There aren't many actors who can claim that they appeared in everything
from innocuous family features to sexy soft-core smut to popular
television programs to various horror, science fiction, and exploitation
movies as well as worked behind-the-scenes on a slew of films in
assorted production capacities throughout the course of their careers.
The exceptionally talented and versatile George "Buck" Flower did all
this and more during a remarkably busy, diverse, and impressive career
that spanned 35 years and over a 100 movies as a character actor alone.
Flower was born on October 28, 1937, in the Blue Mountains of Eastern
Oregon. He enlisted in the army as a teenager and enrolled at Eastern
Oregon College following his military service. Flower then moved to
California and attended Pasadena City College. He soon became a member
of the repertory theater group The Inspiration Players and stayed with
the group for twelve years. The theater company toured Alaska and all
48 continental United States.
Flower first started acting in movies in
the early 1970s and initially established himself in the blithely lowbrow soft-core outings
Fix Fix 2.Teil: Oben ohne, unten nix (1972),
Die Nackten und Perversen (1971), and
Der Fummeltrick der jungen Sally (1973)
for legendary trash flick filmmaker
Harry H. Novak. Portly and grizzled, with
a rumpled face, a scraggly beard, an engagingly rough-around-the-edges
demeanor, and a deep, thick, heavy drawling rumble of a throaty voice,
Flower was often cast as grubby bums, sloppy drunks, grouchy old guys,
and scruffy rednecks. Among the notable directors Flower appeared in
countless films for are Matt Cimber,
Jim Wynorski,
Don Edmonds (he's in the first two
notoriously nasty "Ilsa" movies acting under the alias C.D. LaFleure),
William Lustig,
Bill Rebane,
David DeCoteau,
Bethel Buckalew,
Jack Starrett, Nick Phillips,
Anthony Hickox, and
Fred Olen Ray. Flower achieved his
greatest popularity with his terrific contributions to a handful of
John Carpenter features: he's an
ill-fated fisherman in The Fog: Nebel des Grauens (1980); a
bum in
Die Klapperschlange (1981);
a crusty cook in Starman (1984);
excellent as the rags-to-riches bum Drifter in
John Carpenter's Sie leben (1988); another bum in the
"Unleaded" segment of the horror anthology
Body Bags (1993); and a boozy
high school janitor in
Das Dorf der Verdammten (1995).
Flower's other memorable roles include the cantankerous forest-dwelling
hermit Boomer in the "Wilderness Family" pictures, a detective in
The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976),
a corrupt vice cop in
The Candy Tangerine Man (1975), a
machete-brandishing lunatic in
Drive-In Killer: Massaker im Autokino (1976), an
irascible old coot in
Der Sunset Killer (1989), a senile janitor in
Beast You! (1988),
the stern patriarch of a mountain family in
Das Halloween Monster (1988), a grouchy
handyman in
Bloody Pompoms (1988), a
gregarious railroad worker in
The Alpha Incident (1978), a
homeless man on a park bench in
Zurück in die Zukunft (1985)
(Flower reprised this part in the first sequel), an ill-kept hick in
Jagdzeit in Texas (1976),
a peppery camp caretaker in
Berserker (1987) and a hillbilly hunter
in Skeeter (1993). Flower had guest spots
on the TV shows
Ein Duke kommt selten allein (1979),
Flo (1980),
New York Cops: NYPD Blue (1993),
Emergency Room: Die Notaufnahme (1994), and
Dr. Quinn - Ärztin aus Leidenschaft (1993).
In addition to his substantial acting credits, Flower also was the
casting director for
The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)
and Es donnert über San Francisco (1983), served as a
producer on such features as
Hell's Belles (1995),
Takin' It Off Out West (1995),
Rächer der Nacht (1986), and
Up Yours (1979),
handled second unit director chores on
The Lonely Lady (1983),
Action Man - Ein Mann, ein Kämpfer (1977), and
Duett im Bett (1973), and
even co-wrote the scripts for such movies as
Wooly Boys (2001),
Party Plane (1991),
Death Falls (1991),
Auf der Suche nach dem goldenen Himmel (1984),
Fahrt ins Ungewisse (1977),
Drive-In Killer: Massaker im Autokino (1976), and
Teenage Seductress (1975).
He's the father of actress/costume designer
Verkina Flower.
George "Buck" Flower died
of cancer at age 66 on June 18, 2004. Although the "Buck" may have
sadly stopped, George "Buck" Flower's extraordinary cinematic legacy
shall continue to live on and entertain film fans all over the world
for all eternity. Author: woodyanders
