Bess Flowers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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, she was known as "The Queen of the Hollywood Extras," appearing in over 700 movies in her 41 year career. Born in Sherman, Texas, Flowers's film debut came in 1923, when she appeared in Hollywood. 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 Eighty Days. 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. Her last movie was Good Neighbor Sam in 1964. 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, Bess Flowers helped to found the Screen Extras Guild (active: 1946-1992, then merged with SAG), where she served as one of its first vice-presidents and recording secretaries.
757 acting credits
Acting · 757
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
1962
Leave It to Beaver
1957
The Red Skelton Show
1951
Mister Ed
1961
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
1955
The Real McCoys
1957
Gone with the Wind
1939
Rear Window
1954
The Abbott and Costello Show
1952
Screen Director's Playhouse
1955
Grand Hotel
1932
Singin' in the Rain
1952
Witness for the Prosecution
1957
Vertigo
1958
Man with a Camera
1958
The Chevy Mystery Show
1960
North by Northwest
1959
Coronado 9
1960
Giant
1956
Notorious
1946
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961
The Big Sleep
1946
Around the World in 80 Days
1956
All About Eve
1950
Double Indemnity
1944
The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951
To Catch a Thief
1955
Dial M for Murder
1954
The Robe
1953
General Electric Theater
1953
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
1953
It Happened One Night
1934
A Night to Remember
1958
The Manchurian Candidate
1962
The Fly
1958
NBC Sunday Showcase
1959
An American in Paris
1951
Gilda
1946
The Thin Man
1934
Mildred Pierce
1945
A Place in the Sun
1951
Camille
1936
Laura
1944
The Greatest Show on Earth
1952
Funny Face
1957
Pocketful of Miracles
1961
You Can't Take It with You
1938
In a Lonely Place
1950
Father of the Bride
1950
Imitation of Life
1959
Guys and Dolls
1955
The Caine Mutiny
1954
Ninotchka
1939
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1941
Houseboat
1958
The Glass Key
1942
The Woman in Green
1945
Now, Voyager
1942
A Star Is Born
1954
White Christmas
1954
The Awful Truth
1937
Heaven Can Wait
1943
The Razor's Edge
1946
The Lost World
1960
Written on the Wind
1956
The Woman in the Window
1944
Good Neighbor Sam
1964
Blood and Sand
1941
Sweet Smell of Success
1957
Dead Reckoning
1946
I Married a Witch
1942
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
Holiday
1938
The Notorious Landlady
1962
Don't Bother to Knock
1952
Les Misérables
1935
Deadline - U.S.A.
1952
The Roaring Twenties
1939
My Man Godfrey
1957
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
1947
Angel Face
1953
Sudden Fear
1952
Dinner at Eight
1933
Calamity Jane
1953
Kid Galahad
1937
A Night at the Opera
1935
The Lady Eve
1941
The Buccaneer
1958
The Absent-Minded Professor
1961
The Prowler
1951
The Bad and the Beautiful
1952
The Country Girl
1954
Battle Cry
1955
42nd Street
1933
Operation Pacific
1951
The Opposite Sex
1956
Beloved Infidel
1959
The Helen Morgan Story
1957
Love Affair
1939
The Band Wagon
1953
Undercurrent
1946
Topper
1937
My Man Godfrey
1936
The Mating Season
1951
The Blue Dahlia
1946
All in a Night's Work
1961
Mighty Joe Young
1949
G.I. Blues
1960
Make Way for Tomorrow
1937
Blue Hawaii
1961
Show Boat
1951
Dodsworth
1936
Sweet Bird of Youth
1962
Phffft
1954
Mr. Skeffington
1944
Penny Serenade
1941
People Will Talk
1951
The Palm Beach Story
1942
Parrish
1961
Illegal
1955
Two Weeks in Another Town
1962
Royal Wedding
1951
The Major and the Minor
1942
The Prisoner of Shark Island
1936
Dreamboat
1952
Hellzapoppin'
1941
Nothing Sacred
1937
The Dark Mirror
1946
Where the Boys Are
1960
Blonde Venus
1932
Home from the Hill
1960
If I Had a Million
1932
The Harvey Girls
1946
The Devil and Miss Jones
1941
The Big Clock
1948
I Walk Alone
1947
Adventure
1945
Teacher's Pet
1958
My Reputation
1946
All the Fine Young Cannibals
1960
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer
1947
Meet John Doe
1941
Wild Boys of the Road
1933
The Wild and the Innocent
1959
The Chase
1946
Move Over, Darling
1963
The Prize
1963
The Story of Three Loves
1953
I Married a Monster from Outer Space
1958
The Honeymoon Machine
1961
Heartbeat
1946
Sadie McKee
1934
Wonder Man
1945
They Drive by Night
1940
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
1955
Show People
1928
Désirée
1954
A Free Soul
1931
Ziegfeld Girl
1941
Executive Suite
1954
Song of the Thin Man
1947
A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate
1923
My Gal Sal
1942
The Mad Ghoul
1943
Every Girl Should Be Married
1948
Honky Tonk
1941
The Man Who Came to Dinner
1941
The Lodger
1944
Till the Clouds Roll By
1946
The Accused
1949
The Unsuspected
1947
Private Number
1936
Boom Town
1940
The Narrow Margin
1952
The Damned Don't Cry
1950
Finishing School
1934
Phone Call from a Stranger
1952
Possessed
1931
Hollywood Canteen
1944
The Locket
1946
Dangerous Crossing
1953
A Day at the Races
1937
The Caddy
1953
Zotz!
