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) | 2023-10-17 |
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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) | 2013-01-29 |
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42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage | Self (archive footage) | 2006-03-21 |
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Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound | 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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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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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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Cry Danger | Rocky Mulloy | 1951-02-23 |
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The Tall Target | John Kennedy | 1951-08-17 |
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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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Rogues' Regiment | Whit Corbett | 1948-12-28 |
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To the Ends of the Earth | Commissioner Michael Barrows | 1948-02-07 |
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Pitfall | John Forbes | 1948-08-11 |
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Station West | Lt. John Martin Haven | 1948-09-01 |
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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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Meet the People | William 'Swanee' Swanson | 1944-06-01 |
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It Happened Tomorrow | Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens | 1944-03-31 |
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Murder, My Sweet | Philip Marlowe | 1944-12-14 |
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Happy Go Lucky | Pete Hamilton | 1943-01-04 |
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Three Cheers for the Girls | Singer (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1943-05-08 |
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True to Life | Link Ferris | 1943-12-24 |
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Riding High | Steve Baird | 1943-11-11 |
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Star Spangled Rhythm | Dick Powell | 1942-03-05 |
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In the Navy | Thomas Halstead | 1941-05-30 |
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Model Wife | Frederick "Fred" Chambers | 1941-04-17 |
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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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Naughty But Nice | Professor Donald Hardwick | 1939-06-23 |
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Hollywood Hobbies | Himself (uncredited) | 1939-05-03 |
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Hollywood Hotel | Ronnie Bowers | 1938-01-15 |
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Going Places | Peter Mason | 1938-12-31 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
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Hard to Get | Bill Davis | 1938-11-05 |
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Cowboy from Brooklyn | Elly Jordan | 1938-07-09 |
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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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The Singing Marine | Bob Brent | 1937-07-03 |
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Varsity Show | Charles 'Chuck' Daly | 1937-09-04 |
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Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1) | Self | 1936-09-11 |
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One And One Is One | Himself | 1936-01-01 |
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Hearts Divided | Jerome Bonaparte | 1936-06-20 |
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Gold Diggers of 1937 | Rosmer Peck | 1936-12-28 |
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Stage Struck | George Randall | 1936-09-12 |
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Colleen | Donald Ames | 1936-03-21 |
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Things You Never See on the Screen | Self | 1935-12-01 |
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Thanks a Million | Eric Land | 1935-11-13 |
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Page Miss Glory | Bingo Nelson | 1935-09-07 |
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A Dream Comes True | Himself (uncredited) | 1935-12-31 |
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A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | 1935-10-09 |
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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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Shipmates Forever | Richard 'Dick' Melville III | 1935-10-12 |
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Dames | Jimmy Higgens | 1934-09-01 |
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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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And She Learned About Dames | Himself | 1934-03-27 |
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Wonder Bar | Tommy | 1934-03-31 |
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Hollywood Newsreel | Himself | 1934-03-24 |
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Happiness Ahead | Bob Lane | 1934-10-27 |
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Flirtation Walk | Dick "Canary" Dorcy | 1934-12-01 |
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The King's Vacation | John Kent | 1933-02-25 |
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Convention City | Jerry Ford | 1933-12-14 |
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Gold Diggers of 1933 | Brad Roberts | 1933-05-27 |
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Just Around the Corner | Jerry | 1933-01-17 |
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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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42nd Street | Billy Lawler | 1933-03-11 |
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Footlight Parade | Scotty Blair | 1933-10-21 |
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Too Busy to Work | Dan Hardy | 1932-12-02 |
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Big City Blues | Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited) | 1932-09-18 |
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Blessed Event | Bunny Harmon | 1932-09-10 |
