Biography
Friends and Family
Richard Barthelmess
[Friend]
::
Ronald colman
[Friend]
Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
 "I do not hold that because the author did a bad job of writing the player need trump it with the same kind of acting. When I go into a picture I have only one character to look after. If the author didn`t do him justice, I try to add whatever the creator of the part overlooked." "I have never gone into a picture without first studying my characterization from all angles. I make a study of the fellow`s life and try to learn everything about him, including the conditions under which he came into this world, his parentage, his environment, his social status, and the things in which he is interested. Then I attempt to get his mental attitude as much as possible."
"My friends have stood by me marvelously in the ups and downs of my career. I don`t believe there is anything more worthwhile in life than friendship. Friendship is a far better thing than love, as it is commonly accepted."
"There is more money in being liked by an audience than in being disliked by it. The biggest thing about movie audiences is the sympathy they give characters on the screen. But the art of acting and the talent of selecting what one will act are divorced qualities."
[speaking in 1929] "Unfortunately, or perhaps it is fortunate that I have always been forced to stand on my acting ability. I haven`t a personality such as Jack Gilbert`s, for instance, that attracts women and makes them like me for myself. When I am on the screen I must make them forget me entirely and think only of my acting."
[when asked how he kept so slim] "I highly recommend worrying. It`s much more effective than dieting."
Trivia
Although he and Carole Lombard divorced in 1933, they remained close friends until her death in 1942.
Dated Jean Harlow for two years before her death. Her mother forced him to pay for her funeral, costing $30,000. He had initially refused but did so to avoid negative publicity. For many years Powell made sure fresh flowers were always present at her grave.
He and Casey Stengel were in the same class in Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri.
He had known Diana Lewis only three weeks when they married January 6, 1940.
His son stabbed himself to death while taking a shower. He left a 4-page good-bye letter to his father, with whom he was very close.
In 1938, Powell was diagnosed with cancer of the rectum. Rather than undergo a colostomy, he agreed to an experimental treatment where platinum needles containing radium pellets were inserted into Powell`s body, where they remained for six months, by which time his cancer had gone into remission. It was many years before he publicly revealed he had had cancer. At the time of his illness and recovery, his agent explained his absence to the press first by saying he was recuperating from an eye injury, and later that he had undergone a routine abdominal operation.
Leo Kottke composed an instrumental song entitled `William Powell`; the studio version appears on Kottke`s 1989 album "My Father`s Face", and a live version on 1995`s "Leo Kottke Live".
Produced a Broadway play, "Revolt" in 1928, written by Harry Wagstaff Gribble. It flopped.
Purchased for Jean Harlow a 150-carat sapphire engagement ring for $20,000, and presented it to her for Christmas of 1936.
hated talkative people
loved jig saw puzzles
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