{"id":84459,"date":"2021-02-11T13:07:03","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T13:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84459"},"modified":"2023-04-14T19:06:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T19:06:48","slug":"classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/","title":{"rendered":"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/span><\/i>those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/i><\/b>As part of RCN’s celebration of Black History Month, we here at the “Showplace” are putting the spotlight on African American actors who excelled not just on the big and small screens but those who also inspired change with their courage and perseverance.<\/p>\n

Of all the zany and popular comedic characters over the five decades that the <\/span>Jack Benny Program<\/i><\/b><\/a> was on radio and television, none was more popular nor drew as much applause at public events than Eddie “Rochester” Anderson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guest starring on an episode of Jack Benny’s radio show in 1936, Benny immediately realized that Anderson’s unique voice, comedic timing and quick-witted return of a line would resonate perfectly with Benny’s “slow burn” style delivery.\u00a0 Benny immediately hired him as a regular full-time character on his team and, in doing so, Anderson became the first African-American regular cast member on a national medium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in Oakland, California he had early aspirations of performing along with his older brother, Cornelius. In his obituary in the <\/span>Ludington Daily News<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>Anderson described himself as being a descendant of slaves who were able to leave the South during the Civil War through the Underground Railroad.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson “acquired” his famous raspy voice as a child when his vocal cords were ruptured when he was selling newspapers. The newsboys believed those who would shout the loudest sold the most papers. The permanent damage done to his vocal cords left him with his voice now so familiar to radio and television audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

No one brought out the cheapness of Benny’s character better (and funnier) than Anderson, who would frequently test the penny-pincher’s budget and deliver rapid-fire lines underscoring just how little he paid his employees:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>“You can split an apple, you can split an atom, but I defy ANYONE to split my salary.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

According to Benny’s memoirs “<\/span>Sunday Nights At Seven<\/span><\/i>,” he came up with the name “Rochester” because he felt the way he could draw out the syllables of that name.\u00a0 Anderson liked it so much he incorporated it as a middle name for any future productions, including non-Benny performances.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1942 while touring Europe with his entire cast and performing shows for the Allied Forces, Benny met a soldier who claimed to be a fan of the show and began to have dinner together.\u00a0 During the conversation it became evident that the soldier’s favorite part of the program were jokes using prejudices (eg., drinking gin, playing craps) against people of color that were rampant during the time period.\u00a0 Benny immediately got up from the table, told the soldier that he is not interested in “that type” of person listening to his show.\u00a0 Benny then instructed his writers to never use any of those stereotypes nor any jokes that would be considered racist or offend any ethnicity again –\u00a0 a promise to Anderson he kept through the rest of his career.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike his character’s persona, Anderson was paid handsomely for his role as Rochester and used his regularly increasing salaries to enhance his love for horses, exotic boats and exquisite mansions, taking up residence in the West Adams district in California.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 1940s, the African-American entertainment community began purchasing homes in the district, nicknaming it “Sugar Hill.”\u00a0 According to the website, westadamsheightssugarhill.com,<\/a> property owners reacted to their new neighbors by adding restrictive covenants to their deeds, prohibiting African-Americans from purchasing a property or inhabiting it once purchased. The practice was later declared illegal by the US Supreme Court and Anderson lived in that mansion until his death in 1977.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson also had an astute business sense.\u00a0 In 1948, he saw the value and potential of Las Vegas as an entertainment center and wanted to build a hotel where African-Americans would be welcome.\u00a0 Anderson failed to attract enough people willing to invest, and he was unable to complete the plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the Benny program moved to television in 1949, Anderson appeared more than any other character and was a part of many of the show’s most popular episodes and funniest bits seen on the small screen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson was featured prominently in the 1963 mega star film <\/span>It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World<\/a>. <\/span><\/i>While he was given some of the funniest lines in the film, he was the only African American in the entire ensemble cast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson would make various guest appearances on television shows, including the Benny television specials until his boss’s death in 1974.\u00a0 Anderson spoke very highly of Benny in memoriam until Anderson’s own death 3 years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can see Anderson’s iconic Rochester character on the <\/span>Jack Benny Program<\/span><\/i>, along with guest appearances on other classic sitcoms seen on RCN TV.<\/span><\/p>\n

To view the complete rundown of classic programming on RCN TV, check out the weekly listings here on our website.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As part of RCN’s celebration of Black History Month, we here at the “Showplace” are putting the spotlight on African American actors who excelled not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classic-video-showplace"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As part of RCN’s celebration of Black History Month, we here at the “Showplace” are putting the spotlight on African American actors who excelled not...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATVN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Michael\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"headline\":\"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":834,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Classic Video Showplace\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/\",\"name\":\"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/\",\"name\":\"ATVN\",\"description\":\"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a\",\"name\":\"Chris Michael\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"url\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"\\\/atvn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/11\\\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Chris Michael\"},\"description\":\"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\\\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.astound.com\\\/atvn\\\/author\\\/rcntvchris\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN","og_description":"The views expressed in this blog arethose of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. As part of RCN’s celebration of Black History Month, we here at the “Showplace” are putting the spotlight on African American actors who excelled not...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/","og_site_name":"ATVN","article_published_time":"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00","author":"Chris Michael","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Michael","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Michael","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"headline":"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson","datePublished":"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/"},"wordCount":834,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Classic Video Showplace"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/","name":"CLASSIC VIDEO SHOWPLACE: Eddie Anderson - ATVN","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-02-11T13:07:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-14T19:06:48+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/classic-video-showplace-eddie-anderson\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/","name":"ATVN","description":"Local Programming & Astound Digital Cable, Internet & Phone Services","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/#\/schema\/person\/6aba8df7f74bf50b72426776afd0067a","name":"Chris Michael","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","url":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","contentUrl":"\/atvn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Chris-Michael-Sports-Talk-Shop-Author-Image1.jpg","caption":"Chris Michael"},"description":"Chris handles play-by-play for RCN sports events, including baseball, football & basketball games and produces\/hosts the station\u2019s 60-minute live call-in show. Among Chris\u2019s other responsibilities include reporting on local news & sports stories, conducting \u201cTake 5\u201d interviews with community and political leaders, producing commercials, voiceovers and promos; and generating blog entries and videos on the internet. Click here to listen to the weekly Sports Talk podcast.","url":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/author\/rcntvchris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84459"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84460,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84459\/revisions\/84460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}