Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

Anderson was born in Oakland, California. His father, "Big Ed" Anderson, was a minstrel performer, while his mother Ella Mae had been a tightrope walker until her career was ended by a fall.^[1][2] He described himself as a descendant of slaves who were able to leave the South during the Civil War through the Underground Railroad.^[3] At the age of ten, Anderson and his family moved from Oakland to San Francisco. He left school when he was 14 to work as an errand boy to help his family.^[4]

Stagestruck at an early age, he spent much of his free time waiting at stage doors and playing on street corners with his friend and brother, Cornelius.^[4] Anderson briefly tried being a jockey, but had to abandon it when he became too heavy.^[5] Anderson started in show business as part of an all African American revue at age 14; he had previously won an amateur contest at a vaudeville theater in San Francisco.^[5] Anderson joined the cast of Struttin' Along in 1923 and was part of Steppin' High both as a dancer and as one of the Three Black Aces with his brother Cornelius in 1924.^[5] He later worked in vaudeville with Cornelius.^[1][2] Anderson began adding comedy to his song-and-dance act in 1926. During one of his vaudeville tours to the East Coast, Anderson first met Jack Benny, but they only exchanged greetings and shook hands.^[5]

Anderson's vocal cords were ruptured when he was a youngster selling newspapers in San Francisco, a job that required loud shouting. The permanent damage left him with his trademark gravelly voice.^[6] Anderson started in showbusiness as a dancer, but it was his uniquely recognizable voice that brought him to stardom.^[7][8]

 

Anderson's first appearance on The Jack Benny Program was on March 28, 1937.^[9][10] He was originally hired to play the one-time role of a redcap for a storyline in which the show traveled from Chicago to California by train, which coincided with the show's actual return to NBC's Radio City West in Hollywood after a brief stint in New York.^[11] Anderson, who was working as a comedian in Los Angeles, won the role after an audition.^[12]

Five weeks after Anderson's first appearance on the Benny program, he was called for another role on the show, this time as a waiter in a restaurant serving the cast.^[9] Several weeks later, Anderson was called back once again for the part of a man who had a financial disagreement with Benny.^[13]

After the show received a large amount of mail about Anderson's appearances, Benny invited him to join the cast as his butler and valet Rochester van Jones, making him the first African American with a regular role on a nationwide radio program.^[9][13][14] Anderson first appeared as Rochester on the program of June 20, 1937.^[15]

 

Neither Benny nor Anderson could recall the origin of the name of Rochester for the character.^[16][17] Anderson always credited Benny, saying that the name was copyrighted and that Benny later sold the rights to him for a dollar.^[18] Several episodes offered origin stories for Rochester, including an Amos 'n' Andy backstory.^[19] A later television show explained that Benny met Rochester on a railroad train, with Benny responsible for Rochester being fired and then hiring him as a valet.^[20]

Benny became frustrated with Anderson's habitual tardiness and fined him $50 each time that he arrived late at the studio.^[21] Benny often asked cast members to check on Anderson, who frequently lost track of time, just before travel dates to ensure that he was ready, and occasionally the cast was forced to leave Anderson behind.^[22] In one incident, Anderson sped to the Pasadena train station with an LAPD motorcycle squad escort in order to catch his train.^[21]

The Rochester character became immensely popular. In 1940, a riot ensued when Anderson's arrival at a Harvard University event was delayed by a prank by students from the rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[23][24] Especially after World War II, Rochester was second only to Benny in popularity and frequently received the most enthusiastic applause.^[25] Although he was not normally involved in the opening minutes of the show, he began to surpass Mary Livingstone as Benny's main foil, especially as Livingstone's stage fright caused her to appear less frequently.

Benny's character and Rochester engaged in numerous running gags, often based on Rochester's attempts to evade work or to go to Central Avenue to drink or on Benny's business ventures or trademark frugality. In Rochester's early appearances, a running gag also involved his gambling habits, although this aspect of his character was considerably downplayed after World War II.

