William Powell

Personal Info

Birthday

July 28, 1892

Day of Death

1984-03-05

(91 years old)

Place of Birth

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Also Known As

William H. Powell

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William Powell

Biography

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.

Known For

Mister Roberts

How to Marry a Millionaire

The Thin Man

Tin Gods

My Man Godfrey

The Kennel Murder Case

Life with Father

The Great Ziegfeld

Filmography

2023
The Love Story of Jean Harlow and William Powell
as self
2017
Cinecittà Babilonia: Sex, Drugs and Black Shirts
as Self - Actor (archive footage)
1993
Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell
as Self (archive footage)
1990
Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To
as (archive footage)
1987
Platinum Bombshell
as Self (archive footage)
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
as Self (archive footage)
1986
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn
as Self (archive footage)
1984
Going Hollywood: The '30s
as (archive footage)
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
as (archive footage)
It's Showtime
as Self (archive footage)
1975
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
as Self (archive footage)
1964
The Big Parade of Comedy
as Nick Charles (archive footage)
1961
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
as Jim Wade (archive footage) (uncredited)
1955
Mister Roberts
as Doc
1953
How to Marry a Millionaire
as J.D. Hanley
The Girl Who Had Everything
as Steve Latimer
1952
The Treasure of Lost Canyon
as Homer 'Doc' Brown
1951
It's a Big Country
as Professor
1949
Dancing in the Dark
as Emery Slade
Take One False Step
as Andrew Gentling
1948
Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid
as Arthur Peabody
1947
The Senator Was Indiscreet
as Senator Melvin G. Ashton
Life with Father
as Clarence Day Sr.
Song of the Thin Man
as Nick Charles
1946
The Hoodlum Saint
as Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill
1945
Ziegfeld Follies
as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
The Great Morgan
as William Powell (voice) (uncredited)
1944
The Thin Man Goes Home
as Nick Charles
The Heavenly Body
as William S. Whitley
Twenty Years After
as (archive footage)
1943
The Youngest Profession
as William Powell
1942
Crossroads
as David Talbot aka Jean Pelletier
1941
Shadow of the Thin Man
as Nick Charles
Love Crazy
as Steve Ireland
1940
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
as Self
I Love You Again
as Larry Wilson aka George Carey
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
as Self
1939
Another Thin Man
as Nick Charles
From the Ends of the Earth
as Self
1938
The Baroness and the Butler
as Johann Porok
1937
Double Wedding
as Charles Lodge
The Romance of Celluloid
as Self (archive footage)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
as Baron Stephan Wolensky
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
as Charles
1936
After the Thin Man
as Nick Charles
Libeled Lady
as William 'Bill' Stephens Chandler
My Man Godfrey
as Godfrey
The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
as Dr. Lawrence 'Brad' Bradford
The Great Ziegfeld
as Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr.
1935
La Fiesta de Santa Barbara
as Self
Rendezvous
as Lt. William 'Bill' Gordon / Anson Meridan
Escapade
as Fritz
Reckless
as Ned Riley
Star of Midnight
as Clay Dalzell
1934
Evelyn Prentice
as John Prentice
The Key
as Capt. Bill Tennant
The Thin Man
as Nick Charles
Manhattan Melodrama
as Jim Wade
Fashions of 1934
as Sherwood Nash
1933
The Kennel Murder Case
as Philo Vance
Double Harness
as John Fletcher
Private Detective 62
as Donald Free
1932
Lawyer Man
as Anton Adam
One Way Passage
as Dan Hardesty
Jewel Robbery
as The Robber
High Pressure
as Gar Evans
1931
The Road to Singapore
as Hugh Dawltry
Ladies' Man
as Jamie Darricott
Man of the World
as Michael Trevor
1930
For the Defense
as William Foster
Shadow of the Law
as Jim Montgomery aka John Nelson
Paramount on Parade
as Philo Vance
The Benson Murder Case
as Philo Vance
Street of Chance
as John D. Marsden / 'Natural' Davis
Behind the Make-Up
as Gardoni
1929
Pointed Heels
as Robert Courtland
Charming Sinners
as Karl Kraley
The Greene Murder Case
as Philo Vance
The Four Feathers
as Capt. William Trench
The Canary Murder Case
as Philo Vance
1928
Interference
as Philip Voaze
Forgotten Faces
as Froggy
The Vanishing Pioneer
as John Murdock
The Drag Net
as Dapper Frank Trent
Partners in Crime
as Smith
Feel My Pulse
as Her Nemesis
Beau Sabreur
as Becque
The Last Command
as Lev Andreyev
1927
She's a Sheik
as Kada
Nevada
as Clan Dillon
Paid to Love
as Prince Eric
Time to Love
as Prince Alado
Special Delivery
as Harold Jones
Senorita
as Manuel Oliveros
Love's Greatest Mistake
as Don Kendall
New York
as Trent Regan
1926
The Great Gatsby
as George Wilson
Tin Gods
as Tony Santelli
Beau Geste
as Boldini
Aloma of the South Seas
as Van Templeton
The Runaway
as Jack Harrison
Desert Gold
as Snake Landree
Sea Horses
as Lorenzo Salvia
White Mice
as Roddy Forrester
1925
The Beautiful City
as Nick Di Silva
My Lady's Lips
as Scott Seldon
Faint Perfume
as Barnaby Powers
Too Many Kisses
as Don Julio
1924
Romola
as Tito Melema
Dangerous Money
as Prince Arnoldo da Pescia
1923
Under the Red Robe
as Duke of Orleans
The Bright Shawl
as Gaspar De Vaca
1922
Outcast
as DeValle
When Knighthood Was in Flower
as Francis I
Sherlock Holmes
as Forman Wells