© Copyright Harutyunyan 2024

sunfilm-logo
Home/William Powell
William Powell‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1892-07-28

Popularity

star11.3

William Powell

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

William Powell

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1892-07-28

Popularity

star11.3

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.

Movie Credits

How to Marry a Millionaire

How to Marry a Millionaire‌
star6.8
calendar 1953

The Thin Man

The Thin Man‌
star7.5
calendar 1934

I Love You Again

I Love You Again‌
star7.3
calendar 1940

Double Wedding

Double Wedding‌
star6.5
calendar 1937

Love Crazy

Love Crazy‌
star7.1
calendar 1941

Take One False Step

Take One False Step‌
star5.4
calendar 1949

Libeled Lady

Libeled Lady‌
star7.3
calendar 1936

The Heavenly Body

The Heavenly Body‌
star5.7
calendar 1944

My Man Godfrey

My Man Godfrey‌
star7.6
calendar 1936

Manhattan Melodrama

Manhattan Melodrama‌
star7.0
calendar 1934

One Way Passage

One Way Passage‌
star7.3
calendar 1932

Life with Father

Life with Father‌
star6.5
calendar 1947

Another Thin Man

Another Thin Man‌
star7.1
calendar 1939

Shadow of the Thin Man

Shadow of the Thin Man‌
star7.0
calendar 1941

After the Thin Man

After the Thin Man‌
star7.3
calendar 1936

Song of the Thin Man

Song of the Thin Man‌
star6.8
calendar 1947

The Thin Man Goes Home

The Thin Man Goes Home‌
star7.1
calendar 1944

Crossroads

Crossroads‌
star5.9
calendar 1942

The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld‌
star6.2
calendar 1936

