Charles R. Bowers (June 6, 1887 – November 26, 1946) was an American

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and slapstick comedian during the

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

and early "

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

" 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 André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

and a number of his contemporaries. As his surviving films have an inventiveness and surrealism which give them a freshness appealing to modern audiences, after his rediscovery his work has sometimes been placed in the "top tier" of silent film accomplishments (along with those of, for example,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influential film co ...

). In comic style, he probably modelled himself after both

Harry Langdon Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39. Life and career Bor ...

and

and was known to the French as "'' Bricolo''."

Biography

The son of Dr. Charles E. Bowers and his wife, Mary I. Bowers, Charles Raymond Bowers was born in Cresco,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. His early career was as a cartoonist on the ''

Mutt and Jeff ''Mutt and Jeff'' was a long-running and widely popular American newspaper comic strip created by cartoonist Bud Fisher in 1907 about "two mismatched tinhorns". It is commonly regarded as the first daily comic strip. The concept of a newsp ...

'' series of cartoons for the

Barré Studio Barré Studio was among the first film studios dedicated to animation and founded by Raoul Barré and William Nolan in 1914. The studio pioneered some early animation processes, including mechanical perforation of cels and animating special effec ...

. By the late 20s, he was starring in his own series of slapstick comedies for R-C Pictures and

Educational Pictures Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational pr ...

. 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 Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...

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 English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal verbs and a few others. Although definitions vary, as generally conceived an auxiliary lacks inherent semantic meaning but instead modifies the meaning of an ...

'' and ''

Wild Oysters Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 A ...

'', and wrote and illustrated children's books in his later years. For eight years during the 1930s he lived in

Wayne, New Jersey Wayne is a Township (New Jersey), township in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. Home to William Paterson University and located less than from Midtown Manhattan, the township is a bedroom suburb of New York ...

, and drew cartoons for the ''

Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton and ...

''. 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 Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Cedar Lawn Cemetery Cedar Lawn Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Paterson, New Jersey, and is also considered one of the finest Victorian cemeteries in the USA. Cedar Lawn Cemetery officially opened in September 1867, and recorded its first burial on September 27, 186 ...

.Charles R Bowers

Find A Grave Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...

. Accessed August 9, 2007.

Filmography

His work, long forgotten, has undergone a rediscovery and revival of interest in recent years. His 15 surviving films were the subject of a 2004 two-

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

release by

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 340 ...

and Lobster Films of France. Much more of his work is thought to exist in various film archives. In July 2019, Flicker Alley released a Blu-ray set of 17 of his films called "The Extraordinary World of Charley Bowers." *''The Extra Quick Lunch'' 1917, 5’34, Animation - Mutt and Jeff *''A.W.O.L.'' 1918, 5’22, Animation *''Egged On'' 1926, 24’08, Slapstick *''He Done His Best'' 1926, 23’42, Slapstick *''A Wild Roomer'' 1926, 24’27, Slapstick *''Fatal Footstep'' 1926, 22’18, Slapstick *''Now You Tell One'' 1926, 22’18, Slapstick *''Many A Slip'' 1927, 11’36 (Incomplete), Slapstick *''Nothing Doing'' 1927, 21’17, Slapstick *''There It Is'' 1928, 17’22, Slapstick *''Say Ah-h!'' 1928, 14’02 (Incomplete), Slapstick *''It's A Bird'' 1930, 14’10, Slapstick ''Excerpt'' (1930) *''Believe It Or Don’t'' Ca 1935, 7’53, stop-motion Animation *''Pete Roleum And His Cousins'' 1939, 15’41, stop-motion Animation *''Wild Oysters'' 1940, 10’06, stop-motion Animation - Released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

as a

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

Animated Antic *''A Sleepless Night'' Ca 1940, 10’59, stop-motion Animation Note: Bowers had stint with Walter Lantz in 1930s. Pre-1926 he was the one of the main directors of Mutt and Jeff animated shorts.

References

Bibliography

* ''Banc-Titre'' (March 1978). pp. 10–11. Article on Bowers' 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' films and career. (in French)

External links

* *Mark Bourne's review o
Charley Bowers: The Rediscovery of an American Comic Genius
a
Charles Bowers
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowers, Charles Animators from Iowa Animators from New Jersey American cartoonists People from Cresco, Iowa People from Wayne, New Jersey Silent film comedians Stop motion animators Burials at Cedar Lawn Cemetery 1880s births 1946 deaths 20th-century American comedians American male comedy actors