Charles Bowers
Bowers (June 6, 1887 – November 24, 1946) was an American cartoonist and film director during the silent film and early "talkie" era. He was forgotten for decades and his name was notably absent from most histories of the Silent Era, although his work was enthusiastically reviewed by André Breton and a number of his contemporaries. In comic style, he probably modelled himself after both Harry Langdon and Buster Keaton and was known to the French as "Bricolo."
Also recorded as Charles R. Bowers
Charles Bowers
Photographer unidentified · TCS 1.3351, Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University · Public domain
- Died
- 1946
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- cartoonist · actor · film director · screenwriter · comedian · animator
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Bowers (June 6, 1887 – November 24, 1946) was an American cartoonist and film director during the silent film and early "talkie" era. He was forgotten for decades and his name was notably absent from most histories of the Silent Era, although his work was enthusiastically reviewed by André Breton and a number of his contemporaries. In comic style, he probably modelled himself after both Harry Langdon and Buster Keaton and was known to the French as "Bricolo."
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getty · 500443874 · wikidata · Q2960077 · wikipedia · Charles Bowers
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Biography
Biography
The son of Dr. Charles E. Bowers and his wife, Mary I. Bowers, Charles Raymond Bowers was born in Cresco, Iowa. His early career was as a cartoonist on the Mutt and Jeff series of cartoons for the Barré Studio. By the late 1920s, he was starring in his own series of slapstick comedies for R-C Pictures and Educational Pictures. His slapstick comedies, a few of which have survived, are an amazing mixture of live action and animation created with the "Bowers Process". Complex Rube Goldberg gadgets also appear in many of his comedies. Two notable films include Now You Tell One with a memorable scene of elephants marching into the U.S. Capitol, and There It Is, a surreal mystery involving the Fuzz-Faced Phantom and MacGregor, a housefly detective. He made a few sound films such as It's a Bird and Wild Oysters, and wrote and illustrated children's books in his later years. For eight years during the 1930s he lived in Wayne, New Jersey, and drew cartoons for the Jersey Journal. Bowers also worked for Walter Lantz Productions for a short period. After he succumbed to severe arthritis his wife started drawing them under his direction. Following a long illness, Bowers died in 1946 in Paterson, New Jersey.
Cabinet card image of American performer and comedian Charles Bowers (1877-1946). From a collection dated 1918. TCS 1.3351, Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University
Photographer unidentified · TCS 1.3351, Harvard Theatre Collection, Harvard University
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1889
Charles Bowers born at Cresco.
1946
Charles Bowers died at Paterson.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Charles Bowers, Pioneer in Animated Cartoons, Dead. The Buffalo News. 20. November 27, 1946.
- 2.Lenburg, Jeff. The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. 37-39. 1999. 0-8160-3831-7.
- 3.Excerpt (1930)
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
- Banc-Titre (March 1978). pp. 10–11. Article on Bowers's films, with short biography. (in French)
- Funnyworld (October 1978). pp. 35–36. Memories of Bowers, by animator Dick Huemer.
- Midi-Minuit Fantastique (June 1967). pp. 62–65, Article on Bowers's films and career. (in French)
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