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies‌
star6.1
calendar 1945

The Senator Was Indiscreet

The Senator Was Indiscreet‌
star5.4
calendar 1947

Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts‌
star7.0
calendar 1955

High Pressure

High Pressure‌
star6.0
calendar 1932

Private Detective 62

Private Detective 62‌
star5.9
calendar 1933

The Benson Murder Case

The Benson Murder Case‌
star5.8
calendar 1930

Jewel Robbery

Jewel Robbery‌
star6.5
calendar 1932

Reckless

Reckless‌
star5.3
calendar 1935

The Last Command

The Last Command‌
star7.3
calendar 1928

The Canary Murder Case

The Canary Murder Case‌
star5.5
calendar 1929

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage‌
star6.5
calendar 1983

Feel My Pulse

Feel My Pulse‌
star6.0
calendar 1928

When Knighthood Was in Flower

When Knighthood Was in Flower‌
star5.7
calendar 1922

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes‌
star5.5
calendar 1922

The Treasure of Lost Canyon

The Treasure of Lost Canyon‌
star5.6
calendar 1952

The Girl Who Had Everything

The Girl Who Had Everything‌
star5.8
calendar 1953

Romola

Romola‌
star6.0
calendar 1924

It's a Big Country

It's a Big Country‌
star5.3
calendar 1951

Dancing in the Dark

Dancing in the Dark‌
star5.0
calendar 1949

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid

Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid‌
star6.4
calendar 1948

The Baroness and the Butler

The Baroness and the Butler‌
star5.2
calendar 1938

The Hoodlum Saint

The Hoodlum Saint‌
star5.2
calendar 1946

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney‌
star6.0
calendar 1937

The Key

The Key‌
star4.9
calendar 1934

The Emperor's Candlesticks

The Emperor's Candlesticks‌
star5.2
calendar 1937

Rendezvous

Rendezvous‌
star4.8
calendar 1935

Star of Midnight

Star of Midnight‌
star6.0
calendar 1935

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

The Ex-Mrs. Bradford‌
star6.0
calendar 1936

Evelyn Prentice

Evelyn Prentice‌
star6.6
calendar 1934

The Kennel Murder Case

The Kennel Murder Case‌
star6.1
calendar 1933

Fashions of 1934

Fashions of 1934‌
star6.3
calendar 1934

The Greene Murder Case

The Greene Murder Case‌
star5.7
calendar 1929

Man of the World

Man of the World‌
star5.9
calendar 1931

The Four Feathers

The Four Feathers‌
star4.4
calendar 1929

Paid to Love

Paid to Love‌
star6.0
calendar 1927

The Youngest Profession

The Youngest Profession‌
star5.2
calendar 1943

Nevada

Nevada‌
star6.0
calendar 1927

Lawyer Man

Lawyer Man‌
star5.8
calendar 1932

Interference

Interference‌
star8.0
calendar 1928

Street of Chance

Street of Chance‌
star6.4
calendar 1930

Escapade

Escapade‌
star0.0
calendar 1935

Double Harness

Double Harness‌
star6.8
calendar 1933

Beau Geste

Beau Geste‌
star5.9
calendar 1926

Charming Sinners

Charming Sinners‌
star0.0
calendar 1929

The Road to Singapore

The Road to Singapore‌
star5.4
calendar 1931

Behind the Make-Up

Behind the Make-Up‌
star6.2
calendar 1930

Pointed Heels

Pointed Heels‌
star7.2
calendar 1929

For the Defense

For the Defense‌
star4.8
calendar 1930

The Bright Shawl

The Bright Shawl‌
star0.0
calendar 1923

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Ladies' Man

Ladies' Man‌
star4.3
calendar 1931

Going Hollywood: The '30s

Going Hollywood: The '30s‌
star10.0
calendar 1984

Hollywood: The Selznick Years

Hollywood: The Selznick Years‌
star3.3
calendar 1961

Forgotten Faces

Forgotten Faces‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

The Runaway

The Runaway‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Partners in Crime

Partners in Crime‌
star2.0
calendar 1928

Shadow of the Law

Shadow of the Law‌
star6.4
calendar 1930

Special Delivery

Special Delivery‌
star6.0
calendar 1927

Paramount on Parade

Paramount on Parade‌
star6.4
calendar 1930

Aloma of the South Seas

Aloma of the South Seas‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

The Big Parade of Comedy

The Big Parade of Comedy‌
star6.3
calendar 1964

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara

La Fiesta de Santa Barbara‌
star5.7
calendar 1935

The Voice of Hollywood

The Voice of Hollywood‌
star0.0
calendar 1930

Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell

Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell‌
star8.5
calendar 1993

Dangerous Money

Dangerous Money‌
star0.0
calendar 1924

Too Many Kisses

Too Many Kisses‌
star5.8
calendar 1925

Outcast

Outcast‌
star1.0
calendar 1922

Under the Red Robe

Under the Red Robe‌
star5.0
calendar 1923

Faint Perfume

Faint Perfume‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

My Lady's Lips

My Lady's Lips‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

White Mice

White Mice‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Sea Horses

Sea Horses‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

The Beautiful City

The Beautiful City‌
star0.0
calendar 1925

Desert Gold

Desert Gold‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

Tin Gods

Tin Gods‌
star0.0
calendar 1926

New York

New York‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Time to Love

Time to Love‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

The Drag Net

The Drag Net‌
star6.0
calendar 1928

She's a Sheik

She's a Sheik‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

Love's Greatest Mistake

Love's Greatest Mistake‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

The Vanishing Pioneer

The Vanishing Pioneer‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?‌
star5.7
calendar 1975

Hollywood: Style Center of the World

Hollywood: Style Center of the World‌
star5.5
calendar 1940

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II‌
star6.8
calendar 1976

From the Ends of the Earth

From the Ends of the Earth‌
star0.0
calendar 1939

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound‌
star6.7
calendar 1940

The Romance of Celluloid

The Romance of Celluloid‌
star7.0
calendar 1937

The Great Morgan

The Great Morgan‌
star5.5
calendar 1945

Beau Sabreur

Beau Sabreur‌
star0.0
calendar 1928

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn

The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn‌
star8.0
calendar 1986

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To‌
star9.0
calendar 1990

William Powell: A True Gentleman

William Powell: A True Gentleman‌
star7.5
calendar 2005

Twenty Years After

Twenty Years After‌
star6.0
calendar 1944

Senorita

Senorita‌
star0.0
calendar 1927

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life‌
star6.0
calendar 1988

It's Showtime

It's Showtime‌
star7.0
calendar 1976

Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts

Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts‌
star6.3
calendar 2017

Tv Credits