William Powell

William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 - March 5, 1984) was an American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles.

Related Topics:
July 29 - 1892 - March 5 - 1984

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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 1929's The Canary Murder Case. He followed this up with the Vance role in The Kennel Murder Case in 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.

Related Topics:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - American Academy of Dramatic Arts - Broadway - 1922 - Hollywood - Philo Vance - 1929 - The Canary Murder Case - The Kennel Murder Case - 1933 - Carole Lombard - Clark Gable

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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 charme 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.

Related Topics:
The Thin Man - 1934 - Myrna Loy

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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.

Related Topics:
The Thin Man - The Great Ziegfeld - Ziegfeld - Billie Burke - Academy Award - My Man Godfrey - Carole Lombard - 1937

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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 (but some sources claimed it was a botched illegal abortion that ended her life). 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. Although the couple had only met for the first time three weeks before their marriage, they remained married until Powell's death in 1984.

Related Topics:
1935 - Jean Harlow - Cancer - January 6 - 1940 - 1984

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

Related Topics:
Academy Award - Life with Father - Mister Roberts - 1955

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Powell died of natural causes in Palm Springs, California at the age of 91, some thirty years after his retirement, survived by his wife, Diana, and his only child, a son by his first marriage, William David Powell.

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