William Powell
William Powell | |
|---|---|
 1936 portrait forMetro-Goldwyn-Mayerby George Hurrell | |
| Born | William Horatio Powell July 29, 1892 |
| Died | March 5, 1984(aged 91) |
| Resting place | Desert Memorial Park,Cathedral City, California,U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1911–1955 |
| Spouses | |
| Partner | Jean Harlow(1934–1937) |
| Children | William David Powell |
William Horatio Powell(July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career. Under contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer,he was paired withMyrna Loyin 14 films, including theThin Manseries based on theNick and Nora Charlescharacters created byDashiell Hammett.Powell was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Actorthree times: forThe Thin Man(1934),My Man Godfrey(1936), andLife with Father(1947).
Early life
[edit]Powell was born inPittsburghin 1892,[1]the only child of Nettie Manila (néeBrady) and Horatio Warren Powell, anaccountant.[2][3]In 1907, young William moved with his family toKansas City, Missouri,where he graduated fromCentral High Schoolfour years later.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]
After high school, Powell enrolled at theUniversity of Kansasto study law, but after a week he relocated to New York City, where he attended theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3][4]In 1912, Powell left the AADA, and began working invaudevilleand stock companies.[5]He also appeared onBroadway.[6][7]Powell began his Hollywood career in 1922, in a production ofSherlock HolmeswithJohn Barrymore.He performed asFrancis IinWhen Knighthood Was in FlowerwithMarion Davies.[8]
Powell remained under contract to Paramount throughout the 1920s, before signing withWarner Bros.
Powell portrayed a vengeful film director in the silent movieThe Last Command(1928). His first starring role wasPhilo VanceinThe Canary Murder Case(1929). He played Vance atParamount Picturesfour times. His strong stage-developed voice became a powerful asset whentalking pictureswere introduced.
Powell appeared asNick Charlesin sixThin Manfilms, beginning withThe Thin Manin 1934, based uponDashiell Hammett'snovel.This movie provided Powell with his firstAcademy Awardnomination, in 1935[9]
Powell starred inThe Great Ziegfeld,(1936), opposite hisThe Thin Manco-star,Myrna Loy,who played Ziegfeld's wife,Billie Burke.In 1937, Powell received his second Academy Award nomination for the comedyMy Man Godfrey.[10]
In 1935, he starred withJean HarlowinReckless.In 1936, Harlow and Powell appeared inLibeled Lady,and they became romantically involved off-set. He gave her a handsome ring, but did not ask her to marry him, so she referred to it as her "unengagement ring". Powell had been unhappy with his previous marriage to popular actor Carole Lombard, and this apparently kept him from entering a similar arrangement with Harlow, who was a sex symbol to the film-going public during that time. They kept company but did not live together. Harlow fell ill from undiagnosed kidney failure while working on a film withClark Gable,and died before the film was completed, fromuremia,at age 26 in June 1937.[11]
Powell received his third Academy Award nomination in 1947 for his role as Clarence Day Sr. inLife with Father.[12]His last film was playing the character Doc in 1955'sMister Roberts.
Personal life
[edit]
On April 15, 1915, Powell marriedEileen Wilson,who was born Julia Mary Tierney. The couple had a son,William David Powell.They divorced in 1930. Powell's son became a television writer and producer before a period of ill health and depression led to his suicide in 1968.[13]
On June 26, 1931, Powell married actressCarole Lombard.They divorced in 1933, but starred inMy Man Godfreythree years later. Powell was devastated by her death in an airplane crash in 1942.[14]He was romantically involved withJean Harlow,his co-star inReckless(1935), until her unexpected death from illness in 1937.[15][16]On January 6, 1940, three weeks after they met, Powell married his third wife, actressDiana Lewis,who cancelled her film career to be his full-time wife. They remained married until his death in 1984.[17]
ARepublican,Powell supportedThomas Deweyin the1944 United States presidential election[18]and the1948 United States presidential election.[19]
Cancer
[edit]In March 1938, Powell was diagnosed with rectal cancer.[4][20]He underwent surgery and experimental radium treatment, which put the disease in full remission within two years. Given his own health and sorrow over Jean Harlow's death, Powell did not undertake any film roles for more than a year during this period.[21]
Death
[edit]Powell died inPalm Springs, California,on March 5, 1984, at the age of 91 from pneumonia. He is buried at theDesert Memorial ParkinCathedral City, California,near his third wife, Diana Lewis, and his only child, William David Powell.[1][22]
Honors
[edit]Academy Awards nominations
[edit]- 1934Best Actor–The Thin Man
- 1936 Best Actor –My Man Godfrey
- 1947 Best Actor –Life with Father
Other awards
[edit]New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actorin 1947 forLife with FatherandThe Senator Was Indiscreet.[23]
William Powell has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fameat 1636 Vine Street.
