Dick Powell
Biography
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.
Known For
Billy Lawler
42nd Street
Philip Marlowe
Murder, My Sweet
Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens
It Happened Tomorrow
Brad
Gold Diggers of 1933
James Lee Bartlow
The Bad and the Beautiful
John Forbes
Pitfall
Rocky Mulloy
Cry Danger
Thomas Halstead
In the Navy
John Kennedy
The Tall Target
Jimmy McDonald
Christmas in July
Scotty Blair
Footlight Parade
Laurence Gerard
Cornered
Lt. John Martin Haven
Station West
Bunny Harmon
Blessed Event
Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli
Broadway Gondolier
Ronnie Bowers
Hollywood Hotel
Dick Curtis
Gold Diggers of 1935
Jimmy Higgens
Dames
Andrew Hale
The Reformer and the Redhead
Peter Mason
Going Places
Commissioner Michael Barrows
To the Ends of the Earth
Johnny O'Clock
Johnny O'Clock
Lysander
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Mark Christopher
Susan Slept Here
Dick "Canary" Dorcy
Flirtation Walk
Rosmer Peck
Gold Diggers of 1937
William 'Swanee' Swanson
Meet the People
Gary Blake
On the Avenue
Dick Powell
Star Spangled Rhythm
Buddy Clayton
Twenty Million Sweethearts
Eric Land
Thanks a Million
Donald Ames
Colleen
Rex Shepherd
You Never Can Tell
Bob Lane
Happiness Ahead
Tommy
Wonder Bar
John Kent
The King's Vacation
Elly Jordan
Cowboy from Brooklyn
Charles 'Chuck' Daly
Varsity Show
Phil "Sarge" Sargeant
College Coach
Pete Hamilton
Happy Go Lucky
The Songwriter
The Road Is Open Again
Jerome Bonaparte
Hearts Divided
Bingo Nelson
Page Miss Glory
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Richard 'Dick' Melville III
Shipmates Forever
Rick Garvey
Right Cross
George Randall
Stage Struck
Jerry
Just Around the Corner
Steve Baird
Riding High
Alan MacNally
I Want a Divorce
Professor Donald Hardwick
Naughty But Nice
Bob Brent
The Singing Marine
Bill Davis
Hard to Get
Link Ferris
True to Life
Whit Corbett
Rogues' Regiment
Jerry Ford
Convention City
Self (uncredited)
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
(archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Self (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
Frederick "Fred" Chambers
Model Wife
Dan Hardy
Too Busy to Work
Host / Inspector Amos Burke
Who Killed Julie Greer?
Self (archive footage)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
Self - Host
Ricochet
Himself
Hollywood Newsreel
Self (archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
Sgt. Mike Flannigan
Mrs. Mike
Himself
One And One Is One
Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Big City Blues
Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1938
Singer (archive footage) (uncredited)
Three Cheers for the Girls
Self
Things You Never See on the Screen
Himself (uncredited)
A Dream Comes True
Self
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
Blow-Ups of 1947
Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Himself
And She Learned About Dames
Self
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
Self (archive footage)
It's Showtime
That's Dancing!
Self (archive footage)
Studio Highlights
One Must Die
Self (archive footage)
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Self
The All-Star Christmas Show
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5"
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 3, Normie"
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
89
Gender
Male
Birthday
1904-11-14
Place of Birth
Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
Also Known As
Richard Ewing Powell