
1945
as Porter (uncredited)
1945
as Lucille, Colonial Auto Court Porter
1944
as Woodrow
1941
as Willie
1941
as George
1937
as Warts, Martin's manservant
1936
as Noah
1941
as Arnold
1946
as Joe
1945
as Flash
1940
as Andrew
1944
as Mo' Rum (uncredited)
1938
as Jughead
1940
as George Washington Jones
1936
as Janitor at Spivali's Bar (uncredited)
1938
as George
1938
as Joshua
1937
as Bootblack
1937
as Sam
1947
as Jackson
1937
1937
as McTavish
1943
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
1938
as George
1937
as Airport Porter (uncredited)
1943
as Steward (uncredited)
1945
as Willie Shelley
1935
as Elevator Operator
1931
as Laundryman
1938
as Jasper - Elevator Operator
1939
as Redcap (uncredited)
1936
as Eph
1936
as Catfish
1938
as Porter on Train
1935
as Sleepy
1934
as Buckshot (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
1935
1939
as Algernon, Simon's Butler (Uncredited)
1939
as Launch Pilot
1939
as Chimney Sweep
1939
as Driver (uncredited)
1951
as Willie, Stable Boy
1939
as Art, Elevator Operator
1936
as Smokie
1939
as Bunny - the Janitor (uncredited)
1935
as Sam
1937
as Brass
1937
as Airline Porter (uncredited)
1936
as Black Pedestrian
1938
as Train Porter (uncredited)
1944
as Red Cap (uncredited)
1930
as George (uncredited)
1940
as Newsboy (uncredited)
1940
as Sambo
1947
as Porter on Train
1936
as Henry - the Angel (uncredited)
1934
as Jonah (as Sleep 'n' Eat)
1936
as Drowsy
1944
as Men's Room Attendant (uncredited)
1941
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1935
as Apollo
1938
as Train Porter
1935
as Pompey
1936
as Henry
1943
as Soldier in "Ice Cold Katie" Number (uncredited)
1938
as Porter
1936
as Excitement
1932
as Exodus (as Sleep n' Eat)
1943
as Bones
1962
as Charlie (archive footage)
2004
as Self (archive footage)
1938
as Hannibal
1975
as Self (archive footage)
1948
as Willie Best
1937
as Speed
1948
as Andy Jones
1941
as George
1944
as Butler
1941
as Hipp
1939
as Norton's Valet
1941
as Singer
1931
as Luftus
1931
as Club Merlin Doorman (uncredited)
1941
as Willie
1941
as Hot-Breath Harry (voice) (uncredited)
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