1962
Nightfall
1956
A Stolen Life
1946
The Tarnished Angels
1957
Who's Minding the Store?
1963
Magic Town
1947
Three for the Show
1955
The Whole Town's Talking
1935
Please Don't Eat the Daisies
1960
The Bigamist
1953
The Affairs of Cellini
1934
Hard to Handle
1933
Designing Woman
1957
Wife vs. Secretary
1936
Nora Prentiss
1947
The Eddy Duchin Story
1956
The Carpetbaggers
1964
Bedtime Story
1964
The Clown
1953
Conflict
1945
Broadway Melody of 1940
1940
Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956
Casanova's Big Night
1954
Idaho
1943
The She-Creature
1956
40 Pounds of Trouble
1962
Seven Thieves
1960
Arch of Triumph
1948
Palm Springs Weekend
1963
It All Came True
1940
His Kind of Woman
1951
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
1939
A Double Life
1947
The Maze
1953
Thunder in the Night
1935
It Started with a Kiss
1959
Merry Andrew
1958
Deception
1946
The Last Train from Madrid
1937
That Uncertain Feeling
1941
Pin Up Girl
1944
Red, Hot and Blue
1949
Dance, Girl, Dance
1940
The Farmer's Daughter
1947
In Old Chicago
1938
The Velvet Touch
1948
The Mad Miss Manton
1938
The Second Woman
1950
Beyond the Forest
1949
The Flame
1947
No Man of Her Own
1950
Hail the Conquering Hero
1944
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
Walk Softly, Stranger
1950
Humoresque
1947
Whiplash
1948
The Law and the Lady
1951
Ivy
1947
It Happened in Flatbush
1942
The Big Street
1942
To the Ends of the Earth
1948
It Had to Be You
1947
The File on Thelma Jordon
1949
Alias Nick Beal
1949
Strategic Air Command
1955
Living It Up
1954
Dangerous Mission
1954
The Great Caruso
1951
That Certain Age
1938
This Could Be the Night
1957
Midnight
1939
Trapped by Boston Blackie
1948
Eternally Yours
1939
Phantom Lady
1944
The Perils of Pauline
1947
Serenade
1956
Twice Blessed
1945
Sorority House
1939
Curly Top
1935
Craig's Wife
1936
On the Riviera
1951
One Hour with You
1932
Above and Beyond
1953
In Society
1944
Something to Live For
1952
Peggy
1950
Shakedown
1950
Texas Carnival
1951
Forever, Darling
1956
Young Man with Ideas
1952
The Human Jungle
1954
The Woman in Red
1935
Holy Matrimony
1943
Arise, My Love
1940
The Unknown Man
1951
Romance on the High Seas
1948
Too Much, Too Soon
1958
Girl in 313
1940
Fun on a Weekend
1947
It's a Great Feeling
1949
I'll Cry Tomorrow
1955
Runaway Daughters
1956
Road Show
1941
Three Loves Has Nancy
1938
Lady in a Jam
1942
Neptune's Daughter
1949
The Mummy's Ghost
1944
China Passage
1937
Babes in Toyland
1961
Pretty Baby
1950
Lightnin'
1930
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
1944
Marry the Girl
1937
Hazard
1948
The Heavenly Body
1944
It's Love I'm After
1937
Wake Me When It's Over
1960
Hell's Island
1955
Smart Woman
1948
Roger Touhy, Gangster
1944
Dangerous Blondes
1943
The First Traveling Saleslady
1956
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell
1951
Double or Nothing
1937
The Thrill of It All
1963
The Shadow
1937
Born to Be Bad
1950
Dirigible
1931
Here Come the Waves
1944
The French Line
1954
Mardi Gras
1958
Shanghai
1935
Old Acquaintance
1943
Johnny Apollo
1940
Best Foot Forward
1943
Hollywood
1923
Two Sisters from Boston
1946
Interrupted Melody
1955
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
1942
Let's Live a Little
1948
The Jolson Story
1946
Payment on Demand
1951
For Those Who Think Young
1964
The Gorgeous Hussy
1936
A Private's Affair
1959
Together Again
1944
Hold That Blonde!
