Michael Ray Bower Explained

Other Names:	Michael Bower
Birth Name:	Anthony Michael Ray Bower
Years Active:	1988–present
Occupation:	Actor

Michael Bower is an American actor best known for his role as Eddie "Donkeylips" Gelfen on the television program Salute Your Shorts,^[1] which aired from 1991 to 1992 on Nickelodeon and for which he won a Young Artist Award.^[2]

Career

Born in Tarzana, California, Bower made his film debut in Michael Jackson's 1988 Moonwalker.^{[3] [4] [5] [6]} He had appearances in episodic television series such as Webster, Tales from the Crypt, Empty Nest, Superior Court, Hull High, The Wonder Years, and Doogie Howser, M.D., before being brought into Salute Your Shorts^[7] for 20 episodes as the major character Eddie 'Donkeylips' Gelfen. After that series, he continued with guest roles on well-known television series, including that of Monica Geller's (Courteney Cox) prom date on an episode of Friends.^{[1] [8]} He has also appeared in movies such as Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School^[9] and Ivan Reitman's Evolution.^{[10] [11]} Bower had a small role in an episode of the FOX series Dark Angel, and played in the indie film Social Misfits, and the comedy short film Dinner with Raphael (written and directed by Joey Boukadakis).^[12]

Bower appeared as a contestant on the game show Fun House in the late 1980s as well as Nick Arcade in the early 1990s. He also appears in the music video for "Download This Song" by MC Lars. He has also appeared as a contestant on Singled Out and had a guest role on The Wonder Years as Peter Armbruster in 3 episodes in the early 1990s. He provides the voice of "Eugene Reaper" in Grand Theft Auto IV.^[13]

Bower can also be seen on commercials for Mountain Dew's Amp Energy Drinks as a high-voltage, dancing mechanic.^{[1] [14] [15]}

Awards

• 1992 - Young Artist Award winner - Best Young Actor in a Cable Series - Salute Your Shorts

Selected filmography

Television

• Webster (1 episode, 1988) as Mayor
• (1989) as Velda's Nephew
• Tales from the Crypt (1 episode, 1989) as Junior
• Empty Nest (2 episodes, 1989–1990) as Josh
• Superior Court (1 episode, 1990) as Joey
• Hull High (1 episode, 1990) as Big Boy
• The Wonder Years, (3 episodes, 1990–1991) as Peter Armbruster, Kid, Joe
• Doogie Howser, M.D., (2 episodes, 1990–1991) as Boy Nerd, Josh
• Salute Your Shorts, (26 episodes, 1991–1992) as Eddie 'Donkeylips' Gelfen
• Running the Halls (1 episode, 1993) as Super George
• The Day My Parents Ran Away (1993) as Richie
• Weird Science (1 episode, 1994) as Kyle
• California Dreams, TV (2 episodes, 1992–1994) as Tommy
• Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills (1 episode, 1995) as Alex
• Friends (1 episode, 1996) as Roy Gublik
• Rescue 77 (1 episode, 1999) as Party Guy
• Chicken Soup for the Soul (1 episode, 2000) as Henry
• The X-Files (First Person Shooter, 2000)
• Dark Angel (Brainiac, 2002)
• Monk (1 episode, 2006) as Peter
• (Living Doll, 2007)
• Bones (The Finder, 2011) as Sam Nozik
• Raising Hope (1 episode, 2014) as Kevin

Film

• Moonwalker (1988) (scenes deleted)
• She's Out of Control (1989) as Kid at Beach
• Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (1990) as Glen Tanksley
• The Willies (1990) as Gordy Belcher
• Captain Nuke and the Bomber Boys (1995) as Frank Pescoe
• High School High (1996) as Heckler (Uncredited)
• Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) as Big Cult Guard
• Social Misfits (2001) as Edgar
• Evolution (2001) as Danny Donald
• Wishcraft (2002) as Tony
• Sex and the Teenage Mind (2002) as Dwayne
• Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005) as Tommy Tanksley
• Dinner with Raphael (2009) as Raphael, Jimmy
• Perfect Combination (2010) as Tony
• Dumbbells (2014) as Erwin
• Cocked (2015) as Technician
• The Bread of Wickedness (2018)

Video games

• (2006) as Commercial Voice, People of Vice City
• Bully (2006) as Mr. Buckingham
• Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) as Eugene Reaper, The Crowd of Liberty City, Commercial
• (2009) as Eugene Reaper (Archive Footage)
• (2009) as Additional Voices
• Red Dead Redemption (2010) as The Local Population
• (2011) as Additional Voices (Uncredited)

Notes and References

1. News: Stephanie Webber. Interview: Salute Your Shorts Michael Bower Talks Past Roles And What He's Been Up To. 5 December 2011. Ology. October 19, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111021062333/http://ology.com/tv/interview-michael-bower-talks-past-roles-and-what-hes-been . Oct 21, 2011 .
2. Web site: Fourteenth Annual Youth in Film Awards . Young Artist Awards . 5 December 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110217002739/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms14.htm . 17 February 2011 .
3. News: Staff. Special appearances by.... December 7, 2011. Black Men Magazine (archived page). April 5, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120426035241/http://www.heybower.com/files/Black_Men_Mag_4_2010.png. April 26, 2012.
4. News: Staff. Film Shorts. December 7, 2011. The Hollywood Reporter (archived page). January 12, 2002. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120426035249/http://www.heybower.com/files/Hollywood_Reporter_Evolution_Hire.jpg. April 26, 2012.
5. News: Staff. Films in Production. December 7, 2011. The Hollywood Reporter (archived page). November 18, 2001. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120426035254/http://www.heybower.com/files/Evolution_Cast_List_Arrow.jpg. April 26, 2012.
6. News: Higgens, Bill . Film Shorts . December 7, 2011 . Variety (archived page) . July 20, 2002 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426035300/http://www.heybower.com/files/Evolution_Premiere.jpg . April 26, 2012 .
7. http://www.blankmaninc.com/michael-bower-interview Interview with blankmaninc.com
8. Web site: Stephanie Webber. Exclusive: Actor Michael Bower Reveals Secrets From The 'Friends' Prom Video Episode. Ology. 5 December 2011. November 15, 2011.
9. News: Kristin MacDonald. 'Charm' sweet, easy. 5 December 2011. Michigan Daily. April 17, 2006.
10. News: 'Evolution' limits its amusements. 5 December 2011. The Washington Times. June 8, 2001.
11. News: Barbara Vancheri. What's summer without aliens?. 5 December 2011. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 8, 2001.
12. Web site: Dinner with Raphael . Funny or Die. 5 December 2011.
13. Web site: Grand Theft Auto IV. Metacritic. 5 December 2011.
14. Web site: Gil Kaufman. Best-Worst Super Bowl Music. https://web.archive.org/web/20110829061314/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1580877/best-worst-super-bowl-music.jhtml. dead. August 29, 2011. MTV. 5 December 2011. February 4, 2008.
15. Web site: r/redbar. reddit. en. 2018-07-29.