1904-11-14 Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
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.
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The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout | Self (archive footage) | 2024-06-28 |
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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) | 2013-01-29 |
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Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe | Self (archive footage) | 2012-05-15 |
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Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound | Self (archive footage) | 2006-03-21 |
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42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage | Self (archive footage) | 2006-03-21 |
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Television: The First Fifty Years | Self (archive footage) | 1999-01-01 |
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That's Dancing! | 1985-01-18 | |
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Going Hollywood: The '30s | (archive footage) | 1984-01-01 |
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
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It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) | 1976-03-31 |
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
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The Love Goddesses | (Archive Footage) | 1965-03-03 |
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One Must Die | 1961-01-12 | |
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Ricochet | Self - Host | 1961-10-03 |
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Who Killed Julie Greer? | Host / Inspector Amos Burke | 1961-09-26 |
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The All-Star Christmas Show | Self | 1958-12-01 |
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Susan Slept Here | Mark Christopher | 1954-07-28 |
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The Bad and the Beautiful | James Lee Bartlow | 1952-12-25 |
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You Never Can Tell | Rex Shepherd | 1951-09-23 |
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The Tall Target | John Kennedy | 1951-08-17 |
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Cry Danger | Rocky Mulloy | 1951-02-23 |
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The Reformer and the Redhead | Andrew Hale | 1950-05-05 |
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Right Cross | Rick Garvey | 1950-10-06 |
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Mrs. Mike | Sgt. Mike Flannigan | 1949-12-23 |
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To the Ends of the Earth | Commissioner Michael Barrows | 1948-02-07 |
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Station West | Lt. John Martin Haven | 1948-09-01 |
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Rogues' Regiment | Whit Corbett | 1948-12-28 |
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Pitfall | John Forbes | 1948-08-11 |
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Blow-Ups of 1947 | Self | 1947-12-31 |
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Johnny O'Clock | Johnny O'Clock | 1947-01-07 |
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Cornered | Laurence Gerard | 1945-11-23 |
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Murder, My Sweet | Philip Marlowe | 1944-12-14 |
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It Happened Tomorrow | Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens | 1944-03-31 |
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Meet the People | William 'Swanee' Swanson | 1944-06-01 |
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Riding High | Steve Baird | 1943-11-11 |
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True to Life | Link Ferris | 1943-12-24 |
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Three Cheers for the Girls | Singer (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1943-05-08 |
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Happy Go Lucky | Pete Hamilton | 1943-01-04 |
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Star Spangled Rhythm | Dick Powell | 1942-03-05 |
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Model Wife | Frederick "Fred" Chambers | 1941-04-17 |
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In the Navy | Thomas Halstead | 1941-05-30 |
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I Want a Divorce | Alan MacNally | 1940-09-20 |
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Christmas in July | Jimmy McDonald | 1940-10-25 |
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Hollywood Hobbies | Self (uncredited) | 1939-05-03 |
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Naughty But Nice | Professor Donald Hardwick | 1939-06-23 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
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Cowboy from Brooklyn | Elly Jordan | 1938-07-09 |
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Hard to Get | Bill Davis | 1938-11-05 |
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Going Places | Peter Mason | 1938-12-31 |
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Hollywood Hotel | Ronnie Bowers | 1938-01-15 |
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The Singing Marine | Bob Brent | 1937-07-03 |
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Varsity Show | Charles 'Chuck' Daly | 1937-09-04 |
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On the Avenue | Gary Blake | 1937-02-12 |
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Breakdowns of 1937 | Self | 1937-12-31 |
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Hearts Divided | Jerome Bonaparte | 1936-06-20 |
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Colleen | Donald Ames | 1936-03-21 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self | 1936-09-11 |
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Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning" | 1936-01-01 | |
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One And One Is One | Himself | 1936-01-01 |
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Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5" | 1936-01-01 | |
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Stage Struck | George Randall | 1936-09-12 |
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Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 3, Normie" | 1936-01-01 | |
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Gold Diggers of 1937 | Rosmer Peck | 1936-12-28 |
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A Dream Comes True | Himself (uncredited) | 1935-12-31 |
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Things You Never See on the Screen | Self | 1935-12-01 |
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Shipmates Forever | Richard 'Dick' Melville III | 1935-10-12 |
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A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | 1935-10-09 |
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Page Miss Glory | Bingo Nelson | 1935-09-07 |
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Gold Diggers of 1935 | Dick Curtis | 1935-03-15 |
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Broadway Gondolier | Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli | 1935-07-27 |
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Thanks a Million | Eric Land | 1935-11-13 |
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And She Learned About Dames | Himself | 1934-03-27 |
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Twenty Million Sweethearts | Buddy Clayton | 1934-05-26 |
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Studio Highlights | Self (archive footage) | 1934-08-01 |
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Dames | Jimmy Higgens | 1934-09-01 |
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Hollywood Newsreel | Himself | 1934-03-24 |
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Flirtation Walk | Dick "Canary" Dorcy | 1934-12-01 |
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Happiness Ahead | Bob Lane | 1934-10-27 |
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Wonder Bar | Tommy | 1934-03-31 |
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Just Around the Corner | Jerry | 1933-01-17 |
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Gold Diggers of 1933 | Brad | 1933-05-27 |
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Convention City | Jerry Ford | 1933-12-14 |
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42nd Street | Billy Lawler | 1933-03-11 |
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The King's Vacation | John Kent | 1933-02-25 |
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College Coach | Phil "Sarge" Sargeant | 1933-11-04 |
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The Road Is Open Again | The Songwriter | 1933-01-30 |
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Footlight Parade | Scotty Blair | 1933-10-21 |
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Big City Blues | Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited) | 1932-09-18 |
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Too Busy to Work | Dan Hardy | 1932-12-02 |
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Blessed Event | Bunny Harmon | 1932-09-10 |
