Aberdeen native J.D. Bowers was a member of an Emmy Award winning team for his work on the “House M.D.” television series which is broadcast on Fox.
Bowers, along with eight to 10 others, received the Emmy for Outstanding Prosthetic Make-Up for a Series or Movie Special, Science and Technology Award. The episode awarded was entitled “Que Sera. Que Sera.”
Bowers began his career with an interest in sculpting.
“I have always been interested in sculpting monsters and creating movie effects since I can remember,” Bowers said during a phone interview from his California home Friday.
Art teachers in high school and college encouraged Bowers’ talent and his technique development. Bowers furthered his education and skills by attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Bowers also participated in a correspondence course with Dick Smith. Smith developed many of the techniques seen today in TV and film. He is best known for his work on “The Godfather,” “The Exorcist,” “Taxi Driver,” and various other films.
Eventually, out of necessity Bowers made a decision.
“I enjoyed doing this, how could I make a living at this?” he said he asked himself.
Bowers first job in his field, was out of Florida where he worked for an company that made animatronic robots for amusement parks. Their robots were sold all over the country.
After moving back to Ohio, with the help of his former boss, Bowers began freelancing toys. This allowed him to also work on independent films and commercials in Kentucky and Ohio. He also worked for a portrait studio in Maysville for three years. As the studio stint came to a close, Bowers also came to a crossroads.
“If I was going to do this thing I really loved, then I realized I better just go for it,” said Bowers.
Bowers saved money and made the move to California.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said of his attempts to break into the business. Bowers found out about workshops he could participate in and began contacting everyone he had read about and worked with. He had interviews and was able to land in a shop where he worked on prosthetic make-up and special effects. He worked in the shop for the next six months, until the shop’s projects ended. From there he moved on to another shop.
The Emmy Award winning artist has been in California for three years now and has worked on a variety of different projects including “CSI,” “House M.D.,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Entourage,” the new HBO series “John Adams,” and other projects. He has worked in six shops since he arrived on the West Coast.
When Bowers first moved to California he said he, “tried to make a lot of friends. Friends always help and are an asset.”
The artist said his favorite part of the move has been, “Getting to meet some of the people who aren’t on the screen. Getting to meet the people behind the scenes is pretty amazing. I never realized how many people from Ohio and Kentucky ended up moving here that I know!”
Bowers and others worked on “House M.D.” to create realistic works.
“It was really nice to work on a project like “House” that requires a lot of realism. That is one of the many things that makes this award such an honor,” Bowers said.
Bowers is currently waiting for the writers strike to end so that he can begin work on new projects.
In the recent month he has not only received an Emmy, but also gotten married to Augusta native, Jessica White.
His friends and family are very proud and excited for him on all of his hard work.
“He’s a good kid. He does his job and we’re really proud of him”, said Bowers’ father, Gary Bowers of Aberdeen.