In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on thePalm Springs, California,Walk of Starswas dedicated to him.[24]
Radio appearances
[edit]| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Lux Radio Theatre | The Thin Man |
| 1938 | Lux Radio Theatre | My Man Godfrey |
| 1939 | Lux Radio Theatre | One Way Passage |
| 1939 | Lux Radio Theatre | The Ex-Mrs. Bradford |
| 1940 | The Campbell Playhouse | It Happened One Night |
| 1940 | Lux Radio Theatre | Love Affair |
| 1940 | Lux Radio Theatre | After the Thin Man |
| 1940 | Lux Radio Theatre | Manhattan Melodrama[25] |
| 1941 | Lux Radio Theatre | Hired Wife |
| 1942 | Lux Radio Theatre | Love Crazy |
| 1943 | Lux Radio Theatre | The Lady Has Plans |
| 1944 | Lux Radio Theatre | Shadow of a Doubt |
| 1944 | Lux Radio Theatre | Suspicion |
| 1946 | Reader's Digest Radio Edition | He Fell in Love with a Picture[25]: 33 |
| 1948 | Lux Radio Theatre | I Love You Again |
| 1948 | Lux Radio Theatre | Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid |
| 1949 | Screen Directors Playhouse | Love Crazy[26] |
| 1953 | Suspense | "The Man Who Cried Wolf"[27] |
Filmography
[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | Sherlock Holmes | Foreman Wells | |
| When Knighthood Was in Flower | Francis I | ||
| Outcast | DeValle | Lost film | |
| 1923 | The Bright Shawl | Gaspar De Vaca | |
| Under the Red Robe | Duke of Orleans | ||
| 1924 | Dangerous Money | Prince Arnolfo da Pescia | Lost film |
| Romola | Tito Melema | ||
| 1925 | Too Many Kisses | Julio | |
| Faint Perfume | Barnaby Powers | Lost film | |
| My Lady's Lips | Scott Seddon[28] | ||
| The Beautiful City | Nick Di Silva | Lost film | |
| The New Commandment[29] | Lost film Uncredited | ||
| 1926 | White Mice | Roddy Forrester | Incomplete film |
| Sea Horses | Lorenzo Salvia | Lost film | |
| Desert Gold | Snake Landree | Lost film | |
| The Runaway | Jack Harrison | Lost film | |
| Aloma of the South Seas | Van Templeton | Lost film | |
| Beau Geste | Boldini | ||
| The Great Gatsby | George Wilson | Lost film Trailer extant | |
| Tin Gods | Tony Santelli | Lost film | |
| 1927 | New York | Trent Regan | Lost film |
| Love's Greatest Mistake | Don Kendall | Lost film | |
| Special Delivery | Harold Jones | ||
| Senorita | Manuel Oliveros | ||
| Time to Love | Prince Alado | Lost film | |
| Paid to Love | Prince Eric | ||
| Nevada | Clan Dillon | ||
| She's a Sheik | Kada | ||
| 1928 | The Last Command | Lev Andreyev | |
| Beau Sabreur | Becque | Lost film Trailer extant | |
| Feel My Pulse | Her Nemesis | ||
| Partners in Crime | Smith | ||
| The Drag Net | Dapper Frank Trent | Lost film | |
| The Vanishing Pioneer | John Murdock | Lost film | |
| Forgotten Faces | Froggy | ||
| Interference | Philip Voaze | Powell's sound debut | |
| 1929 | The Canary Murder Case | Philo Vance | |
| The Four Feathers | Capt. William Trench | ||
| The Greene Murder Case | Philo Vance | ||
| Charming Sinners | Karl Kraley | ||
| Pointed Heels | Robert Courtland | ||
| 1930 | Behind the Make-Up | Gardoni | |
| Street of Chance | John D. Marsden / 'Natural' Davis | ||
| The Benson Murder Case | Philo Vance | ||
| Paramount on Parade | Philo Vance | ||
| Shadow of the Law | John Nelson | ||
