Dick Powell
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.
Acted in
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
as Self (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013
as Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
as Self (archive footage)
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
2006
as Self (archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
as Self (archive footage)
That's Dancing!
1985
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
as (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
1976
as Self (archive footage)
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975
as Self (archive footage)
The Love Goddesses
1965
as (archive footage)
Ricochet
1961
as Self - Host
Who Killed Julie Greer?
1961
as Host / Inspector Amos Burke
The DuPont Show of the Week
1961
as Self
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Paul Martin
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959
as Dr. Timothy McVey
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956
as Self - Host
Climax!
1954
as Philip Marlowe
Susan Slept Here
1954
as Mark Christopher
The Bad and the Beautiful
1952
as James Lee Bartlow
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Willie Dante
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Eddie White
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as US Marshal Philip Dana
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Burt Stroude
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Paul
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Mike Donegan
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Graham
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dan
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dan Hodges
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dave Robinson
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Fred
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Chris
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Jeff
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Eddie
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dave
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Capt. Avery
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Andrew
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Will Sonnett
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Fleet Mason
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Grover Doane
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Steve
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Priest
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Philip Benton
Four Star Playhouse
1952
as Dan Matson
You Never Can Tell
1951
as Rex Shepherd
The Tall Target
1951
as John Kennedy
Cry Danger
1951
as Rocky Mulloy
Right Cross
1950
as Rick Garvey
Lux Video Theatre
1950
as Self - Intermission Guest
The Reformer and the Redhead
1950
as Andrew Hale
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Mystery Guest
What's My Line?
1950
as Self - Panelist
Mrs. Mike
1949
as Sgt. Mike Flannigan
The Emmy Awards
1949
as Self
Rogues' Regiment
1948
as Whit Corbett
Station West
1948
as Lt. John Martin Haven
Pitfall
1948
as John Forbes
To the Ends of the Earth
1948
as Commissioner Michael Barrows
Blow-Ups of 1947
1947
as Self
Johnny O'Clock
1947
as Johnny O'Clock
Cornered
1945
as Laurence Gerard
Murder, My Sweet
1944
as Philip Marlowe
Meet the People
1944
as William 'Swanee' Swanson
It Happened Tomorrow
1944
as Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens
True to Life
1943
as Link Ferris
Riding High
1943
as Steve Baird
Three Cheers for the Girls
1943
as Singer (archive footage) (uncredited)
Happy Go Lucky
1943
as Pete Hamilton
Star Spangled Rhythm
1942
as Dick Powell
In the Navy
1941
as Thomas Halstead
Model Wife
1941
as Frederick "Fred" Chambers
Christmas in July
1940
as Jimmy McDonald
I Want a Divorce
1940
as Alan MacNally
Naughty But Nice
1939
as Professor Donald Hardwick
Hollywood Hobbies
1939
as Self (uncredited)
Going Places
1938
as Peter Mason
Breakdowns of 1938
1938
as Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hard to Get
1938
as Bill Davis
Cowboy from Brooklyn
1938
as Elly Jordan
Hollywood Hotel
1938
as Ronnie Bowers
Breakdowns of 1937
1937
as Self
Varsity Show
1937
as Charles 'Chuck' Daly
The Singing Marine
1937
as Bob Brent
On the Avenue
1937
as Gary Blake
Gold Diggers of 1937
1936
as Rosmer Peck
Stage Struck
1936
as George Randall
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936
as Self
Hearts Divided
1936
as Jerome Bonaparte
Colleen
1936
as Donald Ames
One And One Is One
1936
as Himself
A Dream Comes True
1935
as Himself (uncredited)
Things You Never See on the Screen
1935
as Self
Thanks a Million
1935
as Eric Land
Shipmates Forever
1935
as Richard 'Dick' Melville III
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935
as Lysander
Page Miss Glory
1935
as Bingo Nelson
Broadway Gondolier
1935
as Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli
Gold Diggers of 1935
1935
as Dick Curtis
Flirtation Walk
1934
as Dick "Canary" Dorcy
Happiness Ahead
1934
as Bob Lane
Dames
1934
as Jimmy Higgens
Studio Highlights
1934
as Self (archive footage)
Twenty Million Sweethearts
1934
as Buddy Clayton
Wonder Bar
1934
as Tommy
And She Learned About Dames
1934
as Himself
Hollywood Newsreel
1934
as Himself
Convention City
1933
as Jerry Ford
College Coach
1933
as Phil "Sarge" Sargeant
Footlight Parade
1933
as Scotty Blair
Gold Diggers of 1933
1933
as Brad Roberts
42nd Street
1933
as Billy Lawler
The King's Vacation
1933
as John Kent
The Road Is Open Again
1933
as The Songwriter
Just Around the Corner
1933
as Jerry
Too Busy to Work
1932
as Dan Hardy
Big City Blues
1932
as Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Blessed Event
1932
as Bunny Harmon