William Powell

William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 - March 5, 1984) was an American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles.

Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, William Powell was an only child and showed an early aptitude for performing. After the 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 then he worked in some vaudeville and stock companies. After a successful experience like brilliant actor on the Broadway stage, in 1922 he begun his Hollywood career. His first starring role was as Philo Vance in 1929's The Canary Murder Case. He followed this up with the Vance role in The Kennel Murder Case in 1933. In the same year, he was divorced from his second wife, the actress Carole Lombard, who later went on to marry Clark Gable.

Powell's most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six "Thin Man" films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934, in which he proved his sophisticated charme and his witty sense of humour. The delightful Myrna Loy played his wife Nora in each of the "Thin Man" films, and his partnership with Loy would become the screen's most prolific, with the couple appearing in 14 films together.

He received an Academy Award Nomination for The Thin Man, and starred in the Best Picture of 1936, The Great Ziegfeld (1936). Powell could play any role with authority whether it was comedy, thriller or drama. He would receive his second Academy Award Nomination for the magnificent comedy My Man Godfrey (1936), with Carole Lombard. He was on top of the world until 1937.

In 1935 he starred with Jean Harlow in Reckless, and they become very friends. But briefly Powell's friendship with Harlow developed into a serious romance. Sadly she died before they could marry. His distress over Harlow's death and a battle with cancer resulted in him accepting fewer roles. In 1940 he married the beautiful actress Diana Lewis. Although the couple had only met for the first time three weeks before their marriage, they remained married until Powell's death.

His career slowed considerably in the late 1940s, although in 1947 he received his third Academy Award nomination for his work in Life with Father. His last film was Mister Roberts in 1955.

Powell died in Palm Springs, California thirty years after his retirement.

Contents

1 Quotes 1.1 The Thin Man, 1934 1.2 The Thin Man, 1934 1.3 The Thin Man, 1934 1.4 After The Thin Man, 1936 1.5 Life with Father, 1947 1.6 My Man Godfrey, 1936 2 Academy Awards Nominations 3 Filmography 4 Trivia

Quotes

The Thin Man, 1934

Myrna Loy: Pretty Girl.

William Powell: Yes. She's a nice type.

Myrna Loy: You got types?

William Powell: Only you, darling. Lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.

The Thin Man, 1934

William Powell: Oh, it's alright, Joe. It's my dog. And uh, my wife.

Myrna Loy: Well you might have mentioned me on the first billing.

The Thin Man, 1934

William Powell: How'd you like Grants tomb?

Myrna Loy: It's lovely. I'm having a copy made for you.

After The Thin Man, 1936

William Powell: Come on. Let's get something to eat. I'm thirsty.

Life with Father, 1947

William Powell: I don't go to church to be preached at as though I were some lost sheep.

Irene Dunne: Clare you don't seem to understand what the church is for.

William Powell: Vinnie, if there's one place the church should leave alone, it's a man's soul!

My Man Godfrey, 1936

William Powell: These flowers just came for you, miss. Where shall I put them?

Carole Lombard: What difference does it make where one puts flowers when one's heart is breaking?

William Powell: Yes, miss. Shall I put them on the piano?

Academy Awards Nominations

• 1948 Nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role - Life with Father
• 1937 Nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role - My Man Godfrey
• 1935 Nominated Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Thin Man

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1636 Vine Street.

Filmography

• Sherlock Holmes (1922)
• When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922)
• Outcast (1922)
• The Bright Shawl (1923)
• Under the Red Robe (1923)
• Dangerous Money (1924)
• Romola (1924)
• Too Many Kisses (1925)
• Faint Perfume (1925)
• My Lady's Lips (1925)
• The Beautiful City (1925)
• White Mice (1926)
• Sea Horses (1926)
• Desert Gold (1926)
• The Runaway (1926)
• Aloma of the South Seas (1926)
• Beau Geste (1926)
• Tin Gods (1926)
• The Great Gatsby (1926)
• New York (1927)
• Love's Greatest Mistake (1927)
• Senorita (1927)
• Special Delivery (1927)
• Time to Love (1927)
• Paid to Love (1927)
• Nevada (1927)
• She's a Sheik (1927)
• Beau Sabreur (1928)
• The Last Command (1928)
• Feel My Pulse (1928)
• Partners in Crime (1928)
• The Dragnet (1928)
• The Vanishing Pioneer (1928)
• Forgotten Faces (1928)
• Interference (1928)
• The Canary Murder Case (1929)
• The Four Feathers (1929)
• The Greene Murder Case (1929)
• Charming Sinners (1929)
• Pointed Heels (1929)
• Behind the Make-Up (1930)
• Street of Chance (1930)
• The Benson Murder Case (1930)
• Paramount on Parade (1930)
• Shadow of the Law (1930)
• For the Defense (1930)
• Man of the World (1931)
• Ladies' Man (1931)
• The Road to Singapore (1931)
• High Pressure (1932)
• Jewel Robbery (1932)
• Screen Snapshots (1932) (short subject)
• One Way Passage (1932)
• Lawyer Man (1933)
• Private Detective 62 (1933)
• Double Harness (1933)
• The Kennel Murder Case (1933)
• Fashions of 1934 (1934)
• Manhattan Melodrama (1934)
• The Thin Man (1934)
• The Key (1934)
• Evelyn Prentice (1934)
• Star of Midnight (1935)
• Reckless (1935)
• Escapade (1935)
• Rendezvous (1935)
• The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
• The Ex-Mrs. Bradford (1936)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• Libeled Lady (1936)
• After the Thin Man (1936)
• The Last Mrs. Cheney (1937)
• The Emperor's Candlesticks (1937)
• Double Wedding (1937)
• The Baroness and the Butler (1938)
• Another Thin Man (1939)
• I Love You Again (1940)
• Love Crazy (1941)
• Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
• Crossroads (1942)
• The Youngest Profession (1943) (Cameo)
• The Heavenly Body (1943)
• The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
• The Great Morgan (1946) (voice only)
• Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
• The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
• Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (1946) (short subject)
• Life with Father (1947)
• Song of the Thin Man (1947)
• The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)
• Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948)
• Take One False Step (1949)
• Dancing in the Dark (1949)
• It's a Big Country (1951)
• The Treasure of Lost Canyon (1952)
• The Girl Who Had Everything (1953)
• How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
• Mister Roberts (1955)
• Distant Jamaica (1969) (short subject)

Trivia

Don Adams has stated in interviews that his famous "clippy" voice characterization was based on, and an exaggeration of, the speaking style of William Powell.de:William Powell