Bess Flowers
Bess Flowers (born November 23, 1898 in Sherman , Texas , † July 28, 1984 in Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , California ) was an American film actress who played minor supporting roles and extras in around 850 film and television productions. She is considered one of the most famous small actresses in Hollywood history.
life and career
Bess Flowers studied acting at the Carnegie Inst of Technology against her father's wishes. She made her first film, the silent comedy Hollywood , at the age of 24 . In total, she appeared in around 850 film and television productions up to 1965, including regularly in the films of Alfred Hitchcock , Frank Capra and John Ford . She was one of the so-called one-day actors , who were called that because they could turn off their little roles in just one day. In the later years of her career in particular, Flowers was often only given extra roles and was therefore not mentioned in the credits in most of her films . Because of her elegant appearance, Bess Flowers was easily recognizable even in small roles for film fans, in the industry she was also referred to as the Queen of the Hollywood Extras (German: "Queen of Hollywood extras").
However, Flowers was not always an extra, but she had some notable supporting roles, especially in the early years of her career: She had major appearances in short film comedies, for example in the Laurel and Hardy film Im Strudel der Gosse (1928) as an angry wife by Oliver Hardy , who chases after her husband with a shotgun. She played a multi-scene and dialogue role as secretary to Clark Gables editor-in-chief in the comedy It Happened in One Night (1934). It happened one night and it was Flowers' first film to win an Oscar for best picture of the year. The films Lebenskünstler (1938), Alles über Eva (1950), The Greatest Show in the World (1952) and Around the World in 80 Days (1956) with Flowers in small supporting roles also received the Oscar for best film. With these, she still holds the record of having starred in most films that have received an Oscar for best picture. In total, she starred in 23 films that were nominated for an Oscar for best film.
From the 1950s she also had regular extras in television programs. In 1964, at the age of 65, Flowers starred in her last film Lend me your husband . She was married to assistant director Cullen Tate from 1923 until his death in 1947 . Their only daughter was Patricia E. Tate (1924–1972). Bess Flowers later married the film studio manager William S. Holman (1895–1962). She died in 1984 at the age of 85 and her ashes were scattered in the rose garden of the Chapel of the Pines Crematory in Los Angeles .
Filmography (selection)
- 1923: The A Woman (A Woman of Paris)
- 1928: Things are happening in Hollywood (Show People)
- 1928: In the whirlpool of the gutter (We Faw Down)
- 1929: Invisible Shackles (The Single Standard)
- 1929: Untamed
- 1931: The Airship (Dirigible)
- 1931: The Courage to Luck (A Free Soul)
- 1931: The Marx Brothers at Sea (Monkey Business)
- 1931: Everything for your happiness (Possessed)
- 1932: One Hour with You (One Hour with You)
- 1932: Man Wanted
- 1932: Blonde Venus
- 1934: It Happened One Night (It Happened One Night)
- 1934: The Richest Girl in the World
- 1934: Broadway Bill
- 1935: Soft pear for dessert (Thicker than Water)
- 1935: Talk of the Town (The Whole Town's Talking)
- 1935: I Found Stella Parrish
- 1936: The Prisoner of Shark Island (The Prisoner of Shark Iceland)
- 1936: His secretary (Wife vs. Secretary)
- 1936: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
- 1936: Swing Time
- 1936: My husband Godfrey (My Man Godfrey)
- 1936: Give Me Your Heart
- 1936: One in a Million
- 1937: The Shadow
- 1937: Stolen Holiday
- 1937: It's Love I'm After
- 1938: Lebenskünstler (You Can't Take It with You)
- 1938: The Lady Objects
- 1939: Restless Love (Love Affair)
- 1940: Darling, you've changed (I Love You Again)
- 1943: Coney Island
- 1943: Liebesleid (The Constant Nymph)
- 1944: The Bridge of San Luis Rey
- 1944: Woman without a conscience (Double Indemnity)
- 1944: Here Come the Waves
- 1945: The Wonder Man
- 1945: Incendiary Blonde
- 1945: As long as a heart beats (Mildred Pierce)
- 1946: The hero of the day ( The Kid from Brooklyn )
- 1946: Notorious (Notorious)
- 1946: The Big Sleep (The Big Sleep)
- 1947: So You Want to Be in Pictures
- 1947: The Song of the Thin Man (Song of the Thin Man)
- 1948: My Dear Secretary
- 1948: The daring rescue of the gangster bride Honey Swanson (A Song Is Born)
- 1949: Neptune's Daughter (Neptune's Daughter)
- 1950: Born to Be Bad
- 1950: All About Eve (All About Eve)
- 1952: The Greatest Show on Earth (The Greatest Show on Earth)
- 1952: You shall be my lucky star (Singin 'in the Rain)
- 1954: The Rear Window
- 1954: Dial M for Murder (Dial M for Murder)
- 1954: Alt-Heidelberg (The Student Prince)
- 1956: In 80 days around the world (Around the World in Eighty Days)
- 1957: Witness for the Prosecution (Witness for the Prosecution)
- 1958: Vertigo - From the realm of the dead (Vertigo)
- 1959: The Invisible Third (North By Northwest)
- 1961: The Judgment at Nuremberg
- 1962: Ambassador of Fear (The Manchurian Candidate)
- 1964: The Insatiable (The Carpet Baggers)
- 1964: Lend Me Your Husband (Good Neighbor Sam)
Individual evidence
Web links
- Bess Flowers in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- Bess Flowers in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Bess Flowers in the German dubbing file
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Flowers, Bess |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American film actress |
DATE OF BIRTH | November 23, 1898 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Sherman , Texas , United States |
DATE OF DEATH | July 28, 1984 |
Place of death | Woodland Hills , Los Angeles , California , United States |