Eddie "Rochester" Anderson

Anderson entered show business as a teenager on the vaudeville circuit. In the early 1930s, he transitioned into films and radio. In 1937, he began his role of Rochester van Jones, usually known simply as Rochester, the valet of Jack Benny on the NBC radio show The Jack Benny Program. Anderson became the first African American to have a regular role on a nationwide radio program. When the series moved to CBS television in 1950, Anderson continued in the role until the series ended in 1965.


After the series ended, Anderson remained active with guest-starring roles on television and voice work in animated series. He was also an avid horse-racing fan who owned several race horses and worked as a horse trainer at the Hollywood Park Racetrack. He was married twice and had four children. He died of heart disease in February 1977 at the age of 71.

Early life[edit]

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]

Other business ventures[edit]

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]