Best was first loved as a great clown, then later in the 20th century reviled and pitied, before being forgotten in the history of film. Hal Roach called him one of the greatest talents he had ever met, and Mitchell Leisen, who directed him in "Suddenly It's Spring", described Best as "the most natural actor I've ever seen." Comedian Bob Hope similarly acclaimed him as "the best actor I know", while the two were working together in 1940 on "The Ghost Breakers".