Aldrich Bowker

Aldrich Bowker (January 1, 1875 – March 21, 1947) was an American actor who worked in stage and film. Born in Ashby, Massachusetts, he received his secondary education at Fitchburg High School. His stage career began in Boston with a production adapted from Hall Caine's novel The Christian.

Before establishing himself on Broadway, Bowker built an extensive career in regional theater, performing for extended periods in Chicago and Cincinnati. He also participated in summer stock productions at Whalom Park, an amusement park in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, where he was among the early practitioners of open-air theater. He continued this work at his summer home in Ashburnham, which served as a gathering place for fellow performers, among them Ainsworth Arnold and Bette Davis.

Bowker's Broadway career spanned from 1912 to 1936 and included productions such as The High Road, A Night in Avignon, Let Freedom Ring, Prelude, The Golden Journey, 200 Were Chosen, and You Can't Take It With You. His first Broadway appearance, in The High Road, came in 1912, and both 200 Were Chosen and You Can't Take It With You were staged in 1936.

In the final years of his career, Bowker transitioned to film, appearing in approximately 25 productions between 1939 and 1942. Among these was the 1941 feature Ball of Fire. He died on March 21, 1947, at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, California, from arteriosclerosis and senility.