Born Name:  Charles R. Bowers

Born Date:  June 6, 1887

Born Place:  Cresco, Iowa

Died Date:  24 November 1946

Died Place:  Paterson, New Jersey

Occupations:  Cartoonist, slapstick comedian

Brief Biography:  Charles Raymond Bowers often known as Charley Bowers, was a prolific American cartoonist, animator, and slapstick comedian. A pioneer of surrealist cinema, he is best known for creating the "Bowers Process," a technique that seamlessly blended live-action footage with stop-motion animation.

Early Life and Animation Career:
Early Career: He began his career as a cartoonist and played a major role in the early development of the Mutt and Jeff animated series for the Barré Studio.
Innovations: Bowers founded his own studio to produce animation and was known for his complex, Rube Goldberg-style gadgets and surreal imagery.

Slapstick and Rediscovery:
Silent Comedies: In the late 1920s, he starred in a series of live-action shorts for R-C Pictures and Educational Pictures. These films were noted for their bizarre logic—featuring things like metal-eating birds and trees that grew fully formed cars.
"Bricolo": He became particularly popular in France, where audiences dubbed him "Bricolo" (a handyman or tinkerer).
Legacy: After his death in 1946, his work was largely forgotten until his films were rediscovered in France during the 1960s. He is now frequently ranked alongside silent film legends like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin for his inventiveness.
Books: During this time, he focused on writing and illustrating children's books, with his wife often assisting with the illustrations under his direction.