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IMDbPro

Dick Powell(1904-1963)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Dick Powell, c. 1937.
Dick Powell narrates this trailer for his classic Air Force film
Play trailer2:59
The Hunters (2011)
19 Videos
99+ Photos
Few actors ever managed a complete image transition as thoroughly as did Dick Powell: in his case, from the boyish, wavy-haired crooner in musicals to rugged crime fighters in film noirs. Powell grew up in the town of Little Rock, Arkansas, one of three brothers (one of them, Howard, ended up as vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad). He worked his way through schooling, sidelining as a soda jerk and a grocery clerk before entering the world of show biz as a singer (tenor) and banjo player with the Royal Peacock Orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. He then got a gig with the Charlie Davis band and toured with them throughout the mid-west, appearing at dance halls and picture theatres. He next worked as a master of ceremonies and this rounded him off as an entertainer even before he was signed by a Warner Brothers talent scout in 1932. Looking rather younger than his actual years, Powell soon found himself typecast as clean-cut singing juveniles in a series of exuberant musicals with lavish production numbers like 42nd Street (1933), one of two dozen similar pictures he made for the studio.

In 1935, Powell's salary amounted to $70,000. Two years later, he had become one of Hollywood's top ten box office stars, yet was paid just half of what he had earned as an MC. A keen businessman with an eye for profit, Powell had already invested wisely in land and property. When he left Warners in 1939 with no discernible acting opportunities in sight, he was in no way short of a quid. He was, however, desperate to escape his image, declaring "I knew I wasn't the greatest singer in the world and I saw no reason why an actor should restrict himself to any one particular phase of the business". He fairly jumped at the chance to act in non-singing roles, joining Paramount in 1940 to appear opposite Ellen Drew in the sparkling Preston Sturges comedy Christmas in July (1940). This was followed by two marital farces featuring his then-wife, Joan Blondell, both efforts receiving only a lukewarm response at the box-office. Still dissatisfied with lightweight roles, Powell lobbied hard to get the lead (eventually scored by Fred MacMurray) in Double Indemnity (1944) but was knocked back. Instead, he was slotted into more of the same fare, refused to comply and was suspended.

His box office credo now at a low ebb, Powell tried his luck at RKO and at last managed to secure a lucrative role: that of hard-boiled private eye Philip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler's Murder, My Sweet (1944). The author himself approved of the casting, though the director (Edward Dmytryk) fought off initial misgivings. The result proved nothing if not a tangible hit for RKO. Bosley Crowther of the New York Times remarked " ...and while he may lack the steely coldness and cynicism of a Humphrey Bogart, Mr. Powell need not offer any apologies. He has definitely stepped out of the song-and-dance, pretty-boy league with this performance". In short order, offers suddenly kept coming. Having successfully reinvented himself, Powell now found steady work on radio, respectively as "Richard Rogue" and then "Richard Diamond, Private Eye". In films, he remained on cue for wise-cracking tough guy roles in Cornered (1945) and Johnny O'Clock (1947). His most challenging role yet was as best-selling novelist James Lee Bartlow in MGM's epic drama The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)]. Powell also dabbled at directing, though he only helmed six pictures in total: among them a minor film noir, Split Second (1953)], and an above-average submarine drama, The Enemy Below (1957)]. Having quit film acting in the mid-50s, he began to concentrate primarily on producing TV drama as host and executive producer of his own award-winning anthology show, The Dick Powell Theatre (1961). He was also co-founder and managing director of Four Star Television (which had its studios where Republic had formerly existed and which would subsequently become CBS Cinema Center).

Dick Powell died prematurely of lung cancer in January 1963 at the age of 58. He was survived by his third wife, the actress June Allyson.
BornNovember 14, 1904
DiedJanuary 2, 1963(58)
BornNovember 14, 1904
DiedJanuary 2, 1963(58)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 4 wins & 1 nomination

Photos1201

Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
John Kellogg and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Lee J. Cobb and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Thomas Gomez and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Lee J. Cobb, Thomas Gomez, and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)
Evelyn Keyes and Dick Powell in Johnny O'Clock (1947)

Known for

Dick Powell and Claire Trevor in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Murder, My Sweet
7.5
  • Philip Marlowe
  • 1944
Micheline Cheirel, Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, and Nina Vale in Cornered (1945)
Cornered
6.6
  • Laurence Gerard
  • 1945
Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
The Bad and the Beautiful
7.8
  • James Lee Bartlow
  • 1952
Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell, Ethelreda Leopold, Victor Moore, and Dick Powell in Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
Gold Diggers of 1937
6.4
  • Rosmer Peak
  • 1936

