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William Powell
Acting

William Powell
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1892-07-29,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times: for The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936), and Life with Father (1947). 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 worked in some vaudeville and stock companies. After several successful experiences on the Broadway stage, he began his Hollywood career in 1922, playing a small role as an evil henchman of Professor Moriarty in a production of Sherlock Holmes with John Barrymore. His most memorable role in silent movies was as a bitter film director opposite Emil Jannings' Academy Award-winning performance as a fallen general in The Last Command (1928). This success, along with Powell's pleasant speaking voice, led to his first starring role as amateur detective Philo Vance in the "talkie" The Canary Murder Case (1929). Powell's most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934, based upon Dashiell Hammett's novel. The role provided a perfect opportunity for Powell, with his resonant speaking voice, to showcase his sophisticated charm and witty sense of humor, and he received his first Academy Award nomination for The Thin Man. Myrna Loy played his wife, Nora, in each of the Thin Man films. Their on-screen partnership, beginning alongside Clark Gable in 1934 with Manhattan Melodrama, was one of Hollywood's most prolific, and they appeared in 14 films together. Loy and Powell starred in the Best Picture of 1936, The Great Ziegfeld, with Powell in the title role and Loy as Ziegfeld's wife Billie Burke. That same year, he also received his second Academy Award nomination, for the comedy My Man Godfrey. In 1935, he starred with Jean Harlow in Reckless. A serious romance developed between them, and in 1936, they were reunited on screen and with Loy and Spencer Tracy in the screwball comedy Libeled Lady. However, Harlow surprisingly and quickly became ill, and died from uremia at the age of 26 in June 1937 before they could marry. His distress over her death, as well as a cancer diagnosis of his own, caused him to accept fewer acting roles. Powell's career slowed considerably in the 1940s, although he received his third Academy Award nomination in 1947 for his role as the cantankerous Clarence Day, Sr., in Life with Father. His last film was 1955's Mister Roberts. Powell died in Palm Springs, California, on March 5, 1984, at the age of 91 from heart failure, nearly 30 years after his retirement. He is buried at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California, near his third wife Diana Lewis, and his only child, his son William David Powell.

