Dick Powell

Acting • Born 1904-11-14 – Died 1963-01-02

Acting1Mountain View, Arkansas, USA

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.

Filmography

129 credits

42nd Street

Movie • 1933

Billy Lawler

Murder, My Sweet

Movie • 1944

Philip Marlowe

It Happened Tomorrow

Movie • 1944

Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens

Gold Diggers of 1933

Movie • 1933

Brad

The Bad and the Beautiful

Movie • 1952

James Lee Bartlow

Pitfall

Movie • 1948

John Forbes

Cry Danger

Movie • 1951

Rocky Mulloy

In the Navy

Movie • 1941

Thomas Halstead

The Tall Target

Movie • 1951

John Kennedy

Christmas in July

Movie • 1940

Jimmy McDonald

Footlight Parade

Movie • 1933

Scotty Blair

Cornered

Movie • 1945

Laurence Gerard

Station West

Movie • 1948

Lt. John Martin Haven

Blessed Event

Movie • 1932

Bunny Harmon

Broadway Gondolier

Movie • 1935

Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli

Hollywood Hotel

Movie • 1938

Ronnie Bowers

Gold Diggers of 1935

Movie • 1935

Dick Curtis

Dames

Movie • 1934

Jimmy Higgens

The Reformer and the Redhead

Movie • 1950

Andrew Hale

Going Places

Movie • 1938

Peter Mason

To the Ends of the Earth

Movie • 1948

Commissioner Michael Barrows

Johnny O'Clock

Movie • 1947

Johnny O'Clock

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Movie • 1935

Lysander

Susan Slept Here

Movie • 1954

Mark Christopher

Flirtation Walk

Movie • 1934

Dick "Canary" Dorcy

Gold Diggers of 1937

Movie • 1936

Rosmer Peck

Meet the People

Movie • 1944

William 'Swanee' Swanson

Star Spangled Rhythm

Movie • 1942

Dick Powell

On the Avenue

Movie • 1937

Gary Blake

Twenty Million Sweethearts

Movie • 1934

Buddy Clayton

Thanks a Million

Movie • 1935

Eric Land

Colleen

Movie • 1936

Donald Ames

You Never Can Tell

Movie • 1951

Rex Shepherd

Happiness Ahead

Movie • 1934

Bob Lane

Wonder Bar

Movie • 1934

Tommy

The King's Vacation

Movie • 1933

John Kent

Varsity Show

Movie • 1937

Charles 'Chuck' Daly

Cowboy from Brooklyn

Movie • 1938

Elly Jordan

College Coach

Movie • 1933

Phil "Sarge" Sargeant

Happy Go Lucky

Movie • 1943

Pete Hamilton

The Road Is Open Again

Movie • 1933

The Songwriter

Hearts Divided

Movie • 1936

Jerome Bonaparte

Page Miss Glory

Movie • 1935

Bingo Nelson

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Movie • 1983

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Shipmates Forever

Movie • 1935

Richard 'Dick' Melville III

Right Cross

Movie • 1950

Rick Garvey

Stage Struck

Movie • 1936

George Randall

Just Around the Corner

Movie • 1933

Jerry

Riding High

Movie • 1943

Steve Baird

I Want a Divorce

Movie • 1940

Alan MacNally

Naughty But Nice

Movie • 1939

Professor Donald Hardwick

The Singing Marine

Movie • 1937

Bob Brent

Hard to Get

Movie • 1938

Bill Davis

True to Life

Movie • 1943

Link Ferris

Rogues' Regiment

Movie • 1948

Whit Corbett

Convention City

Movie • 1933

Jerry Ford

Hollywood Hobbies

Movie • 1939

Self (uncredited)

42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage

Movie • 2006

Self (archive footage)

Going Hollywood: The '30s

Movie • 1984

(archive footage)

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

Movie • 2013

Self (archive footage)

Model Wife

Movie • 1941

Frederick "Fred" Chambers

Too Busy to Work

Movie • 1932

Dan Hardy

Who Killed Julie Greer?

Movie • 1961

Host / Inspector Amos Burke

The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout

Movie • 2024

Self (archive footage)

Ricochet

Movie • 1961

Self - Host

Hollywood Newsreel

Movie • 1934

Himself

Television: The First Fifty Years

Movie • 1999

Self (archive footage)

Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound

Movie • 2006

Self (archive footage)

Mrs. Mike

Movie • 1949

Sgt. Mike Flannigan

One And One Is One

Movie • 1936

Himself

Big City Blues

Movie • 1932

Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Breakdowns of 1938

Movie • 1938

Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited)

Three Cheers for the Girls

Movie • 1943

Singer (archive footage) (uncredited)

Things You Never See on the Screen

Movie • 1935

Self

A Dream Comes True

Movie • 1935

Himself (uncredited)

Breakdowns of 1937

Movie • 1937

Self

Blow-Ups of 1947

Movie • 1947

Self

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Movie • 1975

Self (archive footage)

And She Learned About Dames

Movie • 1934

Himself

Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)

Movie • 1936

Self

It's Showtime

Movie • 1976

Self (archive footage)

That's Dancing!

Movie • 1985

Studio Highlights

Movie • 1934

Self (archive footage)

One Must Die

Movie • 1961

Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe

Movie • 2012

Self (archive footage)

The All-Star Christmas Show

Movie • 1958

Self

Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5"

Movie • 1936

Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"

Movie • 1936

TV • 1949

Self

Lux Video Theatre

TV • 1950

Self - Intermission Guest

The Dick Powell Show

TV • 1961

TV • 1952

Dan Matson

The Ed Sullivan Show

TV • 1948

Self

What's My Line?

TV • 1950

Self - Mystery Guest

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

TV • 1957

Self

What's My Line?

TV • 1950

Self - Panelist

Golden Globe Awards

TV • 1944

Self - Host

American Experience

TV • 1988

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)