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IMDbPro

Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson(1905-1977)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
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Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson
Home Video Trailer from Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Play trailer1:04
The Jack Benny Program (1950–1965)
4 Videos
83 Photos
The son of a minstrel and circus tightrope walker, Eddie Anderson developed a gravel voice early in life which would become his trademark to fame. He joined his older brother Cornelius as members of "The Three Black Aces" during his vaudeville years, singing for pennies in the hotel lobby. He eventually moved his way up to the Roxy and Apollo theaters in New York, which led to the Los Angeles Cotton Club in the west.

He began to appear in films, typically in servile bits, his best being the featured role of "Noah" in The Green Pastures (1936). He continued in that vein until a chance pairing with comedy star Jack Benny on his radio program in 1937 put him on the map. He only had a bit part on Benny's Easter show as a Pullman porter, but his scratchy voice, superb timing and comic reaction to Benny's banter earned him a fixed spot. He then was heard as Benny's personal valet, Rochester Van Jones, and the role became so popular that he became billed as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.

In between radio assignments, he found the time to appear in both film drama and comedies, including You Can't Take It with You (1938), Kentucky (1938), Jezebel (1938), and three with Benny - Man About Town (1939), Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) and Love Thy Neighbor (1940). After the films Brewster's Millions (1945) and The Show-Off (1946), Anderson concentrated on his partnership with Jack Benny, following him into television and working with him for a total of 23 years. He returned to the screen for It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) but ill health eventually forced him into retirement. He died of long-standing heart problems in 1977.
BornSeptember 18, 1905
DiedFebruary 28, 1977(71)
BornSeptember 18, 1905
DiedFebruary 28, 1977(71)
IMDbProStarmeter
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Photos83

Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson and Jimmy the Crow in You Can't Take It with You (1938)
Jack Benny and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
Spencer Tracy, Peter Falk, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Sid Caesar, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, and Terry-Thomas in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, Dick Shawn, and Terry-Thomas in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Spencer Tracy, Peter Falk, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, Dick Shawn, Phil Silvers, and Terry-Thomas in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Spencer Tracy, Peter Falk, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, Jonathan Winters, Edie Adams, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Dorothy Provine, Phil Silvers, and Terry-Thomas in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Peter Falk and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett, and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Jack Benny and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
Jack Benny and Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson in The Meanest Man in the World (1943)
Jack Benny, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, George Balzer, Dennis Day, Frederick De Cordova, Irving Fein, Hal Goldman, Sam Perrin, and Don Wilson
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson and Slicker the Seal in Topper Returns (1941)

Known for

James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Spring Byington, Edward Arnold, Mischa Auer, Samuel S. Hinds, Donald Meek, Ann Miller, and H.B. Warner in You Can't Take It with You (1938)
You Can't Take It with You
7.8
  • Donald(as Eddie Anderson)
  • 1938
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
7.5
  • Second Cab Driver
  • 1963
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Cabin in the Sky
7.1
  • Little Joe Jackson
  • 1943
Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939)
Gone with the Wind
8.2
  • Uncle Peter - Her Coachman(as Eddie Anderson)
  • 1939

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Nicole Jaffe, Casey Kasem, Don Messick, Heather North, and Frank Welker in The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972)
    The New Scooby-Doo Movies
    • (voice, uncredited)
  • Harlem Globe Trotters (1970)
    Harlem Globe Trotters
    • (voice, as Eddie Anderson)
  • Love, American Style (1969)
    Love, American Style
  • It Takes a Thief (1968)
    It Takes a Thief
  • Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
    The Jack Benny Program
    • ...
  • It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
    It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
  • John Forsythe, Noreen Corcoran, and Sammee Tong in Bachelor Father (1957)
    Bachelor Father
    • (as Eddie Anderson)
  • The Mouse That Jack Built (1959)
    The Mouse That Jack Built
    • (voice, as Rochester)
  • The Green Pastures
  • The Green Pastures
    • (as Eddie Anderson)
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
    The Red Skelton Hour
  • Marilyn Maxwell and Red Skelton in The Show-Off (1946)
    The Show-Off
  • The Sailor Takes a Wife (1945)
    The Sailor Takes a Wife
  • Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Leslie Brooks, and Phil Harris in I Love a Bandleader (1945)
    I Love a Bandleader
    • (as Rochester)

Soundtrack

  • That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
    That's Entertainment, Part II
    • (uncredited)
  • Jack Benny in The Jack Benny Program (1950)
    The Jack Benny Program
    • ...
  • Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Leslie Brooks, and Phil Harris in I Love a Bandleader (1945)
    I Love a Bandleader
    • (as Rochester)
  • Dennis O'Keefe and Helen Walker in Brewster's Millions (1945)
    Brewster's Millions
    • (uncredited)
  • Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Freddy Martin, and Ann Miller in What's Buzzin', Cousin? (1943)
    What's Buzzin', Cousin?
    • ("Ain't That Just Like a Man", uncredited)
  • Cabin in the Sky (1943)
    Cabin in the Sky
  • Jack Benny and Priscilla Lane in The Meanest Man in the World (1943)
    The Meanest Man in the World
    • ("Down Argentina Way", uncredited)
  • Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Bing Crosby, Susan Hayward, Bob Hope, Ray Milland, Paulette Goddard, Betty Hutton, Walter Abel, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Eddie Bracken, Macdonald Carey, Jerry Colonna, Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray, Mary Martin, Victor Moore, Dick Powell, Marjorie Reynolds, Betty Jane Rhodes, Franchot Tone, Vera Zorina, and The Golden Gate Quartette in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)
    Star Spangled Rhythm
  • Don Ameche, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Virginia Dale, Oscar Levant, and Mary Martin in Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1941)
    Kiss the Boys Goodbye
  • Jack Benny, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Andy Devine, and Ellen Drew in Buck Benny Rides Again (1940)
    Buck Benny Rides Again
    • (uncredited)
  • Jack Benny, Binnie Barnes, and Dorothy Lamour in Man About Town (1939)
    Man About Town

Videos4

Trailer
Trailer 1:37
Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 1:53
Trailer
The Green Pastures
Trailer 3:48
The Green Pastures
The Jack Benny Program Collection
Trailer 1:04
The Jack Benny Program Collection

Personal details

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    • September 18, 1905
    • Oakland, California, USA
    • February 28, 1977
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(heart ailment)
    • February 8, 1956 - November 1971 (divorced, 3 children)
  • Publicity listings
    • 13 Portrayals
    • 5 Articles

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    His adopted son, Billy, once played professional football with the Chicago Bears, and was a world class hurdler. He held the world Junior College high hurdle record and just missed making the 1948 & 1952 U.S. Olympic teams.

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