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Actor:

Bess Flowers

  • Born: 1900 in Sherman, Texas
  • Died: Jul 28, 1984 in Woodland Hills, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s-'50s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Song of the Thin Man, I Love Lucy: Ethel's Birthday, Blondes by Choice
  • First Major Screen Credit: Blondes by Choice (1927)

Biography

The faces of most movie extras are unmemorable blurs in the public's memory. Not so the elegant, statuesque Bess Flowers, who was crowned by appreciative film buffs as "Queen of the Hollywood Dress Extras." After studying drama (against her father's wishes) at the Carnegie Inst of Technology, Flowers intended to head to New York, but at the last moment opted for Hollywood. She made her first film in 1922, subsequently appearing prominently in such productions as Hollywood (1922) and Chaplin's Woman of Paris (1923). Too tall for most leading men, Flowers found her true niche as a supporting actress. By the time talkies came around, Flowers was mostly playing bits in features, though her roles were more sizeable in two-reel comedies; she was a special favorite of popular short-subject star Charley Chase. Major directors like Frank Lloyd always found work for Flowers because of her elegant bearing and her luminescent gift for making the people around her look good. While generally an extra, Flowers enjoyed substantial roles in such films as Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934), Gregory La Cava's Private Worlds and Leo McCarey's The Awful Truth (1937). In 1947's Song of the Thin Man, the usually unheralded Flowers was afforded screen billing. Her fans particularly cherish Flowers' bit as a well-wisher in All About Eve (1950), in which she breaks her customary screen silence to utter "I'm so happy for you, Eve." Flowers was married twice, first to Cecil B. DeMille's legendary "right hand man" Cullen Tate, then to Columbia studio manager William S. Holman. After her retirement, Bess Flowers made one last on-camera appearance in 1974 when she was interviewed by NBC's Tom Snyder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

 
 
Filmography: Bess Flowers

Good Neighbor Sam

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The Manchurian Candidate

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Imitation of Life

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Pal Joey

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Autumn Leaves

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The French Line

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Rear Window

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A Star is Born

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The Band Wagon

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The Bad and the Beautiful

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The Greatest Show on Earth

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Just for You

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The Lullaby of Broadway

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Royal Wedding

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Texas Carnival

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All About Eve

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Born to Be Bad

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Let's Dance

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Nancy Goes to Rio

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The Barkleys of Broadway

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Dear Wife

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Father Was a Fullback

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Good Sam

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The Noose Hangs High

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The Velvet Touch

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The Big Clock

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Cass Timberlane

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The Farmer's Daughter

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The Perils of Pauline

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

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Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman

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Song of the Thin Man

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Deception

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The Razor's Edge

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Undercurrent

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Weekend at the Waldorf

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Adventure

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Double Indemnity

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Mr. Skeffington

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The Mummy's Ghost

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Girl Crazy

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The Mad Ghoul

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Pittsburgh

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Springtime in the Rockies

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Life Begins for Andy Hardy

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Meet John Doe

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Penny Serenade

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Two-Faced Woman

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Ziegfeld Girl

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The Flame of New Orleans

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An Ache in Every Stake

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Johnny Apollo

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Fifth Avenue Girl

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Love Affair

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Ninotchka

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Holiday

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I Am the Law

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The Shining Hour

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You Can't Take It with You

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That Certain Age

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The Awful Truth

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One Hundred Men and a Girl

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Anthony Adverse

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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

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My Man Godfrey

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Swing Time

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One in a Million

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Hands Across the Table

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The Whole Town's Talking

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Broadway Bill

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Hollywood Party

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It Happened One Night

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Stand up and Cheer

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A Free Soul

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We Faw Down

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Wikipedia: Bess Flowers

Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 - July 28, 1984) was an American actress, by some counts considered the most prolific actress in the history of Hollywood. Known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," Flowers was born in Sherman, Texas. She died in Woodland Hills, California.

Flowers's film debut came in 1923, when she appeared in the movie called Hollywood. She made three films in that year, and then began working extensively, with seven movies in 1926 alone. Most of her appearances are uncredited, as she generally played non-speaking roles.

Flowers's first husband was Cullen Tate, an assistant to Cecil B. DeMille. She and Tate were married from 1923 until his death in 1947.

Her filmography at the Internet Movie Database lists over 700 film appearances;included in these,she played bit parts in seven Alfred Hitchcock movies,three John Ford films,and supported such comedians as Charley Chase,The Three Stooges,Leon Errol,Edgar Kennedy and Laurel and Hardy in dozens of short comedies where she usually had more substantial roles.

Along with actor Wallis Clark, she holds the record for the most appearances in films which have won the Academy Award for Best Picture. She appeared in the following five Academy Award Best Picture winners: It Happened One Night (1934), You Can't Take it With You (1938), All About Eve (1950), The Greatest Show on Earth (1952), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1956). In each of these films, Flowers was uncredited. Her last film was Good Neighbor Sam in 1964.

See also

List of actors who have appeared in multiple Best Picture Academy Award winners

External links


 
 

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Copyrights:

Actor. Copyright © 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bess Flowers" Read more

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