| For the Defense | William Foster | ||
| 1931 | Man of the World | Michael Trevor | |
| Ladies' Man | Jamie Darricott | ||
| The Road to Singapore | Hugh Dawltry | ||
| 1932 | High Pressure | Gar Evans | |
| Jewel Robbery | The Robber | ||
| One Way Passage | Dan Hardesty | ||
| Lawyer Man | Anton Adam | ||
| 1933 | Private Detective 62 | Free | |
| Double Harness | John Fletcher | ||
| The Kennel Murder Case | Philo Vance | ||
| 1934 | Fashions of 1934 | Sherwood Nash | |
| Manhattan Melodrama | Jim Wade | ||
| The Thin Man | Nick Charles | ||
| The Key | Capt. Bill Tennant | ||
| Evelyn Prentice | John Prentice | ||
| 1935 | Star of Midnight | Clay 'Dal' Dalzell | |
| Reckless | Ned Riley | ||
| Escapade | Fritz | ||
| Rendezvous | Lieutenant Bill Gordon | ||
| The Casino Murder Case | "A new man" | uncredited cameo | |
| 1936 | The Great Ziegfeld | Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. | |
| The Ex-Mrs. Bradford | Dr. Lawrence Bradford | ||
| My Man Godfrey | Godfrey Parke (aka Smith) | ||
| Libeled Lady | Bill Chandler | ||
| After the Thin Man | Nick Charles | ||
| 1937 | The Last of Mrs. Cheney | Charles | |
| The Emperor's Candlesticks | Baron Stephan Wolensky | ||
| Double Wedding | Charles Lodge | ||
| 1938 | The Baroness and the Butler | Johann Porok | |
| 1939 | Another Thin Man | Nick Charles | |
| 1940 | I Love You Again | Larry Wilson a.k.a. George Carey | |
| 1941 | Love Crazy | Steve Ireland | |
| Shadow of the Thin Man | Nick Charles | ||
| 1942 | Crossroads | David Talbot, a.k.a. Jean Pelletier | |
| 1943 | The Youngest Profession | Himself | |
| 1944 | The Heavenly Body | William S. Whitley | |
| 1945 | The Thin Man Goes Home | Nick Charles | |
| Ziegfeld Follies | Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. | ||
| 1946 | The Hoodlum Saint | Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill | |
| The Great Morgan | Himself | Voice, Uncredited | |
| 1947 | Life with Father | Clarence Day | |
| Song of the Thin Man | Nick Charles | ||
| The Senator Was Indiscreet | Senator Melvin G. Ashton | ||
| 1948 | Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid | Mr. Arthur Peabody | |
| 1949 | Take One False Step | Professor Andrew Gentling | |
| Dancing in the Dark | Emery Slade | ||
| 1951 | It's a Big Country | Professor | |
| 1952 | The Treasure of Lost Canyon | Homer 'Doc' Brown | |
| 1953 | The Girl Who Had Everything | Steve Latimer | |
| How to Marry a Millionaire | J.D. Hanley | ||
| 1955 | Mister Roberts | Doc | (final film) |
Short subjects
[edit]- Screen Snapshots(1932)
- Hollywood on Parade No. A-12(1933)
- Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party(1946)
Box office rankings
[edit]- 1935 - 15th
- 1936 - 13th
- 1937 - 5th, 6th (UK)
- 1938 - 25th, 10th (UK)
- 1940 - 25th
- 1941 - 25th
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^abInterments of Interest(PDF),Palm Springs Cemetery District,retrievedMarch 20,2017
- ^"Pennsylvania Births and Christenings, 1709–1950", Horatio Powell, July 29, 1892, son of H. W. Powell and Nettie B. Powell; Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Record accessed viaFamilySearcharchives, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 31, 2022.
