
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mary Ellen "Mala" Powers (December 20, 1931 – June 11, 2007) was an American film actress. She was born in San Francisco, California. In 1940, her family moved to Los Angeles. Her father was an executive with United Press. In the summer of her relocation, Powers attended the Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop where she enjoyed her first role in a play before a live audience. She continued with her drama lessons, and a year later she auditioned and won a part in the 1942 Dead End Kids film Tough as They Come. At the age of 16 she began working in radio drama, before becoming a film actress in 1950. Her first roles were in Outrage and Edge of Doom in 1950. That same year, Stanley Kramer signed Powers to star opposite Jose Ferrer in what may be her most remembered role as Roxane in Cyrano de Bergerac. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her part in this movie. While on a USO entertainment tour in Korea in 1951, she acquired a blood disease and almost died. She was treated with chloromycetin, but a severe allergic reaction resulted in the loss of much of her bone marrow. Powers barely survived, and her recovery took nearly nine months. She began working again in 1952 and 1953, including a part in City Beneath the Sea and City That Never Sleeps, although she was still taking medication. Following her recovery, she appeared in B-movie westerns, such as Rage at Dawn (1955), and science fiction films, among them The Colossus of New York (1958), Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961), and Doomsday Machine (1972). She also had a large role...more
Movie | From Russia to Hollywood: The 100-Year Odyssey of Chekhov and Shdanoff | Self / Narrator (voice) | 2002-08-25 |
Movie | Calling the Shots | Self | 1988-09-08 |
Series | Murder, She Wrote | Unknown | 1984-09-30 |
Movie | Six Tickets to Hell | 1981-09-10 | |
Series | Charlie's Angels | Unknown | 1976-09-22 |
Series | Switch | Unknown | 1975-09-09 |
Movie | Doomsday Machine | Maj. Georgianna Bronski | 1972-01-01 |
Movie | Daddy's Gone A-Hunting | Meg Stone | 1969-05-13 |
Movie | Rogue's Gallery | Maggie | 1968-01-01 |
Series | Ironside | Unknown | 1967-03-28 |
Series | Bewitched | Unknown | 1964-09-17 |
Series | Daniel Boone | Unknown | 1964-09-24 |
Series | Kraft Suspense Theatre | Unknown | 1963-10-10 |
Series | Everglades | Unknown | 1961-10-09 |
Series | Dr. Kildare | Unknown | 1961-09-27 |
Movie | Fear No More | Sharon Carlin | 1961-11-01 |
Movie | Flight of the Lost Balloon | Ellen Burton | 1961-12-28 |
Series | Thriller | Unknown | 1960-09-13 |
Series | The Rebel | Unknown | 1959-10-04 |
Series | Hawaiian Eye | Unknown | 1959-10-07 |
Movie | The Colossus of New York | Anne Spensser | 1958-06-18 |
Movie | Sierra Baron | Sue Russell | 1958-07-01 |
Series | Bronco | Unknown | 1958-09-23 |
Series | Wanted: Dead or Alive | Unknown | 1958-09-06 |
Movie | Tammy and the Bachelor | Barbara Bissle | 1957-06-14 |
Movie | The Storm Rider | Tay Rorick | 1957-03-01 |
Movie | The Unknown Terror | Gina Matthews | 1957-08-12 |
Movie | Death in Small Doses | Valerie 'Val' Owens | 1957-09-15 |
Movie | Man on the Prowl | Marlan Wood | 1957-12-01 |
Series | Perry Mason | Unknown | 1957-09-21 |
Movie | Bengazi | Aileen Donovan | 1955-09-14 |
Movie | Rage at Dawn | Laura Reno | 1955-03-26 |
Series | Matinee Theater | Unknown | 1955-10-31 |
Movie | The Yellow Mountain | Nevada Wray | 1954-11-16 |
Movie | City Beneath the Sea | Terry McBride | 1953-04-21 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Unknown | 1953-02-01 |
Movie | City That Never Sleeps | Sally 'Angel Face' Connors | 1953-06-12 |
Movie | Rose of Cimarron | Rose of Cimarron | 1952-01-28 |
Movie | Edge of Doom | Julie | 1950-08-03 |
Movie | Cyrano de Bergerac | Roxane | 1950-11-16 |
Movie | Outrage | Ann Walton | 1950-09-27 |
Movie | Tough as They Come | Esther Clark | 1942-06-05 |
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