Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell

 Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963)

Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility and successfully transformed into a leading man starring in projects of a more dramatic nature. He was the first actor to portray the private detective Philip Marlowe on screen. He made his film debut as a singing bandleader in Blessed Event. He went on to star as a boyish crooner in movie musicals such as 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Gold Diggers of 1933, Dames, Flirtation Walk, and On the Avenue, often appearing opposite Ruby Keeler and Joan Blondell. Powell desperately wanted to expand his range, but Warner Bros. would not allow him to do so. As a result, he bought his release from Warner Bros. in 1940. They did cast him in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), but as Lysander, another youthful romantic character. This was to be Powell's only Shakespearean role and one he did not want to play, feeling that he was completely wrong for the part.[citation needed] By 1944, Powell felt he was too old to play romantic leading men anymore, so he lobbied to play the lead in Double Indemnity. He lost out to Fred MacMurray, another Hollywood nice guy. MacMurray's success, however, fueled Powell's resolve to pursue projects with greater range. In 1944, Powell's career changed dramatically when he was cast in the first of a series of films noir, as private detective Philip Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet, directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film was a big hit, and Powell had successfully reinvented himself as a dramatic actor.

From 1949–1953, Powell played the lead role in the NBC radio theater production Richard Diamond, Private Detective. In the 1950s, Powell was one of the founders of Four Star Television, along with Charles Boyer, David Niven, and Ida Lupino. He appeared in and supervised several shows for that company. Powell played the role of Willie Dante in Four Star Playhouse, in episodes entitled "Dante's Inferno" (1952), "The Squeeze" (1953), "The Hard Way" (1953), and "The House Always Wins" (1955). Powell also directed The Conqueror (1956), starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan. The exterior scenes were filmed in St. George, Utah, downwind of U.S. above-ground atomic tests. The cast and crew totaled 220, and of that number, 91 had developed some form of cancer by 1981, and 46 had died of cancer by then, including Powell and Wayne. Powell died at the age of 58 on January 2, 1963. His body was cremated and his remains are interred in the Columbarium of Honor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. In a 2001 interview with Larry King, Powell's widow June Allyson confirmed his cause of death was lung cancer due to his chain smoking.