Biography
Willie Best was an American film and television actor, sometimes credited as Sleep 'n' Eat. He appeared in more than one hundred films of the 1930s and 1940s and received screen credit in at least 77 of them. His credits include Algernon in High Sierra (1941), Alex in The Ghost Breakers (1940), a porter in Vivacious Lady (1938) and George in Merrily We Live (1938).
Best arrived in Hollywood as a chauffeur for a vacationing couple and began performing after being discovered in a stage show. He was billed as Sleep 'n' Eat in six early films, including Feet First (1930). After a period working in television, including regular roles in My Little Margie (1953–1955), his film career ended following a 1951 narcotics arrest.
