Cast
Dick Powell
Acting
Cast
Dick Powell
Known for
Acting
Born
1904-11-14
From
Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
Died
1963-01-02
Also known as Richard Ewing Powell, Дик Пауэлл, Richard Ewing "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.
Flirtation Walk
as Dick "Canary" Dorcy
42nd Street
as Billy Lawler
The Bad and the Beautiful
as James Lee Bartlow
Christmas in July
as Jimmy McDonald
Going Places
as Peter Mason
Murder, My Sweet
as Philip Marlowe
Footlight Parade
as Scotty Blair
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
Broadway Gondolier
as Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli
Station West
as Lt. John Martin Haven
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
Right Cross
as Rick Garvey
Gold Diggers of 1933
as Brad
Cornered
as Laurence Gerard
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Tall Target
as John Kennedy
Rogues' Regiment
as Whit Corbett
That's Dancing!
To the Ends of the Earth
as Commissioner Michael Barrows
A Midsummer Night's Dream
as Lysander
It Happened Tomorrow
as Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
Susan Slept Here
as Mark Christopher
Dames
as Jimmy Higgens
Pitfall
as John Forbes
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Dick Powell
The Road Is Open Again
as The Songwriter
Hollywood Newsreel
as Himself
Naughty But Nice
as Professor Donald Hardwick
Gold Diggers of 1935
as Dick Curtis
Wonder Bar
as Tommy
Mrs. Mike
as Sgt. Mike Flannigan
Gold Diggers of 1937
as Rosmer Peck
Blessed Event
as Bunny Harmon
In the Navy
as Thomas Halstead
On the Avenue
as Gary Blake
Cry Danger
as Rocky Mulloy
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
as Self (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)
Thanks a Million
as Eric Land
Shipmates Forever
as Richard 'Dick' Melville III
The Singing Marine
as Bob Brent
Breakdowns of 1938
as Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
True to Life
as Link Ferris
Big City Blues
as Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Johnny O'Clock
as Johnny O'Clock
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
as Self
Ricochet
as Self - Host
A Dream Comes True
as Himself (uncredited)
The All-Star Christmas Show
as Self
Convention City
as Jerry Ford
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
as Self (archive footage)
Riding High
as Steve Baird
Twenty Million Sweethearts
as Buddy Clayton
Hollywood Hotel
as Ronnie Bowers
College Coach
as Phil "Sarge" Sargeant
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
Model Wife
as Frederick "Fred" Chambers
And She Learned About Dames
as Himself
Page Miss Glory
as Bingo Nelson
Cowboy from Brooklyn
as Elly Jordan
Hollywood Hobbies
as Self (uncredited)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
Hearts Divided
as Jerome Bonaparte
You Never Can Tell
as Rex Shepherd
Meet the People
as William 'Swanee' Swanson
The Reformer and the Redhead
as Andrew Hale
The King's Vacation
as John Kent
Stage Struck
as George Randall
Colleen
as Donald Ames
Varsity Show
as Charles 'Chuck' Daly
Studio Highlights
as Self (archive footage)
I Want a Divorce
as Alan MacNally
One Must Die
Hard to Get
as Bill Davis
Happiness Ahead
as Bob Lane
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
as Self (archive footage)
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
Three Cheers for the Girls
as Singer (archive footage) (uncredited)
Happy Go Lucky
as Pete Hamilton
Too Busy to Work
as Dan Hardy
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
as Self
Who Killed Julie Greer?
as Host / Inspector Amos Burke
Just Around the Corner
as Jerry
One And One Is One
as Himself
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5"
