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William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood’s Most Acclaimed Actors
*Includes pictures
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a table of contents
"My first scene with Bill, a night shot on the back lot, happened before we'd even met. Woody was apparently too busy for introductions. My instructions were to run out of a building, through a crowd, and into a strange car. When Woody called 'Action,' I opened the car door, jumped in, and landed smack on William Powell's lap. He looked up nonchalantly: 'Miss Loy, I presume?' I said, 'Mr. Powell?' And that's how I met the man who would be my partner in fourteen films.” – Myrna Loy
Movie stars are revered for their ability to captivate audiences, and Hollywood began to flourish before the onset of television, allowing movies to enjoy relatively uncontested supremacy over American entertainment. The popularity of various actors would thus extend well beyond the success of any of their individual films, reflecting their much broader cultural significance as monuments of Hollywood during its Golden Age.
In the 1920s, the burgeoning movie industry was starting to come into its own, and while older silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton reached the peak of Hollywood, some actors born near the beginning of the 20th century were ready to capitalize. While actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant remain household names, and actresses like Greta Garbo are still widely remembered, few had careers that enjoyed the success of William Powell.
In a career spanning several decades, Powell would receive three Oscar nominations for Best Actor for critically acclaimed movies, so it is somewhat ironic that he is mostly remembered today for his association with the more famous Myrna Loy. Together, they starred in 14 films, including the 1934 box office hit, The Thin Man.
One thing that helped Powell’s career along in the old days when Hollywood would only cast white actors in major roles, no matter what the nationality of the character was supposed to be, were his dark good looks. In pointing this out, a contemporary profile of Powell explained, “Many people imagine that William Powell has a foreign look. His first big stage success, his first big picture roles, were all in foreign parts — Spanish, Italian, Cuban. As a matter of fact, he is American to the core. Perhaps that look is his heritage from a paternal grandfather named Brady. The black Irish fit into any nationality. There is, too, a good strong strain of Holland Dutch, and a bit of French and English.”
William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood’s Most Acclaimed Actors chronicles the long life and diverse career of Powell on and off the screen. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Powell like never before.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
*Includes a table of contents
"My first scene with Bill, a night shot on the back lot, happened before we'd even met. Woody was apparently too busy for introductions. My instructions were to run out of a building, through a crowd, and into a strange car. When Woody called 'Action,' I opened the car door, jumped in, and landed smack on William Powell's lap. He looked up nonchalantly: 'Miss Loy, I presume?' I said, 'Mr. Powell?' And that's how I met the man who would be my partner in fourteen films.” – Myrna Loy
Movie stars are revered for their ability to captivate audiences, and Hollywood began to flourish before the onset of television, allowing movies to enjoy relatively uncontested supremacy over American entertainment. The popularity of various actors would thus extend well beyond the success of any of their individual films, reflecting their much broader cultural significance as monuments of Hollywood during its Golden Age.
In the 1920s, the burgeoning movie industry was starting to come into its own, and while older silent film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton reached the peak of Hollywood, some actors born near the beginning of the 20th century were ready to capitalize. While actors like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant remain household names, and actresses like Greta Garbo are still widely remembered, few had careers that enjoyed the success of William Powell.
In a career spanning several decades, Powell would receive three Oscar nominations for Best Actor for critically acclaimed movies, so it is somewhat ironic that he is mostly remembered today for his association with the more famous Myrna Loy. Together, they starred in 14 films, including the 1934 box office hit, The Thin Man.
One thing that helped Powell’s career along in the old days when Hollywood would only cast white actors in major roles, no matter what the nationality of the character was supposed to be, were his dark good looks. In pointing this out, a contemporary profile of Powell explained, “Many people imagine that William Powell has a foreign look. His first big stage success, his first big picture roles, were all in foreign parts — Spanish, Italian, Cuban. As a matter of fact, he is American to the core. Perhaps that look is his heritage from a paternal grandfather named Brady. The black Irish fit into any nationality. There is, too, a good strong strain of Holland Dutch, and a bit of French and English.”
