9.0
9.0
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
1990
as (archive footage)
William Powell
Also known as: William Horatio Powell
Acting
Born:July 28, 1892
Died:March 5, 1984(aged 91)
Birthplace:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Nationality:United States
Education:American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Central High School
N/A
CommunityBiography
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.
Filmography (102 movies)
8.0
8.0
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
1986
as Self (archive footage)
7.5
7.5
My Man Godfrey
1936
as Godfrey
7.5
7.5
William Powell: A True Gentleman
2005
7.5
7.5
The Thin Man
1934
as Nick Charles
7.3
7.3
After the Thin Man
1936
as Nick Charles
7.3
7.3
The Last Command
1928
as Lev Andreyev
7.3
7.3
One Way Passage
1932
as Dan Hardesty
7.3
7.3
Libeled Lady
1936
as William 'Bill' Stephens Chandler
7.2
7.2
I Love You Again
1940
as Larry Wilson aka George Carey
7.1
7.1
Another Thin Man
1939
as Nick Charles
7.1
7.1
The Thin Man Goes Home
1944
as Nick Charles
7.1
7.1
Mister Roberts
1955
as Doc
7.0
7.0
Manhattan Melodrama
1934
as Jim Wade
7.0
7.0
Interference
1928
as Philip Voaze
7.0
7.0
Shadow of the Thin Man
1941
as Nick Charles
6.8
6.8
How to Marry a Millionaire
1953
as J.D. Hanley
6.7
6.7
Love Crazy
1941
as Steve Ireland
6.7
6.7
Song of the Thin Man
1947
as Nick Charles
6.7
6.7
Life with Father
1947
as Clarence Day Sr.
6.6
6.6
Romola
1924
as Tito Melema
6.6
6.6
Street of Chance
1930
as John D. Marsden / 'Natural' Davis
6.5
6.5
Evelyn Prentice
1934
as John Prentice
6.4
6.4
Fashions of 1934
1934
as Sherwood Nash
6.4
6.4
Shadow of the Law
1930
as Jim Montgomery aka John Nelson
6.4
6.4
Jewel Robbery
1932
as The Robber
6.4
6.4
Double Wedding
1937
as Charles Lodge
6.3
6.3
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
1948
as Arthur Peabody
6.3
6.3
Double Harness
1933
as John Fletcher
6.3
6.3
The Big Parade of Comedy
1964
as Nick Charles (archive footage)
6.3
6.3
The Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr.
6.2
6.2
Behind the Make-Up
1930
as Gardoni
6.2
6.2
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
1936
as Dr. Lawrence 'Brad' Bradford
6.2
6.2
Sherlock Holmes
1922
as Forman Wells
6.1
6.1
Pointed Heels
1929
as Robert Courtland
6.1
6.1
Beau Geste
1926
as Boldini
6.1
6.1
Paramount on Parade
1930
as Philo Vance
6.0
6.0
The Kennel Murder Case
1933
as Philo Vance
6.0
6.0
The Drag Net
1928
as Dapper Frank Trent
6.0
6.0
Paid to Love
1927
as Prince Eric
6.0
6.0
Feel My Pulse
1928
as Her Nemesis
6.0
6.0
Special Delivery
1927
as Harold Jones
6.0
6.0
Nevada
1927
as Clan Dillon
6.0
6.0
Ziegfeld Follies
1945
as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
5.9
5.9
Private Detective 62
1933
as Donald Free
5.9
5.9
Man of the World
1931
as Michael Trevor
5.8
5.8
Star of Midnight
1935
as Clay Dalzell
5.8
5.8
Crossroads
1942
as David Talbot aka Jean Pelletier
5.8
5.8
Lawyer Man
1932
as Anton "Tony" Adam
5.8
5.8
The Girl Who Had Everything
1953
as Steve Latimer
5.8
5.8
The Benson Murder Case
1930
as Philo Vance
5.8
5.8
The Greene Murder Case
1929
as Philo Vance
5.8
5.8
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937
as Charles
5.7
5.7
When Knighthood Was in Flower
1922
as Francis I
5.6
5.6
The Treasure of Lost Canyon
1952
as Homer 'Doc' Brown
5.6
5.6
The Canary Murder Case
1929
as Philo Vance
5.5
5.5
The Great Morgan
1945
as William Powell (voice) (uncredited)
5.5
5.5
Too Many Kisses
1925
as Don Julio
5.4
5.4
The Senator Was Indiscreet
1947
as Senator Melvin G. Ashton
5.4
5.4
High Pressure
1932
as Gar Evans
5.3
5.3
The Heavenly Body
1944
as William S. Whitley
5.3
5.3
It's a Big Country
1951
as Professor
5.2
5.2
Take One False Step
1949
as Andrew Gentling
5.2
5.2
The Hoodlum Saint
1946
as Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill
5.2
5.2
The Road to Singapore
1931
as Hugh Dawltry
5.0
5.0
The Baroness and the Butler
1938
as Johann Porok
5.0
5.0
Reckless
1935
as Ned Riley
5.0
5.0
Under the Red Robe
1923
as Duke of Orleans
5.0
5.0
Dancing in the Dark
1949
as Emery Slade
4.8
4.8
For the Defense
1930
as William Foster
4.7
4.7
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937
as Baron Stephan Wolensky
4.6
4.6
The Key
1934
as Capt. Bill Tennant
4.4
4.4
The Four Feathers
1929
as Capt. William Trench
4.3
4.3
Rendezvous
1935
as Lt. William 'Bill' Gordon / Anson Meridan
4.1
4.1
Ladies' Man
1931
as Jamie Darricott
2.0
2.0
Partners in Crime
1928
as Smith
1.0
1.0
Outcast
1922
as DeValle
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
2023
as Self (archive footage)
Charming Sinners
1929
as Karl Kraley
My Lady's Lips
1925
as Scott Seldon
The Bright Shawl
1923
as Gaspar De Vaca
The Great Gatsby
1926
as George Wilson
Forgotten Faces
1928
as Froggy
The Runaway
1926
as Jack Harrison
Escapade
1935
as Fritz
Aloma of the South Seas
1926
as Van Templeton
Beau Sabreur
1928
as Becque
Time to Love
1927
as Prince Alado
Dangerous Money
1924
as Prince Arnoldo da Pescia
Faint Perfume
1925
as Barnaby Powers
The Beautiful City
1925
as Nick Di Silva
White Mice
1926
as Roddy Forrester
Sea Horses
1926
as Lorenzo Salvia
Desert Gold
1926
as Snake Landree
Tin Gods
1926
as Tony Santelli
New York
1927
as Trent Regan
Love's Greatest Mistake
1927
as Don Kendall
She's a Sheik
1927
as Kada
The Vanishing Pioneer
1928
as John Murdock
Senorita
1927
as Manuel Oliveros
The Voice of Hollywood
1930
Jean Harlow: Platinum Bombshell
1996
as Self (archive footage)
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