William Powell

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This article refers to the American actor. For other people with the same name, see William Powell (disambiguation).
William Powell
Born July 29, 1892
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died March 5, 1984
Palm Springs, California

William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, William Powell was an only child and showed an early aptitude for performing. In 1907, he moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri.

After high school, he left home for New York and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of 18. In 1912 Powell graduated from the AADA, and worked in some vaudeville and stock companies. In 1915, he married Eileen Wilson, with whom he had his only child, William David Powell. After several successful experiences on the Broadway stage, he began his Hollywood career in 1922. His first starring role was as Philo Vance in The Canary Murder Case (1929).

In 1930, he and Eileen divorced amicably, and in 1931, he married actress Carole Lombard. They were married just over two years before divorcing in 1933, though they too remained on good terms, even starring in a film together several years later.

Perhaps Powell's most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934. The role provided a perfect opportunity for Powell to showcase his sophisticated charm and his witty sense of humour, and he received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Thin Man. Myrna Loy played his wife, Nora, in each of the Thin Man films. Her partnership with Powell was one of Hollywood's most prolific on-screen pairings, with the couple appearing in 14 films together.

He and Loy also starred in the Best Picture of 1936, The Great Ziegfeld, with Powell in the title role and Loy as his wife, Billie Burke. That same year, he also received his second Academy Award nomination, for the comedy My Man Godfrey, in which he starred with Carole Lombard, his former wife.

In 1935, he starred with Jean Harlow in Reckless, and they become very close friends. Soon it developed into a serious romance, though she died before they could marry. His distress over her death, as well as his own battle with colon cancer around the same time, caused him to accept fewer acting roles.

On January 6, 1940, he married actress Diana Lewis, whom he called "Mousie." Although the couple had only met for the first time three weeks before their wedding, they remained married until Powell's death in 1984.

His career slowed considerably in the 1940s, although in 1947 he received his third Academy Award nomination for his work in Life with Father. His last film was Mister Roberts in 1955, with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon. Despite numerous entreaties to return to the screen, Powell refused all offers, happy in his retirement.

Powell's son, William David Powell, became a television writer and producer before a period of ill health led to his suicide in 1968.

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[edit] Death

On March 5, 1984, Powell died of cardiac arrest in Palm Springs, California at the age of 91, some thirty years after his retirement. He was survived by his wife, Diana Lewis, who died in 1997.

[edit] Quotes

[edit] The Thin Man, 1934

Myrna Loy: Pretty Girl.
William Powell: Yes. She's a nice type.
Myrna Loy: You got types?
William Powell: Only you, darling. Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.

[edit] The Thin Man, 1934

William Powell: Oh, it's alright, Joe. It's my dog. And uh, my wife.
Myrna Loy: Well, you might have mentioned me on the first billing.

[edit] The Thin Man, 1934

William Powell: Oh, I'm a hero. I was shot twice in the Tribune.
Myrna Loy: I read you were shot five times in the tabloids.
William Powell: It's not true. He didn't come anywhere near my tabloids.

[edit] The Thin Man, 1934

William Powell: How'd you like Grant's tomb?
Myrna Loy: It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.

[edit] After The Thin Man, 1936

William Powell: Come on. Let's get something to eat. I'm thirsty.

[edit] My Man Godfrey, 1936

William Powell: These flowers just came for you, miss. Where shall I put them?
Carole Lombard: What difference does it make where one puts flowers when one's heart is breaking?
William Powell: Yes, miss. Shall I put them on the piano?

[edit] Life with Father, 1947

William Powell: I don't go to church to be preached at as though I were some lost sheep.
Irene Dunne: Clare, you don't seem to understand what the church is for.
William Powell: Vinnie, if there's one place the church should leave alone, it's a man's soul!

[edit] Academy Awards Nominations

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1636 Vine Street.

[edit] Filmography

  • Sherlock Holmes (1922)
  • When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
  • Outcast (1922)
  • The Bright Shawl (1923)
  • Under the Red Robe (1923)
  • Dangerous Money (1924)
  • Romola (1924)
  • Too Many Kisses (1925)
  • Faint Perfume (1925)
  • My Lady's Lips (1925)
  • The Beautiful City (1925)
  • White Mice (1926)
  • Sea Horses (1926)
  • Desert Gold (1926)
  • The Runaway (1926)
  • Aloma of the South Seas (1926)
  • Beau Geste (1926)
  • Tin Gods (1926)
  • The Great Gatsby (1926)
  • New York (1927)
  • Love's Greatest Mistake (1927)
  • Senorita (1927)
  • Special Delivery (1927)
  • Time to Love (1927)
  • Paid to Love (1927)
  • Nevada (1927)
  • She's a Sheik (1927)
  • Beau Sabreur (1928)
  • The Last Command (1928)
  • Feel My Pulse (1928)
  • Partners in Crime (1928)
  • The Dragnet (1928)
  • The Vanishing Pioneer (1928)
  • Forgotten Faces (1928)
  • Interference (1928)
  • The Canary Murder Case (1929)
  • The Four Feathers (1929)
  • The Greene Murder Case (1929)
  • Charming Sinners (1929)
  • Pointed Heels (1929)
  • Behind the Make-Up (1930)
  • Street of Chance (1930)
  • The Benson Murder Case (1930)
  • Paramount on Parade (1930)
  • Shadow of the Law (1930)
  • For the Defense (1930)
  • Man of the World (1931)
  • Ladies' Man (1931)
  • The Road to Singapore (1931)
  • High Pressure (1932)
  • Jewel Robbery (1932)
  • Screen Snapshots (1932) (short subject)
  • One Way Passage (1932)
  • Lawyer Man (1933)
  • Private Detective 62 (1933)
  • Double Harness (1933)
  • The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
  • Fashions of 1934 (1934)
  • Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
  • The Thin Man (1934)
  • The Key (1934)
  • Evelyn Prentice (1934)
  • Star of Midnight (1935)
  • Reckless (1935)
  • Escapade (1935)
  • Rendezvous (1935)
  • The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
  • The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
  • My Man Godfrey (1936)
  • Libeled Lady (1936)
  • After the Thin Man (1936)
  • The Last Mrs. Cheney (1937)
  • The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)
  • Double Wedding (1937)
  • The Baroness and the Butler (1938)
  • Another Thin Man (1939)
  • I Love You Again (1940)
  • Love Crazy (1941)
  • Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
  • Crossroads (1942)
  • The Youngest Profession (1943) (cameo)
  • The Heavenly Body (1943)
  • The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
  • The Great Morgan (1946) (voice only)
  • Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
  • The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
  • Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (1946) (short subject)
  • Life with Father (1947)
  • Song of the Thin Man (1947)
  • The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
  • Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)
  • Take One False Step (1949)
  • Dancing in the Dark (1949)
  • It's a Big Country (1951)
  • The Treasure of Lost Canyon (1952)
  • The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
  • How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
  • Mister Roberts (1955)
  • Distant Jamaica (1969) (short subject)

[edit] Trivia

Don Adams stated in interviews that his famous "clippy" voice characterization was based on, and an exaggeration of, the speaking style of William Powell.

Powell and Casey Stengel graduated from high school together in Kansas City.

[edit] References

  • Christensen, Lawrence O., et. al. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press ISBN 0-8262-1222-0

[edit] Further reading

Bryant, Roger, William Powell: The Life and Films, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2602-0

Francisco, Charles , Gentleman: The William Powell Story , New York: St Martins Press, 1985. ISBN 0-312-32103-1

[edit] External links

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