Filmography

How to Marry a Millionaire

6.8

How to Marry a Millionaire
1953-11-10

7.516

The Thin Man
1934-05-25

I Love You Again

7.2

I Love You Again
1940-08-09

6.4

Double Wedding
1937-10-15

6.8

Love Crazy
1941-05-23

Take One False Step

5.5

Take One False Step
1949-08-14

7.3

Libeled Lady
1936-10-09

The Heavenly Body

5.6

The Heavenly Body
1944-03-23

7.584

My Man Godfrey
1936-09-02

Manhattan Melodrama

7

Manhattan Melodrama
1934-05-04

One Way Passage

7.3

One Way Passage
1932-10-04

Life with Father

6.7

Life with Father
1947-09-13

Another Thin Man

7.137

Another Thin Man
1939-11-17

Shadow of the Thin Man

7

Shadow of the Thin Man
1941-11-21

After the Thin Man

7.358

After the Thin Man
1936-12-25

Song of the Thin Man

6.746

Song of the Thin Man
1947-08-28

The Thin Man Goes Home

7.1

The Thin Man Goes Home
1944-12-24

5.9

Crossroads
1942-07-23

The Great Ziegfeld

6.3

The Great Ziegfeld
1936-04-08

Ziegfeld Follies

6

Ziegfeld Follies
1945-08-26

The Senator Was Indiscreet

6.3

The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947-12-31

7.045

Mister Roberts
1955-07-10

5.8

High Pressure
1932-01-10

Private Detective 62

6.2

Private Detective 62
1933-06-10

The Benson Murder Case

6.2

The Benson Murder Case
1930-04-13

6.5

Jewel Robbery
1932-07-08

5.2

Reckless
1935-04-19

The Last Command

7.4

The Last Command
1928-01-21

The Canary Murder Case

5.8

The Canary Murder Case
1929-02-16

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

7

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983-02-25

6.6

Feel My Pulse
1928-02-26

When Knighthood Was in Flower

5.8

When Knighthood Was in Flower
1922-09-15

Sherlock Holmes

6.2

Sherlock Holmes
1922-03-07

The Treasure of Lost Canyon

6

The Treasure of Lost Canyon
1952-03-01

The Girl Who Had Everything

6.2

The Girl Who Had Everything
1953-03-27

6.7

Romola
1924-12-06

It's a Big Country

5.9

It's a Big Country
1951-11-20

Dancing in the Dark

6.2

Dancing in the Dark
1949-12-02

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid

6.5

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
1948-08-11

The Baroness and the Butler

5.4

The Baroness and the Butler
1938-02-18

The Hoodlum Saint

5.6

The Hoodlum Saint
1946-04-04

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

5.9

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937-02-19

5.1

The Key
1934-06-09

The Emperor's Candlesticks

5

The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937-07-02

5

Rendezvous
1935-10-25

Star of Midnight

5.9

Star of Midnight
1935-04-19

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

6.3

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
1936-04-24

Evelyn Prentice

6.6

Evelyn Prentice
1934-11-09

The Kennel Murder Case

6.1

The Kennel Murder Case
1933-10-28

Fashions of 1934

6.6

Fashions of 1934
1934-02-14

The Greene Murder Case

6.1

The Greene Murder Case
1929-08-11

Man of the World

6.2

Man of the World
1931-03-24

The Four Feathers

5

The Four Feathers
1929-06-01

6.5

Paid to Love
1927-07-23

The Youngest Profession

5.2

The Youngest Profession
1943-02-26

6.7

Nevada
1927-08-01

6.1

Lawyer Man
1932-12-24

7.6

Interference
1929-01-04

Street of Chance

6.8

Street of Chance
1930-02-08

7

Escapade
1935-07-05

6.5

Double Harness
1933-07-21

6.4

Beau Geste
1926-08-24

Charming Sinners

7

Charming Sinners
1929-08-17

The Road to Singapore

5.6

The Road to Singapore
1931-09-02

Behind the Make-Up

6.9

Behind the Make-Up
1930-01-18

6.2

Pointed Heels
1929-12-21

For the Defense

5.7

For the Defense
1930-07-19

The Bright Shawl

7

The Bright Shawl
1923-04-22

The Great Gatsby

9

The Great Gatsby
1926-11-21

4.6

Ladies' Man
1931-04-16

Going Hollywood: The '30s

9

Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984-01-01

Forgotten Faces

7

Forgotten Faces
1928-08-05

10

The Runaway
1926-04-04

Partners in Crime

6

Partners in Crime
1928-03-17

Shadow of the Law

6.7

Shadow of the Law
1930-06-06

Special Delivery

6

Special Delivery
1927-05-06

Paramount on Parade

5.9

Paramount on Parade
1930-04-22

Aloma of the South Seas

8

Aloma of the South Seas
1926-05-16

The Big Parade of Comedy

7.2

The Big Parade of Comedy
1964-09-02

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

6.1

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
1935-12-07

The Voice of Hollywood

0

The Voice of Hollywood
1930-08-30

Dangerous Money

9

Dangerous Money
1924-10-13

Too Many Kisses

5.9

Too Many Kisses
1925-01-11

3

Outcast
1922-12-07

Under the Red Robe

6

Under the Red Robe
1923-11-12

7

Faint Perfume
1925-06-08

10

My Lady's Lips
1925-07-01

7

White Mice
1926-01-31

9

Sea Horses
1926-02-22

The Beautiful City

9

The Beautiful City
1925-10-25

8

Desert Gold
1926-03-22

9

Tin Gods
1926-09-19

9

New York
1927-01-30

10

Time to Love
1927-06-18

6.5

The Drag Net
1928-05-01

8

She's a Sheik
1927-11-12

Love's Greatest Mistake

9

Love's Greatest Mistake
1927-02-20

The Vanishing Pioneer

9

The Vanishing Pioneer
1928-06-23

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

6.3

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975-08-06

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

5.8

Hollywood: Style Center of the World
1940-05-31

That's Entertainment, Part II

7

That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16

From the Ends of the Earth

5

From the Ends of the Earth
1939-05-28

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

6.8

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
1940-10-24

The Romance of Celluloid

7

The Romance of Celluloid
1937-08-27

The Great Morgan

6

The Great Morgan
1945-01-01

9

Beau Sabreur
1928-01-22

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

8.3

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986-03-09

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

8.5

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990-06-04

William Powell: A True Gentleman

7.5

William Powell: A True Gentleman
2005-08-02

Twenty Years After

8

Twenty Years After
1944-01-01

8

Senorita
1927-04-01

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

6.5

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1987-03-13

7.5

It's Showtime
1976-03-31

Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts

6.5

Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts
2017-06-14

Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell

0

Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell
1996-05-20

The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell

0

The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
2023-02-20

Discovering Jean Harlow

10

Discovering Jean Harlow
2015-12-01

Two Tragic Blondes - Marilyn Monroe And Jean Harlow

9

Two Tragic Blondes - Marilyn Monroe And Jean Harlow
1989-04-09

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

8

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995-06-05

Alias Nick and Nora

7

Alias Nick and Nora
2005-06-15