Charles R. Bowers (June 7, 1889 â€" November 26, 1946) was an American
cartoonist and slapstick comedian 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. 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, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd). In comic
style, he probably modelled himself after both Harry Langdon and
Buster Keaton and was known to the French as "Bricolo."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
20s, 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. After succumbing to severe arthritis, his wife
started drawing them under his direction.Following a long illness,
Bowers died in 1946 in Paterson, New Jersey, and was interred in that
city's Cedar Lawn Cemetery.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 release by Image
Entertainment 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."
cartoonist and slapstick comedian 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. 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, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd). In comic
style, he probably modelled himself after both Harry Langdon and
Buster Keaton and was known to the French as "Bricolo."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
20s, 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. After succumbing to severe arthritis, his wife
started drawing them under his direction.Following a long illness,
Bowers died in 1946 in Paterson, New Jersey, and was interred in that
city's Cedar Lawn Cemetery.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 release by Image
Entertainment 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."
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