William Powell: The Life and Legacy of One of Early Hollywood’s Most Acclaimed Actors chronicles the long life and diverse career of Powell on and off the screen. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Powell like never before.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
55 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 19, 2019
218 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 22, 2020
For most people who enjoy classic Hollywood, their favorite actor is either Cary Grant or Clark Gable. For me, Bill Powell beats them all. To keep a long story short, I'll just say, Bill means a lot to me. Whenever I watch any movie with him in it, I'm just blown away by his talent.
I've read, a few of these little biographies, of classic movie stars before. They usually, just give highlights to the actor's career and mention movies, that were big successes for them. So, I wasn't expecting any real big stories, I hadn't already read about for Bill Powell.
For the most part, this biography does a decent job, describing almost all of Bill's movies. Most of the book, is just listing old movie reviews from newspapers, when the movies were released. Some of the facts are a little bit off. His marriage to Carole Lombard, lasted for three years, not two years. And they completely failed, in mentioning how they met. Bill's whole relationship with Kay Francis, is missing. Mostly what gets the most mention, is when Bill worked with Myrna Loy. Which is, Bill's brightest moments. But, I think there should have been some mention, of his and Kay Francis's time together. They dated for a short time and during Bill's Paramount days, they made 6 beautiful movies together, with Carole Lombard, in one of them.
I've read, a few of these little biographies, of classic movie stars before. They usually, just give highlights to the actor's career and mention movies, that were big successes for them. So, I wasn't expecting any real big stories, I hadn't already read about for Bill Powell.
For the most part, this biography does a decent job, describing almost all of Bill's movies. Most of the book, is just listing old movie reviews from newspapers, when the movies were released. Some of the facts are a little bit off. His marriage to Carole Lombard, lasted for three years, not two years. And they completely failed, in mentioning how they met. Bill's whole relationship with Kay Francis, is missing. Mostly what gets the most mention, is when Bill worked with Myrna Loy. Which is, Bill's brightest moments. But, I think there should have been some mention, of his and Kay Francis's time together. They dated for a short time and during Bill's Paramount days, they made 6 beautiful movies together, with Carole Lombard, in one of them.
December 6, 2023
The reviews of this are correct the book starts off I think when they talked about his life before acting that was interesting and his silent are barely spoken about which makes sense because so many sadly are lost. But once they hit the talkies the book than is nothing but reviews of his movies and it spoke a bit about Jean Harlow and how he met his wife so by all means avoid this one
February 19, 2021
Completely worthless. You can get more from the Wikipedia article. Lazy, sloppy, and poorly written. "Heidi Lamar"? Really? I'll never get that 30 minutes of my life back.
June 11, 2020
A very bland book that enumerates the pictures of William Powell, and touches briefly on key parts of his personal life. No sense of the individual. What made Powell tick? Was he masking sadness or rage with his movie persona? Did he like a drink, as so many of his characters did?
Not satisfying.
Not satisfying.
December 13, 2021
3.8 stars. This book is a cheaply self-published type, there's no synopsis on the back or words on the spine and it's about as thick as a specialty magazine. It's weirdly tall and wide and has large print.
Some reviewers are complaining that this feels like someone printed off the Wikipedia article and put a cover on it. I didn't find that at all, though this book is very short and lacks depth,I didn't know really anything about Powell, so I still thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. It does Look printed off,the photos and layout look a bit like a school project.
However,the photos are fun and all the information on Powell's career is there,along with info on his leading ladies. You won't find much here on him personally,his early life and who he was as a person are not really addressed. Most of the information is provided through movie reviews written at the time and there's some stories and quotes from Myrna Loy and others.
It's a fun and decent look at Powell,I enjoyed it all the way through, it's just not very deep and it's packaged oddly.
Some reviewers are complaining that this feels like someone printed off the Wikipedia article and put a cover on it. I didn't find that at all, though this book is very short and lacks depth,I didn't know really anything about Powell, so I still thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot. It does Look printed off,the photos and layout look a bit like a school project.
However,the photos are fun and all the information on Powell's career is there,along with info on his leading ladies. You won't find much here on him personally,his early life and who he was as a person are not really addressed. Most of the information is provided through movie reviews written at the time and there's some stories and quotes from Myrna Loy and others.
