William Powell

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.

Nacimiento: 1892-07-29, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Fallecimiento: 1984-03-05
Valoración en CMNetwork Actors: 3,3 de 5

En CMNetwork Actors

The Thin Man como Nick Charles

Conocido por

La cena de los acusados (1934) — Nick Charles
Al servicio de las damas (1936) — Godfrey
Ella, él y Asta (1936) — Nick Charles
Cómo casarse con un millonario (1953) — J.D. Hanley
El gran Ziegfeld (1936) — Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr.
Otra reunión de acusados (1939) — Nick Charles
La sombra de los acusados (1941) — Nick Charles
Escala en Hawai (1955) — Doc

Filmografía

Escala en Hawai (1955) — Doc
Cómo casarse con un millonario (1953) — J.D. Hanley
The Girl Who Had Everything (1953) — Steve Latimer
El tesoro de Lost Canyon (1952) — Homer 'Doc' Brown
Un gran país (1951) — Professor
Dancing in the Dark (1949) — Emery Slade
Un paso en falso (1949) — Andrew Gentling
Domador de sirenas (1948) — Arthur Peabody
El senador fue indiscreto (1947) — Senator Melvin G. Ashton
Vivir con papá (1947) — Clarence Day Sr.
La ruleta de la muerte (1947) — Nick Charles
El canalla redimido (1946) — Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill
Ziegfeld Follies (1945) — Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
The Great Morgan (1945) — William Powell (voz) (sin acreditar)
El regreso de aquel hombre (1944) — Nick Charles
Mundo celestial (1944) — William S. Whitley
The Youngest Profession (1943) — William Powell
Encrucijada (1942) — David Talbot aka Jean Pelletier
La sombra de los acusados (1941) — Nick Charles
Mi marido está loco (1941) — Steve Ireland
Te quiero otra vez (1940) — Larry Wilson aka George Carey
Otra reunión de acusados (1939) — Nick Charles
The Baroness and the Butler (1938) — Johann Porok
Doble boda (1937) — Charles Lodge
El secreto del candelabro (1937) — Baron Stephan Wolensky
El último adiós a la señora Cheyney (1937) — Charles
Ella, él y Asta (1936) — Nick Charles
Una mujer difamada (1936) — Bill Chandler
Al servicio de las damas (1936) — Godfrey
Mi Ex, Mi Mujer y Yo (1936) — Dr. Lawrence 'Brad' Bradford
El gran Ziegfeld (1936) — Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr.
Rendezvous (1935) — Lt. William 'Bill' Gordon / Anson Meridan
Escapade (1935) — Fritz
La indómita (1935) — Ned Riley
Star of Midnight (1935) — Clay Dalzell
La tela de araña (1934) — John Prentice
The Key (1934) — Capt. Bill Tennant
La cena de los acusados (1934) — Nick Charles
El enemigo público número 1 (1934) — Jim Wade
El altar de la moda (1934) — Sherwood Nash
Matando en la sombra (1933) — Philo Vance
Double Harness (1933) — John Fletcher
Private Detective 62 (1933) — Donald Free
Hombre de leyes (1932) — Anton "Tony" Adam
Viaje de ida (1932) — Dan Hardesty
Jewel Robbery (1932) — The Robber
High Pressure (1932) — Gar Evans
The Road to Singapore (1931) — Hugh Dawltry
Ladies' Man (1931) — Jamie Darricott
Man of the World (1931) — Michael Trevor
For the Defense (1930) — William Foster
Shadow of the Law (1930) — Jim Montgomery aka John Nelson
Galas de la Paramount (1930) — Philo Vance
The Benson Murder Case (1930) — Philo Vance
Street of Chance (1930) — John D. Marsden / 'Natural' Davis
Behind the Make-Up (1930) — Gardoni
Tacones en punta (1929) — Robert Courtland
Charming Sinners (1929) — Karl Kraley
The Greene Murder Case (1929) — Philo Vance
Las cuatro plumas (1929) — Capt. William Trench
The Canary Murder Case (1929) — Philo Vance
Interference (1929) — Philip Voaze
Forgotten Faces (1928) — Froggy
The Vanishing Pioneer (1928) — John Murdock
The Drag Net (1928) — Dapper Frank Trent
Partners in Crime (1928) — Smith
Feel My Pulse (1928) — Her Nemesis
Beau Sabreur (1928) — Becque
La última orden (1928) — Lev Andreyev
She's a Sheik (1927) — Kada
Nevada (1927) — Clan Dillon
Paid to Love (1927) — Prince Eric
Time to Love (1927) — Prince Alado
Special Delivery (1927) — Harold Jones
Senorita (1927) — Manuel Oliveros
Love's Greatest Mistake (1927) — Don Kendall
New York (1927) — Trent Regan
The Great Gatsby (1926) — George Wilson
Tin Gods (1926) — Tony Santelli
Beau Geste (1926) — Boldini
Aloma of the South Seas (1926) — Van Templeton
The Runaway (1926) — Jack Harrison
Desert Gold (1926) — Snake Landree
Sea Horses (1926) — Lorenzo Salvia
White Mice (1926) — Roddy Forrester
The Beautiful City (1925) — Nick Di Silva
My Lady's Lips (1925) — Scott Seddon
Faint Perfume (1925) — Barnaby Powers
Too Many Kisses (1925) — Don Julio
Rómula (1924) — Tito Melema
Dangerous Money (1924) — Prince Arnoldo da Pescia
Under the Red Robe (1923) — Duke of Orleans
The Bright Shawl (1923) — Gaspar De Vaca
Outcast (1922) — DeValle
When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922) — Francis I
Sherlock Holmes (1922) — Forman Wells