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William Powell

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This article refers to the American actor. For other people with the same name, see William Powell (disambiguation).
William Powell
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William Powell
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 - March 5, 1984) was an American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles. 


Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, William Powell was an only child and showed an early aptitude for performing. After high school, he left home for New York and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts at the age of 18. 


In 1912 Powell graduated from the AADA, and then he worked in some vaudeville and stock companies. After a successful experience as a brilliant actor on the Broadway stage, in 1922 he began a Hollywood career. His first starring role was as Philo Vance in The Canary Murder Case (1929). 


He followed this up with the Vance role in The Kennel Murder Case (1933). In the same year, he was divorced from his second wife, the actress Carole Lombard, who later went on to marry Clark Gable, but with whom he remained on excellent terms, even co-starring with her in a movie several years after their divorce.


Powell's most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934, considered by many the best of the bunch, in which he proved his sophisticated charm and his witty sense of humour. 


The delightful Myrna Loy played his wife Nora Charles in each of the Thin Man films, and his partnership with Loy would become the screen's most prolific ever, with the couple appearing in 14 films together. 


He received an Academy Award Nomination for The Thin Man, and starred in the Best Picture of 1936, The Great Ziegfeld, in 1936, in which Ziegfeld's character was somewhat sanitized, and which also starred Loy as Billie Burke, Ziegfeld's wife. 


Powell could play any role with authority whether it was comedy, thriller or drama. He would receive his second Academy Award Nomination for the magnificent comedy My Man Godfrey (1936), with Carole Lombard. He was on top of the world until 1937.


In 1935 he starred with Jean Harlow in Reckless, and they become very close friends. Soon Powell's friendship with Harlow developed into a serious romance. Sadly she died before they could marry, apparently of uremic poisoning. 


His distress over Harlow's death and a battle with cancer, which he ultimately beat, resulted in his accepting fewer roles. 


On January 6, 1940, he married the beautiful actress, Diana Lewis, whom he called "Mousie". Although the couple had only met for the first time three weeks before their marriage, they remained married until Powell's death in 1984. 


His career slowed considerably in the late 1940s, although in 1947 he received his third Academy Award nomination for his work in Life with Father. His last film was Mister Roberts in 1955, with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon. 


Despite numerous entreaties to return to the screen, Powell refused all offers, happy in his retirement.


He also had one son by his first wife Eileen Wilson named William David Powell.  He and Wilson were married from 1915-1930.  They remained friends until her death in the 1940s.  


William David Powell, Powell's son, would go on to be a television writer and producer.  He committed suicide in 1968.


Powell died of natural causes (cardiac arrest) in Palm Springs, California at the age of 91, some thirty years after his retirement, survived by his wife, Diana Lewis, who herself died in 1997.





Contents





Quotes


The Thin Man, 1934


Myrna Loy: Pretty Girl.


William Powell: Yes. She's a nice type.


Myrna Loy: You got types?


William Powell: Only you, darling. Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.




The Thin Man, 1934


William Powell: Oh, it's alright, Joe. It's my dog. And uh, my wife.


Myrna Loy: Well you might have mentioned me on the first billing.




The Thin Man, 1934


William Powell: How'd you like Grant's tomb?


Myrna Loy: It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.




After The Thin Man, 1936


William Powell: Come on. Let's get something to eat. I'm thirsty.




Life with Father, 1947


William Powell: I don't go to church to be preached at as though I were some lost sheep.


Irene Dunne: Clare you don't seem to understand what the church is for.


William Powell: Vinnie, if there's one place the church should leave alone, it's a man's soul!




My Man Godfrey, 1936


William Powell: These flowers just came for you, miss. Where shall I put them?


Carole Lombard: What difference does it make where one puts flowers when one's heart is breaking?


William Powell: Yes, miss. Shall I put them on the piano?




Academy Awards Nominations


He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1636 Vine Street.



Filmography



Trivia

The late Don Adams stated in interviews that his famous "clippy" voice characterization was based on, and an exaggeration of, the speaking style of William Powell.



Further reading

Francisco, Charles , Gentleman: The William Powell Story , New York: St Martins Press, 1985. ISBN 0312321031 




External Links





























 





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