It's a fun and decent look at Powell,I enjoyed it all the way through, it's just not very deep and it's packaged oddly.
March 24, 2022
Great Man...........Wonderfully talented man who reminds me so much of my grandfather. I just adore his movies and that voice....................his demeaner and always 'homme bien habillé' !! However, this book was the cliff note version of a Wikipedia summary.
He deserved much, much better. To honor his memory-Classic Nick and Nora: “The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a Dry Martini you always shake to waltz time.”
“- Nora: What hit me?
- Nick: The last martini.”
He will always be My man Godfrey...........
He deserved much, much better. To honor his memory-Classic Nick and Nora: “The important thing is the rhythm. Always have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a Dry Martini you always shake to waltz time.”
“- Nora: What hit me?
- Nick: The last martini.”
He will always be My man Godfrey...........
August 26, 2019
William Powell Always Delivered a Great Performance
William Powell is one of my favorite actors, and reading about his !life is a pleasurable diversion. The book is primarily a running commentary about the movies Powell made, which was interesting and documented how he consistently delivered a top-quality performance with every movie. A more biographical treatment of Powell's life will be found in other books, but for a good overview, this short book is excellent.
William Powell is one of my favorite actors, and reading about his !life is a pleasurable diversion. The book is primarily a running commentary about the movies Powell made, which was interesting and documented how he consistently delivered a top-quality performance with every movie. A more biographical treatment of Powell's life will be found in other books, but for a good overview, this short book is excellent.
September 9, 2020
I Adore Him!
This book was all too brief for me because William Powell was the most sophisticated and elegant of them all. I adored him and made him part of a test for me ... if a man admired him then it was likely that we would get along well. While this book contains facts and figures regarding Mr. Powell's life, it does not include his soul ... none of his style nor his spirit or humor. Maybe more personal anecdotes would help to fill out this book.
This book was all too brief for me because William Powell was the most sophisticated and elegant of them all. I adored him and made him part of a test for me ... if a man admired him then it was likely that we would get along well. While this book contains facts and figures regarding Mr. Powell's life, it does not include his soul ... none of his style nor his spirit or humor. Maybe more personal anecdotes would help to fill out this book.
October 24, 2020
William Powell Was A very Talented Actor
I knew of William Powell only as Nick Charles in The Thin Man movie but he was a very versatile actor in many different parts. Sadly he was not was well remembered as many of his contemporaries. I was unaware of the many tragedies in his personal life. A wonderful book that I learned about the other movies besides the Thin Man Series that he was in.
I knew of William Powell only as Nick Charles in The Thin Man movie but he was a very versatile actor in many different parts. Sadly he was not was well remembered as many of his contemporaries. I was unaware of the many tragedies in his personal life. A wonderful book that I learned about the other movies besides the Thin Man Series that he was in.
January 2, 2025
A disappointing start to the year. When I put this 'book' on my Christmas list, I should have looked more closely at the description. It is in fact more like a 5o page magazine. As many other reviewers have noted, the contents seem to be little more than a Wikipedia entry interspersed with newspaper reviews of Powell's films. Coincidentally, all the photos seem to have come from Wikipedia, including the cover.
There are also plenty of typos, including one paragraph that was repeated after a few pages. I can't say which pages this happened on because the pages weren't numbered either. Generally poor formatting and production including the author's name which appears to be Charles River Editors on the front cover, but Charles River on the back cover.
There are also plenty of typos, including one paragraph that was repeated after a few pages. I can't say which pages this happened on because the pages weren't numbered either. Generally poor formatting and production including the author's name which appears to be Charles River Editors on the front cover, but Charles River on the back cover.
January 18, 2021
Good synopsis
Writing was a good synopsis of William Powell's life and career. Wish there was more substance. Found most of writing was reviews about his movies and the characters portrayed. William Powell was one of great actors and gentleman. He made his characters appear real with all their good and bad attributes and did it with ease. Many roles he portrayed was not mentioned in this synopsis. If you want more information about William Powell seek it elsewhere.