 

Although Anderson was born and raised in the Oakland area, he came to the Los Angeles black community in the 1930s in search of film work. The people of the Central Avenue area would hold mock elections to name the "Mayor of Central Avenue," who had the right and the duty to advocate for the black community. In May 1940, Anderson launched a campaign for the post.^[26] From his headquarters at the Dunbar Hotel, Anderson conducted his campaign based mainly on real issues, such as advocacy for black military aviators. He took flying lessons and lectured with a Tuskegee Institute representative about the subject. Anderson won the election.^[26]

Anderson's role as a servant was common for black performers of that era, and the stereotyping of black characters had been standard practice in the entertainment business for many years, often in the form of minstrel shows in which white actors in blackface reinforced negative stereotypes. Benny had broadcast a radio minstrel show on November 1, 1936, with the cast performing in dialect but revisited the subject for a March 29, 1942, show that evinced a great deal of progress in race relations.^[27][28][29]

 

According to Benny's posthumous autobiography Sunday Nights at Seven, the amount of racial humor regarding Rochester lessened following World War II after the enormity of the Holocaust was revealed. Benny and his writers initiated a conscious effort to remove all stereotypical aspects from the Rochester character. When a rehashed 1940 script was used for a February 1950 show that included several black stereotypes, some listeners sent angry letters in protest.^[30] Thereafter, Benny insisted that his writers guarantee that no racial jokes or references should be heard on his show. Benny often afforded key guest-star appearances to African American performers such as Louis Armstrong and the Ink Spots, and Benny made numerous personal appeals on his show asking listeners to reject racism in favor of fraternity and peaceful racial relations.^[31]

The relationship between Rochester and Benny became more complex and familiar as the popularity of Rochester's character grew, with Rochester's role becoming less stereotypical and subservient. However, as a butler, the character remained subservient to the entire cast and was always called Rochester, but he addressed the other characters with formal titles.^[32][33] Although some of the humor remained stereotypical, the racial element of the jokes would emanate from Rochester only.^[34]

During World War II, Benny toured with his show, but Anderson did not participate because discrimination in the armed forces would have required separate living quarters. However, during performances staged before military audiences at bases and military hospitals, Rochester routinely drew enthusiastic applause.^{[citation needed]} In 1943, when Benny brought his show to Canada to perform for Canadian forces, Anderson and his wife received a warm welcome.^[35]

Benny recounted an incident in his autobiography in which he rebuked an American soldier who had expressed bigotry toward Anderson. Benny was also reported to have threatened to move his entire company from a Saint Joseph, Missouri, hotel that denied lodging to Anderson. The hotel relented and allowed Anderson to remain as a guest.^[36] A similar incident occurred in New York, where a hotel manager attempted to relocate Anderson after a couple from the South complained about staying in the same hotel with him. Benny replied by removing his entire cast and crew of 44 from the hotel in a show of solidarity with Anderson.^{[37][full citation needed]}

 

Among the most highly paid performers of his time, Anderson invested wisely and became wealthy. Until the 1950s, Anderson was the highest paid African American actor, earning an annual salary of $100,000.^[38][39] In 1962, Anderson reached Ebony magazine's list of the 100 wealthiest African Americans.^[40] Despite this success, he was so strongly identified with the Rochester role that many mistakenly believed that he was Benny's actual valet. Anderson's frequent visits to Benny's home may have helped perpetuate the myth, as Benny held the first rehearsal each week at his house in Beverly Hills.^[41] One listener, after hearing Rochester's jokes about his low salary, sent Benny a scolding letter and then sent another to Anderson urging him to sue Benny.^[38]

When Benny brought his show to television in 1950, Anderson remained part of the cast until the show left the air after the 1964–1965 season.^[42][43] Anderson appeared as Rochester in a 1953 episode of The Milton Berle Show^[44] and a 1962 episode of Bachelor Father.^[45]

During a February 1958 taping of a Shower of Stars special to celebrate Benny's "40th birthday," Anderson suffered a mild heart attack. A Life magazine photo after the incident showed Benny's concern for Anderson.^[46] After Benny's show left the airwaves, it was four years before the two men worked together again, but they remained in contact with each other. Anderson said, "We always exchange Christmas gifts and he's not as stingy as he pretends to be."^[43]

Anderson appeared as Rochester in Benny's 1968 special Jack Benny's Bag.^[47] The following year, he appeared in the special Jack Benny's New Look.

Upon Benny's death in 1974, Anderson tearfully spoke of Benny with admiration and respect.^[48][49]

Anderson's film career began with George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? (1932) as a butler, and he appeared in many Hollywood films through the 1930s and 1940s. Anderson appeared on screen with Benny for the first time in Man About Town (1939). They appeared in several other feature films, including Buck Benny Rides Again (1940).

In addition to his role with Benny, Anderson appeared in more than 60 films including The Green Pastures (1936) as Noah, Jezebel (1938) as Gros Bat, Capra's You Can't Take It with You (1938) as Donald and Gone with the Wind (1939) as Uncle Peter.^[50][51][52] He reprised his Rochester role in Topper Returns (1941). He had a rare leading role in the all-star black Hollywood musical Cabin in the Sky (1943) as Joseph 'Little Joe' Jackson. He also starred in Brewster's Millions (1945), which was banned in some Southern areas. For example, censors in Memphis said that Anderson "has an important role and has too familiar a way about him" and lamented that the film "presents too much social equality and racial mixture."^[53]

Anderson, Benny and the remaining cast members of The Jack Benny Program (Mary Livingstone, Don Wilson, and Mel Blanc) also provided their voices to the Warner Bros. cartoon The Mouse that Jack Built (1959). Anderson's last significant feature-film performance was as a taxi driver in Stanley Kramer's comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), in which Benny made a cameo appearance (although the two did not appear together). Anderson was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975.^[54]

 

Anderson appeared as a mystery guest on the television game show What's My Line? in 1952. As the panel was blindfolded, Dorothy Kilgallen's question "Are you brunette?" brought a roar of laughter from the audience, and Anderson laughed so hard that he was not able to reply to the question.^[55] In 1957, Hallmark Hall of Fame presented The Green Pastures, affording Anderson the chance to reprise his film role as Noah on television, and the program was nominated for an Emmy Award.^[56]

Anderson also appeared on episodes of The Dick Powell Show, It Takes a Thief and Love, American Style.^[57] In the early 1970s, Anderson provided the voice for cartoon character Bobby Joe Mason in Harlem Globetrotters and The New Scooby-Doo Movies.^[57] By 1972, he attempted a comeback with a nightclub act in Houston that led to a role in the Broadway revival of Good News, but he was forced to resign because of his failing health.^[58]

Anderson opened a nightclub in the Central Avenue section of Los Angeles, but it did not survive long because of his excessive generosity with friends who frequented the club.^[59]

During World War II, Anderson was the owner of the Pacific Parachute Company, an African American owned-and-operated business that made parachutes for the Army and Navy.^[60][61][62] He also managed boxer Billy Metcalfe in the 1940s.^[63][64]

Anderson had an astute business sense, and in 1948, he saw the value and potential of Las Vegas as an entertainment center. However, his idea to build and operate a black-friendly hotel and casino there failed when he could not attract enough investors. When he appeared at the opening of the racially integrated Moulin Rouge Hotel in 1955, Anderson expressed regret about his failed venture.^[65]

On May 2, 1939, Anderson married Mamie (née Wiggins) Nelson of Georgia.^[66][67][68] Mamie died on August 5, 1954, at the age of 43 following two years of suffering with cancer. Her son Billy from a previous marriage played professional football for the Chicago Bears^[69] and adopted Anderson's surname when his mother remarried.^[70][71]

Following Mamie's death, Anderson married Evangela "Eva" Simon on February 8, 1956, in Kingman, Arizona. The couple had three children: daughters Stephanie and Evangela Jr. ("Eva") and son Edmund Jr.^[66][72] When the couple divorced in 1973, Anderson retained custody of his minor son and daughter.^[73][74]

 

Like many African Americans in the entertainment industry, Anderson lived in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. In previous times, the district had been home to doctors, lawyers and railroad barons, but in the Depression era, the area had deteriorated, with many residents needing to sell their homes or rent rooms in them. By the 1940s, the black entertainment community began purchasing homes in the district, nicknaming it Sugar Hill. Some property owners reacted to their new neighbors by adding restrictive covenants to their deeds that either prohibited blacks from purchasing property or inhabiting property that had been purchased. The practice was declared illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948.^[75]

Anderson wanted to build a home designed by Paul Williams but he was limited in his choice of site by these restrictive covenants. As a result, his large and luxurious home with a swimming pool stands in an area of smaller, bungalow-style homes. The street was renamed after the Rochester character.^[76]

Anderson built model airplanes and racing cars, but also designed a life-size sportscar for himself in 1951. Anderson combined a Cadillac engine under the hood with a sleek, low-slung exterior to create a car that he exhibited at sportscar shows throughout the country.^[77][78][79]

Anderson, who was the skipper of his own cabin cruiser, was missing and feared lost at sea in February 1946. When the boat developed engine trouble, Anderson and his two friends signaled an SOS with mirrors, fires, lanterns and with the ship's flag turned upside-down to indicate distress. They spent the night adrift until a fishing boat finally spotted them and towed them into the Los Angeles harbor. Anderson did not realize that he had caused great concern until he heard a radio news story about the search for him.^[80]

 

Anderson owned racehorses,^[81] including Burnt Cork, a Thoroughbred that ran in the 1943 Kentucky Derby, making Anderson the first African American owner of a horse entered into the Derby.^[82][83] However, as racial segregation was practiced in Louisville, Kentucky, Anderson and his wife lodged with black politician Mae Street Kidd while in the city to watch the race.^[84][85]

Both before and after the race, Anderson was accused of entering his horse in the race strictly for publicity purposes, especially after Burnt Cork finished last. However, United Press International sports columnist Jack Cuddy noted that King George VI's horse Tipstaff finished last at Ascot without any of the type of comments that surrounded Anderson.^[86]

When Burnt Cork won an important race, Anderson arrived at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for work dressed as a Kentucky colonel; he also insisted on being called "Colonel Rochester."^[87]

After the Benny television show had left the air, Anderson returned to his love of horse racing, working as a trainer at the Hollywood Park Racetrack until shortly before his death.^[88][89] When a horse named Up and Over became injured and was nearly euthanized, Anderson spent extensive periods of time at the Paramount Pictures studio library reading about equine anatomy. This led him to a veterinary surgeon who assisted in rehabilitating the horse.^[90]

Anderson died of heart disease on February 28, 1977, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles.^[91][92] He was buried at the historic Evergreen Cemetery, the oldest existing cemetery in Los Angeles.^[93]

In a final philanthropic gesture, Anderson willed his sizable home for the benefit of victims of substance abuse.^[94] The Rochester House continues to help troubled men transition into society and provide shelter for homeless drug abusers. It opened several neighboring properties in 1989.^[95]

Anderson's son Eddie Jr. later established The Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Foundation.^[96]

For his contribution to the radio industry, Anderson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6513 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. In 2001, Anderson was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.^[97][98]

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eddie "Rochester" Anderson.

• Eddie Anderson at IMDb
• Eddie Anderson at AllMovie
• Eddie Anderson at Find a Grave
• Rochester Christmas – shops for his Boss on YouTube