Harry Bowen (October 4, 1888 – December 5, 1941) was an American character actor of the silent and

sound film A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

eras. Born on October 4, 1888, in Brooklyn, New York, he broke into the film industry doing film shorts during the silent era. His work on shorts continued into talking pictures, and it was in 1929 that he made his first appearance in a full-length feature, with a small role in ''Red Hot Rhythm'', directed by

Leo McCarey Thomas Leo McCarey (October 3, 1898 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was involved in nearly 200 films, including the critically acclaimed '' Duck Soup'', '' Make Way for Tomorrow'', '' The Awf ...

. During his 20-year career, Bowen appeared in over 150 films, most of them film shorts, supporting comedians like

Charley Chase Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

and

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

. Other notable films in which he appeared include: the 1933 classic ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

''; '' Flying Down to Rio'' (1933), which was the first on-screen pairing of

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

;

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

's 1935 comedy, '' The Whole Town's Talking'', starring Edward G. Robinson; and '' Next Time We Love'' (1936), starring

Margaret Sullavan Margaret Brooke Sullavan (May 16, 1909 – January 1, 1960) was an American stage and film actress. She began her career onstage in 1929 with the University Players on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1933, she caught the attention of film direct ...

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

, and

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...

. His final screen performance, according to AFI, was the 1939 film, '' The Day the Bookies Wept'', starring Joe Penner and

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she p ...

. Bowen died on December 5, 1941, at the age of 53 in Los Angeles, California.

Selected filmography

* ''

Finnegan's Ball ''Finnegan's Ball'' is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Blanche Mehaffey, Mack Swain and Cullen Landis. It is based on an 1894 Broadway play of the same title.Munden p.246 Synopsis The Finnegan fam ...

'' (1927) * '' Red Hot Rhythm'' (1929) * ''

'' (1933) * '' Flying Down to Rio'' (1933) * '' The Whole Town's Talking'' (1935) * ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...

'' (1936) * '' The Moon's Our Home'' (1936) * '' Next Time We Love'' (1936) * '' The Day the Bookies Wept'' (1939)

References

External links

* * 1888 births 1941 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Brooklyn American male film actors {{US-film-actor-1880s-stub