Writing was a good synopsis of William Powell's life and career. Wish there was more substance. Found most of writing was reviews about his movies and the characters portrayed. William Powell was one of great actors and gentleman. He made his characters appear real with all their good and bad attributes and did it with ease. Many roles he portrayed was not mentioned in this synopsis. If you want more information about William Powell seek it elsewhere.
August 25, 2020
Quick bland book about a great actor. Gave brief overview of his career and personal life. He was a good person that went through heartaches. He lost his fiancée Jean Harlow. His former wife Carole Lombard was killed in a planet crash. He had colon cancer. But he survived to a better life, married until his death in his 90's. Always "The Thin Man" with his urban wit and sophistication.
May 14, 2023
Read for free on kindle on a whim and it’s really just a lightly expanded Wikipedia article that I got through in a couple hours max. William Powell is one of my fave old Hollywood actors (and current featured star of the month on TCM) so it was still decent for an overview of his life and career, but I’m sure the bibliography of further reading is more helpful than the actual text here.
Read
August 29, 2020A class act to the end
No surprises, no let downs. William Powell never disappoints - disappointed me. He was true blue to the end - and surprisingly heterosexual - as well. I was flabbergasted & surprised as he turned out to be what I expected to the end. Hoorah!
No surprises, no let downs. William Powell never disappoints - disappointed me. He was true blue to the end - and surprisingly heterosexual - as well. I was flabbergasted & surprised as he turned out to be what I expected to the end. Hoorah!
January 18, 2022
skimpy but interesting
Some omissions like the writing team by a real husband and wife for the fire three Thin Man movies… A little lite on the details. But like Powell himself a nice read.
Some omissions like the writing team by a real husband and wife for the fire three Thin Man movies… A little lite on the details. But like Powell himself a nice read.
January 23, 2025
Ya girl loves William Powell.
Look at that face.
ANYWAY
This is yet another mass produced, mediocre bio of a famous person.
A good overview of Powell's career and the highlights of his romantic relationships.
Look at that face.
ANYWAY
This is yet another mass produced, mediocre bio of a famous person.
A good overview of Powell's career and the highlights of his romantic relationships.
July 5, 2020
Quick read about a great actor - spent time watching the Thin Man series. Wanted to see if he was as nice as he seems in his moviews and seems that he was the proverbial nice guy. Loved his voice and loved the movies! Worth the short read
August 29, 2020
not well written just quotes
January 6, 2021
Cut-and-paste
Reads like a sophomore term paper, mildly informative but badly edited and in a plodding style. The pictures are pleasant.
Reads like a sophomore term paper, mildly informative but badly edited and in a plodding style. The pictures are pleasant.
June 5, 2021
Not bad
Nice quick reading about an actor who doesn't get enough respect. Most can be found in imdb but the author put it together nicely.
Nice quick reading about an actor who doesn't get enough respect. Most can be found in imdb but the author put it together nicely.
November 1, 2021
This wafer-thin book only skims the surface of Powell's career, with no insights into Powell the person.
February 1, 2025
3.5 stars
Good basic biography, but nothing really beyond reading off a Wikipedia page
Good basic biography, but nothing really beyond reading off a Wikipedia page
August 23, 2019
This story has just about everything about William Powell's extraordinary life. Many of these books just recount an actor's roles, list the awards they win, announce their marriages, etc. Although William Powell was a very private man; he had opinions and this book shares some.
I was not aware that William Powell was engaged to Jean Harlow at the time of her death. Her death and later, the death of Carole Lombard, took a staggering toll on the actor. Another surprise in reading this book was the fact that Powell lived for 90+ years. He was interviewed on significant birthdays and indicated that he was satisfied with being retired in Palm Springs. This was a very satisfying read.
I was not aware that William Powell was engaged to Jean Harlow at the time of her death. Her death and later, the death of Carole Lombard, took a staggering toll on the actor. Another surprise in reading this book was the fact that Powell lived for 90+ years. He was interviewed on significant birthdays and indicated that he was satisfied with being retired in Palm Springs. This was a very satisfying read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews