Michael Bower is an American actor best known for his role as Eddie "Donkeylips" Gelfen on the television program Salute Your Shorts, which aired from 1991 to 1992 on Nickelodeon and for which he won a Young Artist Award.
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Career
Born in Tarzana, California, Bower made his film debut in Michael Jackson's 1988 Moonwalker. 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 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. He has also appeared in movies such as Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School and Ivan Reitman's Evolution. 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).
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.
Bower can also be seen on commercials for Mountain Dew's Amp Energy Drinks as a high-voltage, dancing mechanic.
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
Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All (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)
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
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (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
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009) as Eugene Reaper (Archive Footage)
Halo 3: ODST (2009) as Additional Voices
Red Dead Redemption (2010) as The Local Population
Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) as Additional Voices (Uncredited)
