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person_profile-Dick Powell

Dick Powell Died at age: 58

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Dick Powell

Date of Birth:

Nov 14, 1904

Country of birth:

USA

Died:

Jan 02, 1963

Biography of

Dick Powell

    Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.

    Born in Mountain View, the seat of Stone County in northern Arkansas, Powell attended the former Little Rock College in the state capital, before he started his entertainment career as a singer with the Charlie Davis Orchestra, based in the midwest. He recorded a number of records with Davis and on his own, for the Vocalion label in the late 1920s.

    Powell moved to Pittsburgh, where he found great local success as the Master of Ceremonies at the Enright Theater and the Stanley Theater. In April 1930, Warner Bros. bought up Brunswick Records which at that time owned Vocalion. Warner Bros. was sufficiently impressed by Powell's singing and stage presence to offer him a film contract in 1932. He made his film debut as a singing bandleader in Blessed Event. He went on to star as a boyish crooner in movie musicals such as 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Dames, Flirtation Walk, and On the Avenue, often appearing opposite Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell.

    Powell desperately wanted to expand his range but Warner Bros. wouldn't allow him to do so, although they did (mis)cast him in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) as Lysander. This was to be Powell's only Shakespearean role and one he did not want to play, feeling that he was completely wrong for the part. Finally, reaching his forties and knowing that his young romantic leading man days were behind him he lobbied to play the lead in Double Indemnity. He lost out to Fred MacMurray, another Hollywood nice guy. MacMurray’s success, however, fueled Powell’s resolve to pursue projects with greater range and in 1944, he was cast in the first of a series of films noir, as private detective Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film was a big hit and Powell had successfully reinvented himself as a dramatic actor.

    The following year Dmytryk and Powell re-teamed to make Cornered, a gripping, post-WWII thriller that helped define the film noir style. He became a popular "tough guy" lead appearing in movies such as Johnny O'Clock and Cry Danger. But 1948 saw him step out of the brutish type when he starred in Pitfall, a film noir that sees a bored insurance company worker fall for an innocent but dangerous femme fatale, played by Lizabeth Scott. Even when he appeared in lighter fare such as The Reformer and the Redhead and Susan Slept Here (1954) he never sang in his later roles. The latter, his final onscreen appearance in a feature film, did include a dance number with costar Debbie Reynolds.

    From 1949-1953, Powell played the lead role in the National Broadcasting Company radio theater production Richard Diamond, Private Detective. His character in the 30-minute weekly was a likable private detective with a quick wit. When Richard Diamond came to television in 1957, the lead role was portrayed by David Janssen.

Photos of

Dick Powell

Photos ( 3 Photos

Filmography of

Dick Powell

Found 69 Movies in total

The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2024

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2013

... 1985

Going Hollywood: The '30s

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1984

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Self (archive footage) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1983

It's Showtime

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1976

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1975

Hollywood My Home Town

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1965

The Love Goddesses

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1965

Hollywood Without Make-Up

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1963

Ricochet

Self - Host ( Actor )

Executive Producer

... 1961

Who Killed Julie Greer?

Host / Inspector Amos Burke ( Actor )

Executive Producer

... 1961

Susan Slept Here

Mark Christopher ( Actor )

... 1954

The Bad and the Beautiful

James Lee Bartlow ( Actor )

... 1952

You Never Can Tell

Rex Shepherd ( Actor )

... 1951

The Tall Target

John Kennedy ( Actor )

... 1951

Cry Danger

Rocky Mulloy ( Actor )

Director

... 1951

Right Cross

Rick Garvey ( Actor )

... 1950

The Reformer and the Redhead

Andrew Hale ( Actor )

... 1950

Mrs. Mike

Sgt. Mike Flannigan ( Actor )

... 1949

Rogues' Regiment

Whit Corbett ( Actor )

... 1948

Station West

Lt. John Martin Haven ( Actor )

... 1948

Pitfall

John Forbes ( Actor )

... 1948

To the Ends of the Earth

Commissioner Michael Barrows ( Actor )

... 1948

Johnny O'Clock

Johnny O'Clock ( Actor )

... 1947

Cornered

Laurence Gerard ( Actor )

... 1945

Murder, My Sweet

Philip Marlowe ( Actor )

... 1944

Meet the People

William 'Swanee' Swanson ( Actor )

... 1944

It Happened Tomorrow

Lawrence " Larry " Stevens ( Actor )

... 1944

True to Life

Link Ferris ( Actor )

... 1943

Riding High

Steve Baird ( Actor )

... 1943

Happy Go Lucky

Pete Hamilton ( Actor )

... 1943

Star Spangled Rhythm

Dick Powell ( Actor )

... 1942

In the Navy

Thomas Halstead ( Actor )

... 1941

Model Wife

Frederick "Fred" Chambers ( Actor )

... 1941

Christmas in July

Jimmy McDonald ( Actor )

... 1940

I Want a Divorce

Alan MacNally ( Actor )

... 1940

Naughty But Nice

Professor Donald Hardwick ( Actor )

... 1939

Going Places

Peter Mason ( Actor )

... 1938

Hard to Get

Bill Davis ( Actor )

... 1938

Cowboy from Brooklyn

Elly Jordan ( Actor )

... 1938

Hollywood Hotel

Ronnie Bowers ( Actor )

... 1938

Varsity Show

Charles 'Chuck' Daly ( Actor )

... 1937

The Singing Marine

Bob Brent ( Actor )

... 1937

On the Avenue

Gary Blake ( Actor )

... 1937

Gold Diggers of 1937

Rosmer Peck ( Actor )

... 1936

Stage Struck

George Randall ( Actor )

... 1936

Hearts Divided

Jerome Bonaparte ( Actor )

... 1936

Colleen

Donald Ames ( Actor )

... 1936

Thanks a Million

Eric Land ( Actor )

... 1935

Shipmates Forever

Dick Melville ( Actor )

... 1935

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Lysander ( Actor )

... 1935

Page Miss Glory

Bingo Nelson ( Actor )

... 1935

Broadway Gondolier

Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli ( Actor )

... 1935

Gold Diggers of 1935

Dick Curtis ( Actor )

... 1935

Flirtation Walk

Dick "Canary" Dorcy ( Actor )

... 1934

Happiness Ahead

Bob Lane ( Actor )

... 1934

Dames

Jimmy Higgens ( Actor )

... 1934

Twenty Million Sweethearts

Buddy Clayton ( Actor )

... 1934

Wonder Bar

Tommy ( Actor )

... 1934

Convention City

Jerry Ford ( Actor )

... 1933

College Coach

Phil "Sarge" Sargeant ( Actor )

... 1933

Footlight Parade

Scotty Blair ( Actor )

... 1933

Gold Diggers of 1933

Brad Roberts ( Actor )

... 1933

42nd Street

Billy Lawler ( Actor )

... 1933

The King's Vacation

John Kent ( Actor )

... 1933

Too Busy to Work

Dan Hardy ( Actor )

... 1932

Big City Blues

Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1932

Blessed Event

Bunny Harmon ( Actor )

... 1932