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.
Filmography · 101
Golden Globe Awards
1944 · Self - Host
American Experience
1988 · Self (archive footage)...
Climax!
1954 · Philip Marlowe
What's My Line?
1950 · Self
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
1956 · Self - Host
Four Star Playhouse
1952 · Willie Dante
The Jack Benny Program
1950 · Dick Powell
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · Self
This Is Your Life
1952 · Self
The Dick Powell Show
1961 · Self - Host
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
1959 · Paul Martin
The Emmy Awards
1949 · Self
The DuPont Show of the Week
1961 · Self
Footlight Parade
1933 · Scotty
Gold Diggers of 1933
1933 · Brad
The Bad and the Beautiful
1952 · James Lee Bartlow
42nd Street
1933 · Billy Lawler
Murder, My Sweet
1944 · Philip Marlowe
A Midsummer Night's Dream
1935 · Lysander
Convention City
1933 · Jerry Ford
That's Dancing!
1985
Wonder Bar
1934 · Tommy
FDR
1994 · Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983 · Self (archive footage)...
Susan Slept Here
1954 · Mark Christopher
It's Showtime
1976 · Self (archive footage)
Pitfall
1948 · John Forbes
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975 · Self (archive footage)
Station West
1948 · Lt. John Martin Haven
Naughty but Nice
1939 · Professor Donald Hardw...
The Reformer and the Redhead
1950 · Andrew Hale
Model Wife
1941 · Frederick "Fred" Chamb...
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984 · (archive footage)
Star Spangled Rhythm
1942 · Dick Powell
Christmas in July
1940 · Jimmy MacDonald
It Happened Tomorrow
1944 · Lawrence 'Larry' Steve...
The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout
2024 · Self (archive footage)
The Singing Marine
1937 · Bob Brent
The King's Vacation
1933 · John Kent
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013 · Self (archive footage)
The Tall Target
1951 · John Kennedy
Just Around the Corner
1933 · Jerry
Cornered
1945 · Laurence Gerard
The All-Star Christmas Show
1958 · Self
Hollywood on Parade No. B-10
1934 · Self
Going Places
1938 · Peter Mason
Cry Danger
1951 · Rocky Mulloy
To the Ends of the Earth
1948 · Commissioner Michael B...
Breakdowns of 1938
1938 · Elly Jordan (archive f...
Hollywood Hotel
1938 · Ronnie Bowers
Who Killed Julie Greer?
1961 · Host / Inspector Amos...
Right Cross
1950 · Rick Garvey
Twenty Million Sweethearts
1934 · Buddy Clayton
Dames
1934 · Jimmy Higgens
Johnny O'Clock
1947 · Johnny O'Clock
Gold Diggers of 1935
1935 · Dick Curtis
Gold Diggers of 1937
1936 · Rosmer Peck
Hard to Get
1938 · Bill Davis
And She Learned About Dames
1934 · Himself
Riding High
1943 · Steve Baird
Screen Snapshots (Series 16, No. 1)
1936 · Self
True to Life
1943 · Link Ferris
A Dream Comes True
1935 · Himself (uncredited)
On the Avenue
1937 · Gary Blake
Cowboy from Brooklyn
1938 · Elly Jordan
Breakdowns of 1937
1937 · Self
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006 · Self (archive footage)
I Want a Divorce
1940 · Alan MacNally
Broadway Gondolier
1935 · Richard 'Dick' Purcell...
You Never Can Tell
1951 · Rex Shepherd
Shipmates Forever
1935 · Richard 'Dick' Melvill...
In the Navy
1941 · Thomas Halstead
Colleen
1936 · Donald Ames
Meet the People
1944 · William 'Swanee' Swans...
Happiness Ahead
1934 · Bob Lane
The Road Is Open Again
1933 · The Songwriter
One And One Is One
1936 · Himself
Blow-Ups of 1947
1947 · Self
Things You Never See on the Screen
1935 · Self
College Coach
1933 · Phil "Sarge" Sargeant
Flirtation Walk
1934 · Dick "Canary" Dorcy
Rogues' Regiment
1948 · Whit Corbett
Page Miss Glory
1935 · Bingo Nelson
Happy Go Lucky
1943 · Pete Hamilton
Hollywood Hobbies
1939 · Self (uncredited)
Thanks a Million
1935 · Eric Land
Blessed Event
1932 · Bunny Harmon
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012 · Self (archive footage)
Too Busy to Work
1932 · Dan Hardy
Ricochet
1961 · Self - Host
Varsity Show
1937 · Charles 'Chuck' Daly
Three Cheers for the Girls
1943 · Singer (archive footag...
Hearts Divided
1936 · Jerome Bonaparte
Mrs. Mike
1949 · Sgt. Mike Flannigan
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 1, From beginning"
1936
Stage Struck
1936 · George Randall
Big City Blues
1932 · Radio Announcer (voice...
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 3, Normie"
1936
Gold Diggers: FDR'S New Deal... Broadway Bound
2006 · Self (archive footage)
Dick Powell and Joan Blondell home movies: "No. 5"
1936
One Must Die
1961