1945
Zenobia
1939
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town
1950
Small Town Girl
1953
Anything Goes
1956
Ten Thousand Bedrooms
1957
The Male Animal
1942
Old Ironsides
1926
I Love You Again
1940
Coney Island
1943
The Constant Nymph
1943
Sky Liner
1949
Ginger
1935
That's My Man
1947
Family Honeymoon
1948
Sleep, My Love
1948
My Friend Irma
1949
Silver Queen
1942
Intrigue
1947
Dixie Dugan
1943
To Please a Lady
1950
It Started with Eve
1941
A Blueprint for Murder
1953
Week-End at the Waldorf
1945
Kid Millions
1934
The Kid from Brooklyn
1946
Private Worlds
1935
Angels Over Broadway
1940
Theodora Goes Wild
1936
The Girl Rush
1955
Zombies on Broadway
1945
Ladies of Washington
1944
Hollywood Party
1934
Anthony Adverse
1936
The Lady Objects
1938
Rendezvous with Annie
1946
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
1958
Flesh and Fantasy
1943
My Dear Secretary
1948
Monkey Business
1931
Shipmates Forever
1935
Latin Lovers
1953
The Long Wait
1954
Bloodhounds of Broadway
1952
Ladies' Man
1931
Larceny, Inc.
1942
Once Upon a Honeymoon
1942
Go Naked in the World
1961
Wanted: Jane Turner
1936
The Richest Girl in the World
1934
Monte Carlo
1930
One Touch of Venus
1948
First Love
1939
Edge of Doom
1950
Mexican Spitfire's Elephant
1942
Return to Peyton Place
1961
Pacific Blackout
1941
The Noose Hangs High
1948
Crime Doctor
1943
First Lady
1937
Accused of Murder
1956
Never Wave at a WAC
1953
Society Lawyer
1939
Anything Goes
1936
The Cheat
1931
Blood Money
1933
Song Without End
1960
I Was a Shoplifter
1950
Lullaby of Broadway
1951
The Defense Rests
1934
I Wake Up Screaming
1941
After Office Hours
1935
Lady with Red Hair
1940
On the Avenue
1937
If You Could Only Cook
1935
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine
1951
Son of the Gods
1930
Man About Town
1939
King of Burlesque
1936
She Couldn't Take It
1935
Ten Cents a Dance
1931
They Made Her a Spy
1939
Scared Stiff
1953
The Crime Doctor's Warning
1945
Call Me Madam
1953
The Public Pays
1936
My Blue Heaven
1950
Pilgrimage
1933
No Time for Comedy
1940
Chicago Syndicate
1955
John Loves Mary
1949
Dear Brat
1951
The Calling of Dan Matthews
1935
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937
Because They're Young
1960
Speed
1936
Let's Do It Again
1953
Delightfully Dangerous
1945
Remember the Day
1941
Private Buckaroo
1942
The Spellbinder
1939
Sergeant Madden
1939
Life Begins with Love
1937
There's One Born Every Minute
1942
You Said a Mouthful
1932
Tahiti Honey
1943
Home Town Story
1951
'Til We Meet Again
1940
On an Island with You
1948
Their Own Desire
1929
The Toast of New Orleans
1950
Springtime in the Rockies
1942
Lady Be Good
1941
Strange Affair
1944
Meet the Baron
1933
Man Wanted
1932
Smart Blonde
1937
Fifth Avenue Girl
1939
Immortal Sergeant
1943
No, No, Nanette
1940
City Streets
1938
The Magnificent Dope
1942
A Feather in Her Hat
1935
Iron Man
1931
She's Working Her Way Through College
1952
April in Paris
1952
The View from Pompey's Head
1955
The Shining Hour
1938
Honolulu
1939
Over 21
1945
Forever Female
1953
Made on Broadway
1933
Piccadilly Jim
1936
Susan Lenox (Her Fall and Rise)
1931
Lover Come Back
1946
Ever Since Eve
1937
Her Sister's Secret
1946
The St. Louis Kid
1934
Incident in an Alley
1962
Torch Song
1953
Adventure in Washington
1941
Trocadero
1944
Undercover Maisie
1947
The Searching Wind
1946
Hotel for Women
1939
Shopworn
1932
You're My Everything
1949
Golden Hoofs
