Bess Flowers

Bess Flowers (November 23, 1898 – July 28, 1984) was an American actress best known for her work as an extra in hundreds of films.[1] She was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras,"[2] appearing in more than 350 feature films and numerous comedy shorts in her 41-year career.

Bess Flowers
Flowers in Song of the Thin Man (1947)
Born(1898-11-23)November 23, 1898
Sherman, Texas, U.S.
DiedJuly 28, 1984(1984-07-28) (aged 85)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1923–1964
Spouses
Cullen Tate
​
​
(m. 1923; div. 1928)​
    William S. Holman
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1929; div. 1930)​
    Children1

    She holds the record for appearances in films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (23).[3]

    Career

    Born in Sherman, Texas, Flowers' film debut came in 1923, when she appeared in Hollywood.[4] She made three films that year, and then began working extensively. Many of her appearances are uncredited, as she generally played non-speaking roles.

    By the 1930s, Flowers was in constant demand. Her appearances ranged from Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford thrillers to comedic roles alongside of Charley Chase, the Three Stooges, Leon Errol, Edgar Kennedy, and Laurel and Hardy.

    She appeared in the following five films which won the Academy Award for Best Picture: It Happened One Night, You Can't Take it with You, All About Eve, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Around the World in 80 Days.[2] In each of these movies, Flowers was uncredited. Including these five movies, she had appeared in twenty-three Best Picture nominees in total, making her the record holder for most appearances in films nominated for the award.[2] Her last movie was Good Neighbor Sam in 1964.[3]

    Flowers's acting career was not confined to feature films. She was also seen in many episodic American TV series, such as I Love Lucy, notably in episodes, "Lucy Is Enceinte" (1952), "Ethel's Birthday" (1955), and "Lucy's Night in Town" (1957), where she is usually seen as a theatre patron.

    Outside her acting career, in 1945, Flowers helped to found the Screen Extras Guild[1] (active: 1946–1992, then merged with the Screen Actors Guild), where she served as one of its first vice-presidents and recording secretaries.[2]

    Personal life

    Flowers was first married on September 2, 1923, in Ventura County, California, to Cullen Tate,[5] an assistant director for Cecil B. DeMille. They had a daughter,[6] and they were divorced in 1928 in Los Angeles.

    Death

    Flowers died on July 28, 1984, at age 85 in the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital[3]: 129  in Woodland Hills, California.

    Selected filmography
    1920s
    • Hollywood (1923) as Hortense Towers
    • The Silent Partner (1923) as Mrs. Nesbit
    • Irene (1926) as Jane Gilmour
    • Lone Hand Saunders (1926) as Alice Mills
    • Hands Across the Border (1926) as Ysabel Castro
    • Glenister of the Mounted (1926) as Elizabeth Danrock
    • Old Ironsides (1926) (uncredited)
    • Blondes by Choice (1927) as Olga Flint
    • Show People (1928) (uncredited)
    • We Faw Down (1928, Short) as Mrs. Laurel
    • The Saturday Night Kid (1929) as Customer (uncredited)
    • Their Own Desire (1929) as Miriam the Polo Player (uncredited)
    1930s
    • Ten Cents a Dance (1931) as Bridge Player
    • Strangers May Kiss (1931) as Diner (uncredited)
    • A Free Soul (1931) as Birthday Party Guest (uncredited)
    • Monkey Business (1931) as Indian's Wife (uncredited)
    • Possessed (1931) as Party Guest (uncredited)
    • Sinister Hands (1932) as Mary Browne
    • Sin's Pay Day (1932) as Jane Webb
    • It Happened One Night (1934) - Agnes, Gordon's Secretary (uncredited)
    • One Exciting Adventure (1934)
    • Star of Midnight (1935) as Mary Smith (uncredited)
    • The Whole Town's Talking (1935) as Miss Gower, the Secretary (uncredited)
    • A Night at the Opera (1935) as Ship Passenger (uncredited)
    • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) as Party Guest (uncredited)
    • Forgotten Faces (1936) as Nurse
    • Two-Fisted Gentleman (1936) as Matron
    • My Man Godfrey (1936) as Mrs. Merriweather (uncredited)
    • Dodsworth (1936) as Ship Passenger (uncredited)
    • Theodora Goes Wild (1936) as Reception Guest (uncredited)
    • Topper (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
    • The Awful Truth (1937) as Viola Heath (uncredited)
    • Nothing Sacred (1937) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
    • Paid to Dance (1937) as Suzy
    • The Shadow (1937) as Marianne
    • Ever Since Eve (1937) as Woman at Dance (uncredited)
    • Termites of 1938 (1938, Short) as Mrs. Muriel Van Twitchell (uncredited)
    • Holiday (1938) as Dorothy the Party Guest (uncredited)
    • You Can't Take It With You (1938) as Martin's Neighbor (uncredited)
    • Mutts to You (1938, Short) as Mrs. Manning
    • The Lady Objects (1938) as Miriam Harper
    • Midnight (1939) as Party Guest (uncredited)
    • Rose of Washington Square (1939) as Dinner Guest (uncredited)
    • The Roaring Twenties (1939) as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
    • Ninotchka (1939) as Gossip (uncredited)
    • Gone with the Wind (1939) as Hospital Nurse (uncredited)
    1940s
    1950s
    1960s
    • The Carpetbaggers (1964) (uncredited)
    • Good Neighbor Sam (1964) (uncredited)

    References
    1. Slide, Anthony (September 5, 2012). Hollywood Unknowns: A History of Extras, Bit Players, and Stand-Ins. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 152–153. ISBN 9781617034749. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    2. Feinberg, Scott (February 20, 2014). "20 Feet From Movie Stardom: The Overlooked Story of Hollywood's Greatest Extra". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
    3. Slide, Anthony. 2010.Silent Players: a Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 103. ISBN 9780813127088.
    4. Tevis, Robert E. (Fall 2016). "Send Me ... Bess Flowers". Films of the Golden Age (86): 88–93.
    5. Scott, Tony (2001). The Stars of Hollywood Forever. Lulu.com. ISBN 9781312916975. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
    6. Cloud, Barbara (June 6, 1999). "A career of standing out in a crowd". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. p. 14. Retrieved March 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

    Further reading
    • Maltin, Leonard (2015) [First published 1969]. "Bess Flowers". The Real Stars : Profiles and Interviews of Hollywood's Unsung Featured Players (softcover) (Sixth / eBook ed.). Great Britain: CreateSpace Independent. pp. 81–87. ISBN 978-1-5116-4485-3.
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