
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, ...more
Movie | Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History | 2008-10-14 | |
Movie | That's Dancing! | 1985-01-18 | |
Movie | Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
Movie | Inside the Third Reich | Actor in film clip | 1982-05-09 |
Movie | It's Showtime | Self (archive footage) | 1976-03-31 |
Movie | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
Movie | Hollywood My Home Town | Self (archive footage) | 1965-12-31 |
Movie | Hollywood Without Make-Up | Self (archive footage) | 1963-07-01 |
Series | The DuPont Show with June Allyson | Unknown | 1959-09-21 |
Movie | Susan Slept Here | Mark Christopher | 1954-07-28 |
Series | Four Star Playhouse | 1952-09-25 | |
Movie | The Bad and the Beautiful | James Lee Bartlow | 1952-12-25 |
Movie | Cry Danger | Rocky Mulloy | 1951-02-23 |
Movie | You Never Can Tell | Rex Shepherd | 1951-09-23 |
Movie | The Tall Target | John Kennedy | 1951-08-17 |
Movie | The Reformer and the Redhead | Andrew Hale | 1950-05-05 |
Movie | Right Cross | Rick Garvey | 1950-10-06 |
Movie | Mrs. Mike | Sgt. Mike Flannigan | 1949-12-23 |
Movie | To the Ends of the Earth | Commissioner Michael Barrows | 1948-02-07 |
Movie | Rogues' Regiment | Whit Corbett | 1948-12-28 |
Series | The Ed Sullivan Show | Unknown | 1948-06-20 |
Movie | Pitfall | John Forbes | 1948-08-11 |
Movie | Station West | Lt. John Martin Haven | 1948-09-01 |
Movie | Johnny O'Clock | Johnny O'Clock | 1947-01-07 |
Movie | Blow-Ups of 1947 | Self | 1947-12-31 |
Movie | It Happened Tomorrow | Lawrence 'Larry' Stevens | 1944-03-31 |
Movie | Meet the People | William 'Swanee' Swanson | 1944-06-01 |
Movie | Three Cheers for the Girls | Singer (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1943-05-08 |
Movie | Happy Go Lucky | Pete Hamilton | 1943-01-04 |
Movie | Riding High | Steve Baird | 1943-11-11 |
Movie | True to Life | Link Ferris | 1943-12-24 |
Movie | Star Spangled Rhythm | Dick Powell | 1942-03-05 |
Movie | Model Wife | Frederick "Fred" Chambers | 1941-04-17 |
Movie | In the Navy | Thomas Halstead | 1941-05-30 |
Movie | I Want a Divorce | Alan MacNally | 1940-09-20 |
Movie | Christmas in July | Jimmy McDonald | 1940-10-25 |
Movie | Hollywood Hobbies | Self (uncredited) | 1939-05-03 |
Movie | Naughty But Nice | Professor Donald Hardwick | 1939-06-23 |
Movie | Cowboy from Brooklyn | Elly Jordan | 1938-07-09 |
Movie | Hollywood Hotel | Ronnie Bowers | 1938-01-15 |
Movie | Hard to Get | Bill Davis | 1938-11-05 |
Movie | Breakdowns of 1938 | Elly Jordan (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
Movie | Going Places | Peter Mason | 1938-12-31 |
Movie | On the Avenue | Gary Blake | 1937-02-12 |
Movie | The Singing Marine | Bob Brent | 1937-07-03 |
Movie | Varsity Show | Charles 'Chuck' Daly | 1937-09-04 |
Movie | Breakdowns of 1937 | Self | 1937-12-31 |
Movie | Colleen | Donald Ames | 1936-03-21 |
Movie | Hearts Divided | Jerome Bonaparte | 1936-06-20 |
Movie | Stage Struck | George Randall | 1936-09-12 |
Movie | Gold Diggers of 1937 | Rosmer Peck | 1936-12-28 |
Movie | Page Miss Glory | Bingo Nelson | 1935-09-07 |
Movie | Gold Diggers of 1935 | Dick Curtis | 1935-03-15 |
Movie | Broadway Gondolier | Richard 'Dick' Purcell, aka Ricardo Purcelli | 1935-07-27 |
Movie | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | 1935-10-09 |
Movie | Shipmates Forever | Richard 'Dick' Melville III | 1935-10-12 |
Movie | A Dream Comes True | Himself (uncredited) | 1935-12-31 |
Movie | Things You Never See on the Screen | Self | 1935-12-01 |
Movie | Thanks a Million | Eric Land | 1935-11-13 |
Movie | Wonder Bar | Tommy | 1934-03-31 |
Movie | Twenty Million Sweethearts | Buddy Clayton | 1934-05-26 |
Movie | Hollywood Newsreel | Himself | 1934-03-24 |
Movie | Dames | Jimmy Higgens | 1934-09-01 |
Movie | Flirtation Walk | Dick "Canary" Dorcy | 1934-12-01 |
Movie | Happiness Ahead | Bob Lane | 1934-10-27 |
Movie | The King's Vacation | John Kent | 1933-02-25 |
Movie | Just Around the Corner | Jerry | 1933-01-17 |
Movie | The Road Is Open Again | The Songwriter | 1933-01-30 |
Movie | Gold Diggers of 1933 | Brad Roberts | 1933-05-27 |
Movie | Footlight Parade | Scotty Blair | 1933-10-21 |
Movie | Convention City | Jerry Ford | 1933-12-14 |
Movie | College Coach | Phil "Sarge" Sargeant | 1933-11-04 |
Movie | Blessed Event | Bunny Harmon | 1932-09-10 |
Movie | Too Busy to Work | Dan Hardy | 1932-12-02 |
Movie | Big City Blues | Radio Announcer (voice) (uncredited) | 1932-09-18 |
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