Dick Powell

Dick Powell’s career spanned a complete image transition from boyish, wavy‑haired crooner in musicals to rugged crime fighter in film noir. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, as one of three brothers; his brother Howard later became vice president of the Illinois Central Railroad. Powell worked his way through school while holding jobs as a soda jerk and grocery clerk before entering show business as a tenor singer and banjo player with the Royal Peacock Orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky. He then joined the Charlie Davis band, touring the Midwest and appearing at dance halls and picture theaters. After working as a master of ceremonies, he was signed by a Warner Brothers talent scout in 1932. Looking younger than his actual age, Powell was typecast as clean‑cut singing juveniles in a series of exuberant musicals with lavish production numbers such as 42nd Street (1933), one of roughly two dozen similar pictures he made for the studio. In 1935 his salary amounted to $70,000; two years later, although he had become one of Hollywood’s top ten box‑office stars, he was paid only half of what he had earned as an MC. A keen businessman, Powell invested in land and property. When he left Warner Bros. in 1939 with no clear acting opportunities, he was not short of money but wanted to escape his image, stating that he “wasn’t the greatest singer in the world” and saw no reason for an actor to be limited to one phase of the business. He joined Paramount in 1940, appearing opposite Ellen Drew in the Preston Sturges comedy Christmas in July (1940). This was followed by two marital farces with his then‑wife Joan Blondell, both receiving only a lukewarm box‑office response. Still dissatisfied with lightweight roles, Powell lobbied for the lead in Double Indemnity (1944) but was rejected; instead he was cast in similar fare, refused to comply and was suspended. His box‑office standing fell, and after trying RKO he secured a lucrative role as hard‑boiled private eye Philip Marlowe in Raymond Chandler’s Murder, My Sweet (1944). Chandler approved the casting, while director Edward Dmytryk overcame initial misgivings; the film became a tangible hit for RKO. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times noted that Powell lacked Bogart’s steely coldness but had stepped out of the song‑and‑dance league with his performance. Offers then increased, and Powell successfully reinvented himself, working on radio as “Richard Rogue” and later “Richard Diamond, Private Eye.” In film he continued in wise‑cracking tough‑guy roles such as Cornered (1945) and Johnny O’Clock (1947). His most challenging role was the best‑selling novelist James Lee Bartlow in MGM’s epic drama The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). Powell also directed six pictures, including the minor film noir Split Second (1953) and the above‑average submarine drama The Enemy Below (1957). After quitting film acting in the mid‑1950s he focused on television, serving as host and executive producer of his award‑winning anthology series The Dick Powell Theatre (1961). He co‑founded and served as managing director of Four Star Television, whose studios occupied the former Republic lot that later became CBS’s Cinema Center. Dick Powell died of lung cancer in January 1963 at age 58; he was survived by his third wife, actress June Allyson.