Oh, Rochester!: Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

[@Traderjoe]

He also had a halfway house for recovering alcoholics to get them back on their feet that still exists. He also had a very large pool built for his home and always let all the neighborhood kids use it. He was a good man!

[@davidweinstock-y2s]

i think they discontinued the meetings. but the house is still there. maybe it's a museum. this show was nice but was way too short.

[@carolschlueter830]

I worked with his brother in the early 1970's. His brother was a real sweet heart.

[@deezdeez22]

I love the jack Benny program and Rochester and Phil Harris are my favorite cast members... and I wasn't born until '87

[@kscape100]

All the Jack Benny shows with Rochester can make me laugh and make me cry… Many of the skits for design to show how endeared they were to each other.

[@waimbuthia820]

I'm a huge fan of Jack Benny who I've heard was also a very good man about whom no one had anything bad to say. Also, I got to wondering about Mr. Anderson who, by all accounts, was great comedian and actor. I was surprised and, frankly, disappointed when I googled to see if there was a full documentary about the man's life only to find snippets of information. I feel Mr. Anderson deserves more. In any event, you deserve lots of credit for this brief but informative video about the life of a man who was not only great in his profession but quite accomplished in other areas as well. Mr. Anderson's accomplishments are more impressive given his race and the era in which he grew. Thank you! I'm glad I discovered your channel. Great job!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Thank you so much for this. Excellent job on a great showman and actor. Eddie Anderson deserves all of the accolades (and more!) that come his way!

[@kt9166]

Jack Benny paid his whole troupe and writers very, very well. Not a skinflint by any means! And Eddie made a big, big salary. Worth every penny!

[@Ryan-on5on]

Much credit should be accorded Anderson for persistently rejecting the period's most crude racial stereotypes and tropes once he gained a little clout in showbiz, as well as to Benny for faithfully defending his friend's professional dignity at at time when overtly racist attitudes were the norm rather than the exception in the entertainment industry. Two real gentlemen in the truest sense of the word!

[@robertbowers9856]

My Dad loved the Jack Benny show and I got a big kick out of Rochester!!

[@markfortin421]

Thank You for posting this. I've always thought 'Rochester' was the comedian of the show, and Jack Benny was his straight man....and now I know that Jack designef it that way

[@wallaceb9120]

That's because Jack was so good

[@giovanna722]

​@@wallaceb9120 You got it. Very subtle comedic style. Timing was brilliant.

[@JeffChase]

Jack Benny was genius for that - he figured out that letting his supporting characters get the laugh lines actually worked better than him taking all the punchlines.

[@shigermuleye5203]

Love those two together. It's wonderful to see.

[@rufust.firefly2474]

Anthony, you presented us with another winner! Even a person who came into the world long after Eddie Anderson's death should be able to recognize this great comedian wonderful characterizations and fantastic sense of timing. I hope this video serves to Inspire others to look him up and learn from him and laugh their asses off! Now, I do have a couple of suggestions for you to consider including as part of this wonderful series! Certainly the great Billy Gilbert deserves one of these videos all to himself, and a more familiar face who's neglected in terms of his earlier work, certainly... William Frawley. Did you know that bill Frawley literally introduced Abbott and Costello on screen by playing their boss in their first feature film, "one night in the tropics"? And this was only one of the Great Character turns by Mr Frawley in the many years he did movies before" I Love Lucy. "

[@AnthonyScibelliUnsungLegends]

Thank you for the kind words (and the great suggestions)! Both are people I don’t know much about, but would be fun to look into. And of course I agree about Eddie Anderson. Rewatching these clips has only deepened my appreciation of his work

[@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL]

Benny was just a little before my time, but I always thought that Benny and Rochester were a duo because of the many reruns and clips of Benny and the cartoons featuring these two. In the clips that I remember, Rochester usually seemed to be one step ahead of his boss.

[@LaPotraBellaca]

I love how much Jack rode for Rochester in real life

[@derektownsend3569]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing. Love Eddie Anderson.

[@kylorenkardashian79]

I loved Rochester in the original Brewster's Millions

[@eddylauterback1312]

Jack had no problems letting his cast get all the laughs.

[@calgarywino]

Lovely tribute!

[@mariozales5971]

Rochester was a lot bigger than ppl realize. he got second billing to the star Jack Benny. In those days that was huge. A black man with billing higher than the other white actors. Jack also fought for Rochester to go to Restaurants and clubs that black ppl were not...ahem...regular customers. Also his public works helped alot of ppl...he was a awesome guy.

[@simplenough]

You could argue he was the first modern black comedian. Earlier than Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley even

[@mrpeel3239]

Such comedic timing!

[@newtpondskipper]

He is my favorite on the program.

[@rlsimmons1214]

Beautifully done. Thank You.❤❤❤

[@mellopez1859]

Too bad those times were so Racially radical , Rochester in his own right is I believe one of the funniest man in his time , his recognition should exceed above most , even whites , I have to give credit to Jack Benny who helped put him on the map , even though back then a black man with a pretty good goal seemed impossible , but Benny and Rochester were so funny together , it could have been the Benny , Rochester program .. I watched every show with both of them and Mr Benny had much love for Rochester . And vice versa . But both have been gone yet I still laugh when I watch them together ! R.I.P to these two brilliant comedians.

[@juliamcintyre5012]

Fantastic!

[@thelovelyratkitten]

Thank you so much for making this documentary! It's wonderful.

[@Nick-ty9us]

That’s what I like about Jack Benny he was very pro civil rights and very progressive when it came to Eddie Rochester Anderson

[@dpurciful1]

I did enjoy that voice.... he he tickles me just thinking about it and calling the guy boss.

[@janmcdonald3896]

Thank u for this. Love Rochester. He was great. Did u know way back when in some of his first radio shows in the 30s Jack Benny has a Chinese houseboy - as people were referred to then.

[@waynemarvin5661]

That's not true. Most of the early Benny programs are available on KZbin.

[@brucequinn]

Really nice

[@_dj_dubz_]

excellent video

[@DavidM-bi3os]

Maybe I missed it, but I don't think there was a mention of him appearing in It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

[@reneastle8447]

Rochester was in "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" as one of the two cab drivers who joined in the hunt.

[@Vigilante9033]

I’m so glad to have seen this. I have fond memories of the character on the radio show but I always just assumed he was played by a white man (as that was sadly very common at the time). Glad to have learned more about him!

[@redbeard36]

I love this. He was such a progressive character for his time it's always bugged me that he's been largely forogotten.

[@wai-q2k]

Imagine how freeing it must feel not to be an ignoramus racist! Love Jack Benny for his humanity and progressive thinking, even at his time. Enjoy his radio shows, too.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Is that Mantan Moreland at about 7:45?

[@AnthonyScibelliUnsungLegends]

It is! That clip is from a segment from LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE

[@waynemarvin5661]

Did he really say "The Mose that Jack Built"?

[@samvanivray3791]

Interesting.

[@HAM-sb2ns]

Did you reupload this?

[@AnthonyScibelliUnsungLegends]

I did. There was an error in the original video, so I fixed it and reuploaded it

[@ritache-mponda7165]

I watch the replays of The Jack Benny Program and love it but i especialky love the eposides with Rochester.I ihink the late Jack Benny deserves a lot of credit for being able to treat .the late Eddie Anderson as ab equal back in those days. May they both RIP

[@HENRY-tm4fz]

😁

[@agentxchannel6640]

MLK, Malcolm x, 'Rochester' Anderson...