1941
Champagne for Caesar
1950
Ship Ahoy
1942
One Hundred Men and a Girl
1937
You Came Along
1945
Last of the Buccaneers
1950
Redheads on Parade
1935
Adventure in Manhattan
1936
One Mile from Heaven
1937
What a Woman
1943
Hi, Beautiful
1944
Meet the Stewarts
1942
Tom, Dick and Harry
1941
Bachelor Apartment
1931
I Am the Law
1938
The Great Waltz
1938
Three Smart Girls Grow Up
1939
The Countess of Monte Cristo
1948
An Innocent Affair
1948
Meet Me After the Show
1951
I Believed in You
1934
Blondie Goes to College
1942
No Place for a Lady
1943
A Plumbing We Will Go
1940
Footlight Varieties
1951
The Lone Wolf in Paris
1938
Blue Denim
1959
She Devil
1957
Alias Mary Dow
1935
Tropic Zone
1953
Women of Glamour
1937
I Found Stella Parish
1935
A Life of Her Own
1950
Society Mugs
1946
The Lady and the Monster
1944
Yours for the Asking
1936
Pittsburgh
1942
Stop, You're Killing Me
1952
Wallflower
1948
The Notorious Lone Wolf
1946
Three Bad Sisters
1956
Special Investigator
1936
Frisco Lil
1942
South of the Border
1939
Crazy House
1943
The Greater Glory
1926
Stolen Holiday
1937
The Buster Keaton Story
1957
I'll Take Romance
1937
Women in Prison
1938
Rose of Washington Square
1939
Smashing the Spy Ring
1938
Disaster
1948
Parole, Inc.
1948
When You're in Love
1937
The Night Before the Divorce
1942
Thunder Birds
1942
The Facts of Life
1960
No Marriage Ties
1933
That Night in Rio
1941
Hi Diddle Diddle
1943
Louisa
1950
Bundle of Joy
1956
Mr. Reckless
1948
The Amazing Mrs. Holliday
1943
Grand Slam
1933
Winter Meeting
1948
The Life of the Party
1937
Music for Millions
1944
Mutts to You
1938
The Boys from Syracuse
1940
Young Dr. Kildare
1938
No Questions Asked
1951
Old Man Rhythm
1935
Untamed
1929
The Saturday Night Kid
1929
Let's Live Tonight
1935
Here Comes the Groom
1951
The Fabulous Dorseys
1947
My Lips Betray
1933
The Looters
1955
Dixie
1943
Love Me Forever
1935
Blondie Knows Best
1946
Sing, Baby, Sing
1936
The Great Jewel Robber
1950
The Walls Came Tumbling Down
1946
Broadway Rhythm
1944
The Screen Director
1951
The Affairs of Susan
1945
If I Had My Way
1940
Michael Shayne: Private Detective
1940
These Wilder Years
1956
Finn and Hattie
1931
Black Sheep
1935
Brooklyn Orchid
1942
I'll Get By
1950
Juke Box Rhythm
1959
Lone Hand Saunders
1926
Charlie McCarthy, Detective
1939
Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round
1934
Blondie in the Dough
1947
Road to Paradise
1930
The Missing Corpse
1945
Hot Rod
1950
Notorious But Nice
1933
I Married a Woman
1958
Laugh Your Blues Away
1942
Chinatown Nights
1929
Should a Girl Marry?
1939
The Bitter Waters
1956
Blondie in Society
1941
Rhumba Rhythm at the Hollywood La Conga
1939
City Park
1934
Nobody's Baby
1937
Let's Dance
1950
The Big Game
1936
Three Sailors and a Girl
1953
Change of Heart
1934
The Curtain Falls
1934
Slightly French
1949
Star of Midnight
1935
No Escape
1953
The Golden Arrow
1936
Ever in My Heart
1933
Mister Big
1943
Go Into Your Dance
1935
Take a Letter, Darling
1942
Bedside
1934
For Love or Money
1963
Once to Every Woman
1934
A Song for Miss Julie
1945
Experiment Alcatraz
1950
Attorney for the Defense
1932
Men in Fright
1938
Stage Struck
1936
Goin' to Town
1935
Sunny
1941
Daybreak
1931
Mary Ryan, Detective
1949
I'll Fix It
1934
Nancy Goes to Rio
1950
Over My Dead Body
1942
Her Kind of Man
1946
The Fabulous Joe
1947
Fugitives for a Night
1938
Love Before Breakfast
1936
Thicker Than Water
1935
Step Lively, Jeeves!
