William Powell

William Powell

William Horatio Powell was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times. He starred with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series. His most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films.

About William Powell in brief

Summary William PowellWilliam Horatio Powell was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times. He starred with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters created by Dashiell Hammett. Powell’s most famous role was that of Nick Charles in six Thin Man films, beginning with The Thin Man in 1934. His last film was 1955’s Life with Father, playing the title role alongside Henry Fonda. He died of cancer at the age of 56. He is survived by his wife, Eileen Wilson, and his son, David Powell, who was born in 1915. He also had a daughter, Julia Tierney, by whom he had an only child, William David Powell.

The Powells lived just a few blocks away from the Carpenters, whose daughter Harlean also went to Hollywood under the name Jean Harlow, although she and he did not meet until both were established actors. In 1915, he married Eileen Tierney who was also a writer, and they had a son, Jack Lemmon, who became a television writer and captain of the ship Cagney. In 1936, he and Loy starred in the Best Picture of 1936, The Great Ziegfeld. In 1935, he starred with Jean Harlean in Reckless. Harlow became ill soon after, and died from uremia in June 1937.