Willie Best

Acting

Willie Best

Born 1913-05-27 Sunflower, Mississippi, USA 118 films

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…

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Filmography

118 films
Racing Lady poster

A shrewd millionaire who owns races horses for publicity for his automobile business, claims owners…

Racing Lady

★ 6.0 1937

Deep South poster

1937 short film nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Short Subject, Two Reel.

Deep South

★ 7.3 1937

Night Waitress poster

Helen Roberts, who's on probation, goes back to work as a waitress at Torre's Fish Palace, a San Fr…

Night Waitress

★ 6.4 1936

General Spanky poster

Orphaned shoeshine boy Spanky is working on a Mississippi riverboat during the Civil War. There he…

General Spanky

★ 5.8 1936

Mummy's Boys poster

Wheeler & Woolsey comedy about two moronic ditch diggers, recruited for an archaeology expedition,…

Mummy's Boys

★ 5.0 1936