Ladies Man-William Powell
Dear Pen Pal was a humorous take on romance and friendship. I read other books in that genre and I watched several rom-com movies. I wanted to write something reminiscent of those old black-and-white comedies of the 1940s were screwball romances were the big hits of the day.
In the weeks ahead, I’m going to write about those great movies, actors and actresses that made those movies work. While not music mixtape related, these did shape some characters and ideas in the books I've written.
The first actor I’m writing about is William Powell.
Powell is a 3 time Academy Award nominee with 95 movies to his credit.
He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania on July 29, 1892. Powell took to acting at an early age but his first role on screen wasn’t until 1922 as a bit player in a Sherlock Holmes movie. He always found steady parts after that.
He had a thin mustache, a clear face with a high forehead. This was the kind of face that could play a romantic lead or rogue. He is always with a cigarette that he used as a prop. People smoked, but he did it with flair. He was quick with a comeback and he did physical comedy too.
As much as he played a ladies man in movies, he was one in real life. He married Carole Lombard in 1931. She was a young flirty sometimes bawdy woman who loved life and always wanted to be part of a crowd. There are no tell-all terrible biographies. It seemed Hollywood loved her. At this time they married, Powell was well into his late 30’s and wanted to stay home. This age difference and lifestyle difference made life difficult. They divorced in 1933. They would remain friends and star together in Carole Lombard’s breakout movie-My Man Godfrey.
Powell dated Jean Harlow for several years. One podcast I follow said he used her for her youth. Many books I’ve read said that he really loved her and was heartbroken over her early death.
In 1940, he married actress Diane Lewis and they remained married until his death. Each woman was much younger than him and was a Hollywood starlet.
Powell will get three Academy Award nominations: best actor in My Man Godfrey, The Thin Man and Ziegfield’s Follies. He made 14 movies with Myrna Loy. They were so good on screen that many thought they were married. I had read that she was one of the last people to see him before he died.
His last movie was Mr. Roberts. Not a bad way to end a career. That movie starred Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Ward Bond, and a young Oscar-winner, Jack Lemmon.
Powell had trouble with his lines during the filming of that movie and he decided that he wasn’t going to continue in a downward path. He retired after that movie.
He died on March 5, 1984.
Other than the smoking thing, his movies still hold up as funny, quick, and enjoyable.
Material gathered from Wikipedia.
You Must Remember This podcast
My own memory
Other sites to see:
The link for Dear Pen Pal is below.
Your reviews and comments are always welcome. Next week Myrna Loy!!