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Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
November 14, 1904
Died
January 2, 1963
Place of Birth
Mountain View, Arkansas, USA
Also Known As
- Richard Ewing Powell
- Дик Пауэлл
- Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell
Dick Powell
0.6 Popularity
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.
Known For
5.3
Self (archive footage)
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024
5.5
Self (archive footage)
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013
7.2
Self (archive footage)
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012
6.0
Self (archive footage)
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
4.9
Self (archive footage)
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
2006
🎬
0.0
Self (archive footage)
Television: The First Fifty Years
1999
6.9
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
American Experience
1988
7.0
That's Dancing!
1985
10.0
(archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
6.5
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Credits
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
as Self (archive footage)
2024
5.3
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
as Self (archive footage)
2013
5.5
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
as Self (archive footage)
2012
7.2
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
as Self (archive footage)
2006
6.0
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
as Self (archive footage)
2006
4.9
🎬
Television: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
1999
0.0
American Experience
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1988
6.9
That's Dancing!
1985
7.0
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
1984
10.0
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
6.5
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
1976
7.0
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1975
6.1
Ricochet
as Self - Host
1961
0.0
The Dick Powell Show
as Self - Host
1961
5.5
Who Killed Julie Greer?
as Host / Inspector Amos Burke
1961
0.0
The DuPont Show of the Week
as Self
1961
6.0
One Must Die
1961
0.0
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Paul Martin
1959
6.3
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
as Dr. Timothy McVey
1959
6.3
The All-Star Christmas Show
as Self
1958
6.0
🎬
Tonight Starring Jack Paar
as Self
1957
7.0
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
as Self - Host
1956
6.0
Climax!
as Philip Marlowe
1954
3.3
Susan Slept Here
as Mark Christopher
1954
6.0
The Bad and the Beautiful
as James Lee Bartlow
1952
7.3
This Is Your Life
as Self
1952
6.4
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Willie Dante
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Eddie White
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as US Marshal Philip Dana
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Burt Stroude
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Graham
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Mike Donegan
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Paul
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Dan
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Dan Hodges
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Dave Robinson
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Fred
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Chris
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Eddie
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Jeff
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Dave
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Capt. Avery
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Andrew
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Will Sonnett
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Fleet Mason
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Grover Doane
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Steve
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Priest
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Philip Benton
1952
6.7
🎬
Four Star Playhouse
as Dan Matson
1952
6.7
You Never Can Tell
as Rex Shepherd
1951
6.8
The Tall Target
as John Kennedy
1951
6.8
Cry Danger
as Rocky Mulloy
1951
6.6
Right Cross
as Rick Garvey
1950
6.6
🎬
Lux Video Theatre
as Self - Intermission Guest
1950
6.3
The Reformer and the Redhead
as Andrew Hale
1950
6.3
What's My Line?
as Self - Mystery Guest
1950
6.9
What's My Line?
as Self - Panelist
1950
6.9
Mrs. Mike
as Sgt. Mike Flannigan
1949
2.0
The Emmy Awards
as Self
1949
7.9
Rogues' Regiment
as Whit Corbett
1948
6.5
Station West
as Lt. John Martin Haven
1948
6.1
Pitfall
as John Forbes
1948
6.8
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
1948
6.8
To the Ends of the Earth
as Commissioner Michael Barrows
1948
5.7
Blow-Ups of 1947
as Self
1947
6.3
Johnny O'Clock
as Johnny O'Clock
1947
6.2
Cornered
as Laurence Gerard
1945
6.1
Murder, My Sweet
as Philip Marlowe
1944
7.2
Meet the People
as William 'Swanee' Swanson
1944
5.4
It Happened Tomorrow
as Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens
1944
6.7
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Host
1944
7.2
True to Life
as Link Ferris
1943
6.0
Riding High
as Steve Baird
1943
4.5
Three Cheers for the Girls
as Singer (archive footage) (uncredited)
1943
6.2
Happy Go Lucky
as Pete Hamilton
1943
4.0
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Dick Powell
1942
6.0
In the Navy
as Thomas Halstead
1941
6.4
Model Wife
as Frederick "Fred" Chambers
1941
5.0
Christmas in July
as Jimmy McDonald
1940
6.9
I Want a Divorce
as Alan MacNally
1940
0.0
Naughty But Nice
as Professor Donald Hardwick
1939
6.2
Hollywood Hobbies
as Self (uncredited)
1939
5.3
Breakdowns of 1938
as Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited)
1938
4.7
Going Places
as Peter Mason
1938
6.3
Hard to Get
as Bill Davis
1938
6.0
Cowboy from Brooklyn
as Elly Jordan
1938
4.0
Hollywood Hotel
as Ronnie Bowers
1938
5.4
Breakdowns of 1937
as Self
1937
6.0
Varsity Show
as Charles 'Chuck' Daly
1937
6.3
The Singing Marine
as Bob Brent
1937
4.0
On the Avenue
as Gary Blake
1937
6.7
Gold Diggers of 1937
as Rosmer Peck
1936
5.8
Stage Struck
as George Randall
1936
4.0
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
as Self
1936
6.0
Hearts Divided
as Jerome Bonaparte
1936
5.0
Colleen
as Donald Ames
1936
5.3
One And One Is One
as Himself
1936
5.0
🎬
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5"
1936
0.0
🎬
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
1936
0.0
🎬
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 3, Normie"
1936
0.0
A Dream Comes True
as Himself (uncredited)
1935
5.5
Things You Never See on the Screen
as Self
1935
5.0
Thanks a Million
as Eric Land
1935
6.1
Shipmates Forever
as Richard 'Dick' Melville III
1935
6.5
A Midsummer Night's Dream
as Lysander
1935
6.3
Page Miss Glory
as Bingo Nelson
1935
6.3
Broadway Gondolier
as Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli
1935
5.4
Gold Diggers of 1935
as Dick Curtis
1935
6.4
Flirtation Walk
as Dick "Canary" Dorcy
1934
5.6
Happiness Ahead
as Bob Lane
1934
6.0
Dames
as Jimmy Higgens
1934
6.4
🎬
Studio Highlights
as Self (archive footage)
1934
0.0
Twenty Million Sweethearts
as Buddy Clayton
1934
6.0
Wonder Bar
as Tommy
1934
5.9
And She Learned About Dames
as Himself
1934
6.0
🎬
Hollywood Newsreel
as Himself
1934
4.0
Convention City
as Jerry Ford
1933
3.0
College Coach
as Phil "Sarge" Sargeant
1933
4.1
Footlight Parade
as Scotty Blair
1933
6.8
Gold Diggers of 1933
as Brad
1933
7.2
42nd Street
as Billy Lawler
1933
6.9
The King's Vacation
as John Kent
1933
5.0
The Road Is Open Again
as The Songwriter
1933
0.0
Just Around the Corner
as Jerry
1933
6.0
Too Busy to Work
as Dan Hardy
1932
4.0
Big City Blues
as Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
1932
5.3
Blessed Event
as Bunny Harmon
1932
6.5