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Ensign O'Toole (1962)
    Ensign O'Toole
    • Chief Richard E. Powell
    • TV Series
    • 1962–1963
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
    • Host
    • Maj. Ed Clayborn
    • Alex Harper ...
    • TV Series
    • 1961–1962
  • Car 54, Where Are You? (1961)
    Car 54, Where Are You?
    • Dick Powell (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1962
  • The Law and Mr. Jones (1960)
    The Law and Mr. Jones
    • Colonel Drayton
    • TV Series
    • 1961
  • Dick Powell in Zane Grey Theatre (1956)
    Zane Grey Theatre
    • Rebel
    • Col. Blackburn
    • Mike Brenner ...
    • TV Series
    • 1956–1961
  • The DuPont Show with June Allyson (1959)
    The DuPont Show with June Allyson
    • Dr. Timothy McVey
    • Paul Martin
    • TV Series
    • 1959–1960
  • Howard Duff and Ida Lupino in Mr. Adams and Eve (1957)
    Mr. Adams and Eve
    • TV Series
    • 1958
  • Four Star Playhouse (1952)
    Four Star Playhouse
    • Willie Dante
    • Dan
    • Andrew ...
    • TV Series
    • 1952–1956
  • Climax! (1954)
    Climax!
    • Philip Marlowe
    • TV Series
    • 1954
  • The Best in Mystery
    • Willie Dante (1956)
    • TV Series
    • 1954
  • Debbie Reynolds and Dick Powell in Susan Slept Here (1954)
    Susan Slept Here
    • Mark Christopher
    • 1954
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
    The Red Skelton Hour
    • Cameo
    • TV Series
    • 1954
  • Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner in The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
    The Bad and the Beautiful
    • James Lee Bartlow
    • 1952
  • Peggy Dow, Charles Drake, Joyce Holden, Dick Powell, and Flame in You Never Can Tell (1951)
    You Never Can Tell
    • Rex Shepard
    • 1951
  • Paula Raymond and Dick Powell in The Tall Target (1951)
    The Tall Target
    • John Kennedy
    • 1951

Producer

  • Bob Terry in The Forsaken Westerns (2017)
    The Forsaken Westerns
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 2017
  • Ghostbreakers
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1967
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1961–1963
  • Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, May Britt, Richard Egan, and Lee Philips in The Hunters (1958)
    The Hunters
    • producer
    • 1958
  • Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens in The Enemy Below (1957)
    The Enemy Below
    • producer
    • 1957
  • Chevron Hall of Stars (1956)
    Chevron Hall of Stars
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 1956
  • Jack Lemmon and June Allyson in You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
    You Can't Run Away from It
    • producer
    • 1956
  • Four Star Playhouse (1952)
    Four Star Playhouse
    • producer
    • TV Series
    • 1952–1956
  • John Wayne and Susan Hayward in The Conqueror (1956)
    The Conqueror
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1956

Director

  • The Joan Crawford Show: Woman on the Run
    • Director
    • TV Movie
    • 1959
  • Robert Mitchum, Robert Wagner, May Britt, Richard Egan, and Lee Philips in The Hunters (1958)
    The Hunters
    • Director
    • 1958
  • Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens in The Enemy Below (1957)
    The Enemy Below
    • Director
    • 1957
  • Jack Lemmon and June Allyson in You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
    You Can't Run Away from It
    • Director
    • 1956
  • John Wayne and Susan Hayward in The Conqueror (1956)
    The Conqueror
    • Director
    • 1956
  • Jan Sterling, Stephen McNally, and Alexis Smith in Split Second (1953)
    Split Second
    • Director
    • 1953
  • Rhonda Fleming and Dick Powell in Cry Danger (1951)
    Cry Danger
    • Director (uncredited)
    • 1951

Videos19

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Trailer 3:36
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Trailer 2:02
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Trailer 2:43
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Original Theatrical Trailer
Trailer 2:32
Original Theatrical Trailer
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Trailer 1:47
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Official Trailer
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Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
  • Born
    • November 14, 1904
    • Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
  • Died
    • January 2, 1963
    • West Los Angeles, California, USA(lung cancer)
  • Spouses
      June AllysonAugust 19, 1945 - January 2, 1963 (his death, 2 children)
  • Children
      Ellen Powell
  • Parents
      Ewing Powell
  • Relatives
      Howard Smith Powell(Sibling)
  • Other works
    (1949-55) Radio: Appeared (as "Richard Diamond") in the series "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" on NBC. NOTE: The series was written by future director Blake Edwards.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In the 1940s he sold his 55-foot yacht, Santana, to lifelong sailing enthusiast Humphrey Bogart. The vessel subsequently achieved celebrity status as "Bogie's Boat" owing to his numerous seafaring expeditions, and Bogart even named his production company, Santana Productions, after it.
  • Quotes
    The best thing about switching from being an actor to being a director is that you don't have to shave or hold your stomach in anymore.
  • Trademark
      Affable "juvenile leads" or "boy heroes", which he played into his 40s
  • Salary
    • In the Navy
      (1941)
      $30,000

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