William powell author biography sample

William Powell

American actor (–)

For other people named William Powell, see William Powell (disambiguation).

William Powell

portrait for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer by George Hurrell

Born

William Horatio Powell


()July 29,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.

DiedMarch 5, () (aged&#;91)

Palm Springs, California, U.S.

Resting placeDesert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years&#;active–
Spouses

Eileen Wilson

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(m.&#;; div.&#;)&#;

Carole Lombard

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Diana Lewis

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PartnerJean Harlow (–)
ChildrenWilliam David Powell

William Horatio Powell (July 29, – March 5, ) was an American actor, known primarily for his film career.

Under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (), My Man Godfrey (), and Life with Father ().

Early life

Powell was born in Pittsburgh in ,[1] the only child of Nettie Manila (née Brady) and Horatio Warren Powell, an accountant.[2][3] In , young William moved with his family to Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated from Central High School four years later.[citation needed]

Career

After high school, Powell enrolled at the University of Kansas to study law, but after a week he relocated to New York City, where he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[3][4] In , Powell left the AADA, and began working in vaudeville and stock companies.[5] He also appeared on Broadway.[6][7] Powell began his Hollywood career in , in a production of Sherlock Holmes with John Barrymore.

He performed as Francis I in When Knighthood Was in Flower with Marion Davies.[8]

Powell remained under contract to Paramount throughout the s, before signing with Warner Bros.

Powell portrayed a vengeful film director in the silent movie The Last Command (). His first starring role was Philo Vance in The Canary Murder Case ().

He played Vance at Paramount Pictures four times. His strong stage-developed voice became a powerful asset when talking pictures were introduced.

Powell appeared as Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in , based upon Dashiell Hammett's novel. This movie provided Powell with his first Academy Award nomination, in [9]

Powell starred in The Great Ziegfeld, (), opposite his The Thin Man co-star, Myrna Loy, who played Ziegfeld's wife, Billie Burke.

In , Powell received his second Academy Award nomination for the comedy My Man Godfrey.[10]

In , he starred with Jean Harlow in Reckless. In , Harlow and Powell appeared in Libeled 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 with Clark Gable, and died before the film was completed, from uremia, at age 26 in June [11]

Powell received his third Academy Award nomination in for his role as Clarence Day Sr.

in Life with Father.[12] His last film was playing the character Doc in 's Mister Roberts.

Personal life

On April 15, , Powell married Eileen Wilson, who was born Julia Mary Tierney. The couple had a son, William David Powell. They divorced in Powell's son became a television writer and producer before a period of ill health and depression led to his suicide in [13]

On June 26, , Powell married actress Carole Lombard.

They divorced in , but starred in My Man Godfrey three years later. Powell was devastated by her death in an airplane crash in [14] He was romantically involved with Jean Harlow, his co-star in Reckless (), until her unexpected death from illness in [15][16] On January 6, , three weeks after they met, Powell married his third wife, actress Diana Lewis, who cancelled her film career to be his full-time wife.

  • Gentleman: The William Powell Story Hardcover - amazon.com
  • William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood ...

    • They remained married until his death in [17]

    A Republican, Powell supported Thomas Dewey in the United States presidential election[18] and the United States presidential election.[19]

    Cancer

    In March , 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

    Powell died in Palm Springs, California, on March 5, , at the age of 91 from pneumonia. He is buried at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, near his third wife, Diana Lewis, and his only child, William David Powell.[1][22]

    Honors

    Academy Awards nominations

    Other awards

    New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor in for Life with Father and The Senator Was Indiscreet.[23]

    William Powell has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Vine Street.

    In , a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to him.[24]

    Radio appearances

    Filmography

    Short subjects

    • Screen Snapshots ()
    • Hollywood on Parade No.

      A ()

    • Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party ()

    Box office rankings

    See also: Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll

    • - 15th
    • - 13th
    • - 5th, 6th (UK)
    • - 25th, 10th (UK)
    • - 25th
    • - 25th

    See also

    References

    1. ^ abInterments of Interest(PDF), Palm Springs Cemetery District, retrieved March 20,
    2. ^"Pennsylvania Births and Christenings, –", Horatio Powell, July 29, , son of H.

