Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson played Uncle Peter, Aunt Pitty's servant. The autograph cut is signed: Eddie Rochester Anderson and comes with a 8x10 matted framed photo. Autograph is enlarged to show detail.

Edmund Lincoln Anderson (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson) was born in Oakland, California on September 18, 1905 to "Big Ed" Anderson, a minstrel performer, and Ella Mae, a former tightrope walker. Eddie frequently said he was a descendant of slaves who escaped the South during the Civil War through the Underground Railroad. As a youngster, he sold newspapers with his brother, Cornelius, where the newsboys believed those who were able to shout the loudest sold the most papers. Because of the constant yelling selling papers, Eddie’s vocal cords were ruptured, giving him his trademark gravelly voice. Although he was a talented dancer and got his show business start dancing, it was his uniquely recognizable voice that brought him to stardom.

In 1932 Eddie made his film debut in George Cukor's What Price Hollywood? as 'James, Max's Butler', and appeared in dozens of Hollywood films through the 1930s and 1940s. In July 1939, Anderson appeared on screen for the first time with radio boss Jack Benny, in the film Man About Town. The duo appeared in a few other feature films, including Buck Benny Rides Again (1940) but it would be his regular stint on TV on the Jack Benny Show as valet “Rochester van Jones” that made Eddie a star.

In addition to his role with Benny, Eddie appeared in over sixty motion pictures, including The Green Pastures Noah (1936), Jezebel (1938) and You Can't Take It with You (1938). In 1939 he was cast as ‘Uncle Peter’, Aunt Pitty Pat Hamilton’s slave, where he appeared in make-up which made him appear much older than he was. If not for his distinctive unique voice, Rochester fans may not have recognized him.

He reprised his 'Rochester' role in the movie Topper Returns, this time as Cosmo Topper's valet and in 1943; he had a rare lead role in the all-star black Hollywood musical, Vincente Minnelli's debut film, Cabin in the Sky. In 1945, he was in Brewster's Millions, which was banned in some Southern areas. His last feature film performance was as one of the taxi drivers in Stanley Kramer's 1963 classic comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Eddie was one of the early trailblazer’s for blacks; during World War II, Eddie was the owner of the Pacific Parachute Company that made parachutes for the Army and Navy, one of the first African-American owned and operated business. He also managed a boxer, and was the owner of racehorses. His Thoroughbred Burnt Cork ran in the 1943 Kentucky Derby, making him the first African-American owner of a horse entered into the Derby. He had an astute business sense; in 1948, he saw the value and potential of Las Vegas as an entertainment center. He wanted to open a hotel and casino there where African-Americans would be welcome, but failed to attract enough investors to see his dream materialize. When the integrated Moulin Rouge Hotel and casino, opened in 1955, Eddie was hired for its opening, where he expressed regret at the thought that the hotel might have been his if he had the further financial backing. After the Benny television show had left the air, Eddie fell back to his love of horses and racing, working as a trainer at the Hollywood Park Racetrack until shortly before his death.

Eddie married Mamie Wiggins Nelson in 1932, and after 22 years of marriage, 43 year old Mamie died August 5, 1954, after a two-year battle with cancer. At the time of her death, her son Billy (whom Eddie had adopted) was playing professional football for the Chicago Bears. He married beauty Evangela 'Eva' Simon in Kingman, Arizona on February 8, 1956 and the couple had three children: daughters Stephanie and Evangela Jr. ("Eva"), and son Edmund Jr. They divorced in 1973 and Eddie got custody of his minor son and daughter. Like many of the African-Americans in the entertainment industry, Eddie made his home in the West Adams district of Los Angeles. The area nicknamed "Sugar Hill," was also home to Gone With the Wind actress Hattie McDaniel and other black performers such as Louise Beavers and Ethel Waters.
The star studded Sugar Hill residents were involved in a famous US Supreme Court case. In the Depression era, the area had fallen into hard times, and many residents had to sell their homes, which affluent black performers bought. Some property owners reacted to their new neighbors by adding restrictive covenants to their deeds which either prohibited African-Americans from purchasing a property, or inhabiting it once purchased. After a legal battle spearheaded by Hattie McDaniel, the practice was declared illegal by the US Supreme Court in 1948.

Eddie "Rochester" Anderson earned a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio, at 6513 Hollywood Blvd, in Hollywood, and in 1975, he was elected into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. On February 28, 1977, Eddie died of heart disease at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles, California. He was buried in Los Angeles in historic Evergreen Cemetery, the oldest existing cemetery in the city. After his death, Eddie, Jr. later established The Eddie "Rochester" Anderson Foundation.

Eddie was a generous man throughout his life, as he was in death. His large and luxurious home with a swimming pool at 1932 Rochester Circle in Los Angeles, is used to house at-risk substance sober-living residence for homeless substance abusers, as outlined in Eddie’s will. The Rochester House opened its doors in 1989, and is dedicated in memory of Eddie Anderson. The Eddie Rochester Anderson Foundation in Los Angeles ("The Rochester House") continues fulfilling Eddie’s dream of helping troubled men transition back into society.