1937
Spring Is Here
1930
Puddin' Head
1941
Cross-Country Romance
1940
Pound Foolish
1940
Give Me Your Heart
1936
Stand Up and Cheer!
1934
Hideout
1949
Topper Takes a Trip
1938
She Married Her Boss
1935
Married Bachelor
1941
Danger Street
1947
The Single Standard
1929
Teenage Millionaire
1961
Polo Joe
1936
The Personality Kid
1934
Sally and Saint Anne
1952
Mr. Music
1950
One in a Million
1937
The Big Timer
1932
The Costume Designer
1950
Termites of 1938
1938
You'll Find Out
1940
The Heckler
1940
Tassels in the Air
1938
Mannequin
1926
Laurel & Hardy: Year Two
2024
The Mad Doctor of Market Street
1942
Her Majesty, Love
1931
Postal Inspector
1936
Girls in Chains
1943
Mr. Ace
1946
Loose in London
1953
The Bride Goes Wild
1948
Strangers May Kiss
1931
Wintertime
1943
Ghost Chasers
1951
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder
1952
Going Wild
1930
Twilight for the Gods
1958
Blondie's Lucky Day
1946
I've Got Your Number
1934
Whispering Smith Speaks
1935
Blondie Goes Latin
1941
Silks and Saddles
1936
For Beauty's Sake
1941
City of Chance
1940
Musical Movieland
1944
So You Want to Be in Pictures
1947
Ain't Misbehavin'
1955
Look for the Silver Lining
1949
Don't Knock the Twist
1962
Three Girls About Town
1941
New Morals for Old
1932
Two Sinners
1935
Linda
1929
Cruisin' Down the River
1953
You Can't Buy Luck
1937
Forgotten Faces
1936
Tall, Dark and Handsome
1941
Sin's Pay Day
1932
Bondage
1933
Twist Around The Clock
1961
Cigarette Girl
1947
Day-time Wife
1939
Rich, Young and Pretty
1951
The Jazz Singer
1953
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1955
Incendiary Blonde
1945
Success at Any Price
1934
Paid to Dance
1937
Tin Pan Alley
1940
In Caliente
1935
The Half-Naked Truth
1932
Ride The High Iron
1956
The Phantom of Crestwood
1932
One More Tomorrow
1946
Hands Across the Border
1926
It's in the Bag!
1945
The Mind Needer
1938
Divorce Among Friends
1930
Irene
1926
Mr. Noisy
1946
A Gentleman at Heart
1942
Five Little Peppers in Trouble
1940
Strike Me Pink
1936
It's a Pleasure
1945
Rich Man, Poor Girl
1938
Whistling in Brooklyn
1943
Day of Reckoning
1933
The Age of Desire
1923
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
1951
I Want a Divorce
1940
Murder Without Tears
1953
Journal of a Crime
1934
The Expert
1932
You Were Meant for Me
1948
Girl in Danger
1934
The Ghost Talks
1929
We Faw Down
1928
Sunny Side of the Street
1951
One in a Million
1935
An Ache in Every Stake
1941
A Yank at Eton
1942
A Doggone Mixup
1938
Three Hearts for Julia
1943
The People Vs. Dr. Kildare
1941
Hooray for Love
1935
Five Finger Exercise
1962
How to Behave
1936
Career Girl
1944
Merry Wives of Reno
1934
Sprucin' Up
1935
Time Out for Trouble
1938
The Lady or the Tiger?
1942
Honeymoon Bridge
1935
Tonight We Sing
1953
Laddie
1926
Meet the Missus
1937
Wife, Husband and Friend
1939
Up in Central Park
1948
Sweet Rosie O'Grady
1943
Glenister of the Mounted
1926
Murder Among Friends
1941
Hit the Hay
1945
Okay Toots!
1935
Neighborhood House
1936
Three for Bedroom C
1952
Twin Triplets
1935
The Silent Partner
1923
So You Want to Be a Paper Hanger
1951
The Ladies' Man
1928
Blondes by Choice
1927