- ^ab"Obituaries: William Powell, star of 'Thin Man' films",Chicago Tribune,March 6, 1984, p. N6. Retrieved viaProQuestHistorical Newspapers through subscription access at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, January 31, 2022.
- ^abFlint, Peter B. (March 6, 1984)."William Powell, Film Star, Dies at 91".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedApril 23,2020.
- ^"William Powell Biography".Archived fromthe originalon July 24, 2008.RetrievedAugust 1,2008.
- ^Nathan, George Jean (October 1922)."A Ballet of Opinion".The Smart Set.RetrievedApril 16,2024.
- ^Woollcott, Alexander (August 17, 1922)."The Play".The New York Times.RetrievedApril 16,2024.
- ^Life, Volume 80, p. 208
- ^"1935 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".www.oscars.org.October 8, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2023.
- ^"1937 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".www.oscars.org.October 8, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2023.
- ^Christensen et al., p. 375.
- ^"1948 | Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".www.oscars.org.October 5, 2014.RetrievedJune 1,2023.
- ^Parish, James Robert; Stanke, Don E. (1975).The Debonairs.New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. p.459.ISBN978-0870002939.
- ^Bryant, p. 142.
- ^Di Mambro, Dina."Portrait of Harlow: The Original Blonde Bombshell".ClassicHollywoodBios.com.RetrievedMay 27,2018.
- ^"75 Years Ago, Saying Good-bye to Jean Harlow".DearMrGable.com.June 9, 2012.RetrievedMay 27,2018.
- ^"Obituary: Diana Lewis".The Independent.January 31, 1997.
- ^Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, 2013).When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781107650282.
- ^"Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".
- ^"Surgery: How Not to Die Of Cancer".Time.May 10, 1963.ISSN0040-781X.RetrievedApril 23,2020.
- ^Bryant, pp. 127–36.
- ^Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (2006). "Chapter 8: East L.A. and the Desert".Laid to Rest in California: A guide to the cemeteries and grave sites of the rich and famous.Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot Press. pp. 240–42.ISBN978-0762741014.OCLC70284362.
- ^"Awards – New York Film Critics Circle – NYFCC".www.nyfcc.com.RetrievedOctober 10,2017.
- ^"Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 13, 2012.RetrievedAugust 7,2012.
- ^ab"Those Were the Days".Nostalgia Digest.Vol. 37, no. 1. Winter 2011. p. 32.
- ^"Radio Guide".Altoona Tribune.Altoona, PA. August 16, 1949. p. 19.RetrievedNovember 14,2015– viaNewspapers.com.
- ^"Texas Archival Resources Online".Texas Archival Resources Online.RetrievedNovember 12,2022.
- ^Photoplay1925-10: Vol 28 Iss 5:124.
- ^New York Daily News17 September 1925, p. 35;Los Angeles Daily News (historic)23 October 1925, p. 16
Bibliography
[edit]- Bryant, Roger.William Powell: The Life and Films.Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2006.ISBN0-7864-2602-0.
- Christensen, Lawrence O., et al.Dictionary of Missouri Biography.Columbia, Maryland: University of Missouri Press, 1999.ISBN0-8262-1222-0.
- Francisco, Charles.Gentleman: The William Powell Story.New York: St Martins Press, 1985.ISBN0-312-32103-1.
External links
[edit]
- 1892 births
- 1984 deaths
- Burials at Desert Memorial Park
- Male actors from Pittsburgh
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
- American male silent film actors
- Male actors from Kansas City, Missouri
- 20th-century American male actors
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
- Paramount Pictures contract players
- California Republicans