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