      W. Powell and Nettie B. Powell; Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Record accessed via FamilySearch archives, Salt Lake City, Utah, January 31,

    3. ^ ab"Obituaries: William Powell, star of 'Thin Man' films", Chicago Tribune, March 6, , p. N6. Retrieved via ProQuest Historical Newspapers through subscription access at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, January 31,
    4. ^ abFlint, Peter B.

      (March 6, ). "William Powell, Film Star, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN&#; Retrieved April 23,

    5. ^"William Powell Biography". Archived from the original on July 24, Retrieved August 1,
    6. ^Nathan, George Jean (October ). "A Ballet of Opinion".

      William powell author biography sample A dependable actor at the MGM stable in the late s and the s, Powell, whether romantic, comic, or sinister, kept his edge of witty sophistication invariably intact. In , Powell relinquished his position as superintendent and taught at Camden High and Training School, a predominantly white school. Peabody and the Mermaid Pichel as Mr. William Sleator.

      The Smart Set. Retrieved April 16,

    7. ^Woollcott, Alexander (August 17, ). "The Play". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16,
    8. ^Life, Volume 80, p.
    9. ^" | | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". . October 8, Retrieved June 1,
    10. ^" | | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences".

      .

    11. William powell: books
    12. William powell movies
    13. Clear
    14. Clear
    15. William Powell, author of counterculture manifesto ‘The ...

      16. October 8, Retrieved June 1,

    16. ^Christensen et al., p.
    17. ^" | | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". . October 5, Retrieved June 1,
    18. ^Parish, James Robert; Stanke, Don E. (). The Debonairs. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
    19. ^Bryant, p.

    20. ^Di Mambro, Dina. "Portrait of Harlow: The Original Blonde Bombshell". . Retrieved May 27,
    21. ^"75 Years Ago, Saying Good-bye to Jean Harlow". . June 9, Retrieved May 27,
    22. ^"Obituary: Diana Lewis". The Independent.

      January 31,

    23. ^Critchlow, Donald T. (October 21, ). When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN&#;.
    24. ^"Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".
    25. ^"Surgery: How Not to Die Of Cancer".

      Time. May 10, ISSN&#;X. Retrieved April 23,

    26. ^Bryant, pp.

      William powell I want to state categorically that I am not in agreement with the contents of The Anarchist Cookbook and I would be very pleased and relieved to see its publication discontinued. In , the face of terrorism was a cute co-ed leaving a little-bitty bomb in an isolated restroom, set to go off after closing hours. Thompson; Frederick Douglass ; and John S. About this article William Powell All Sources -.

      &#;

    27. ^Brooks, Patricia; Brooks, Jonathan (). "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.&#;– ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
    28. ^"Awards – New York Film Critics Circle – NYFCC". .

      William powell author biography sample for book Explosives and booby traps are not my forte. Brief stage training in the early s led to film work. William of Toulouse, St. Use blue blood the gentry best editable biography templates restriction gather information for your journalistic, literary, or research projects.

      Retrieved October 10,

    29. ^"Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on October 13, Retrieved August 7,
    30. ^ ab"Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. Vol.&#;37, no.&#;1. Winter p.&#;
    31. ^"Radio Guide".

      Altoona Tribune. Altoona, PA. August 16, p.&#; Retrieved November 14, &#; via

    32. ^"Texas Archival Resources Online".

      Gentleman: The William Powell Story Hardcover - amazon.com: Smith and Samuel G. See All. Seriously I wouldn't want this book in my house. Albert Hackett Writer.

      Texas Archival Resources Online. Retrieved November 12,

    33. ^Photoplay Vol 28 Iss
    34. ^New York Daily News 17 September , p. 35; Los Angeles Daily News (historic) 23 October , p. 16

    Bibliography

    • Bryant, Roger.

      William Powell: The Life and Films. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., ISBN&#;

    • Christensen, Lawrence O., et al.

      William powell author biography sample for journal William S. Updated Aug 18 About encyclopedia. Bowker Author Biography show less. William Rainey Harper College.

      Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Columbia, Maryland: University of Missouri Press, ISBN&#;

    • Francisco, Charles. Gentleman: The William Powell Story . New York: St Martins Press, ISBN&#;

    External links