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William Powell Net Worth. William Horatio Powell was an actor from the United States. He was a significant performer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, appearing in 14 films with Myrna Loy, notably the Thin Man series based on Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles characters. William Powell’s Net Worth is estimated to be approximately $5 Million.
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William Powell Net worth and profile in one glance
| Name | William Horatio Powell |
| Born | July 29, 1892 |
| Died | March 5, 1984, Palm Springs, California, United States |
| Height | 1.8 m |
| Country of Origin | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse | Diana Lewis (m. 1940–1984), Carole Lombard (m. 1931–1933), Eileen Wilson (m. 1915–1930) |
| Children | William David Powell |
| William Powell Net worth | William Powell Net worth $5 Million |
Biography of William Powell
Early life
Powell was born on July 29, 1892, in Pittsburgh, parents Nettie Manila and Horatio Warren Powell.
He relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, with his family in 1907, and graduated from Central High School in 1911. The Powells were neighbors with the Carpenters, whose daughter Harlean went to Hollywood under the name Jean Harlow, though she and he didn’t meet until they were both accomplished performers.
Stepping stone into William Powell Net Worth (Career)
At the age of 18, he moved to New York and enrolled in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Powell graduated from the AADA in 1912 and went on to work in vaudeville and stock companies.
He began his Hollywood career in 1922, playing a tiny role as an evil henchman of Professor Moriarty in a production of Sherlock Holmes alongside John Barrymore, after numerous successful Broadway performances.
He went on to play Francis I in Marion Davies’ film When Knighthood Was in Flower, which was considered the most expensive film ever made at the time.
Primary source of William Powell Net worth (Acting)
Powell played heels and villains in the early portion of his career while under contract to Paramount for most of the 1920s. He subsequently switched into leading-man parts alongside leading ladies like Bebe Daniels, Evelyn Brent, and Kay Francis as he acquired experience.
Francis joined Powell when he left Paramount to join Warner Bros. One Way Passage was one of their most successful films together. Powell and Francis collaborated on seven films between Paramount and Warner Bros.
In The Last Command, he played a vindictive film director alongside Emil Jannings, who won an Academy Award for his performance as a fallen commander (1928).
Powell’s first leading role as amateur detective Philo Vance in the “talkie” The Canary Murder Case came as a result of his success and his commandingly pleasant speaking voice (1929).
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He reprised his role as Philo Vance three more times for Paramount Pictures, and once for Warner Bros. in The Kennel Murder Case.
Other Works
Powell’s most renowned part was Nick Charles in the Thin Man films, which began with The Thin Man in 1934 and were based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel.
With his rich speaking voice, Powell was able to demonstrate his sophisticated charm and sharp sense of humor in the part, and he garnered his first Academy Award nomination for The Thin Man.
In each of the Thin Man flicks, Myrna Loy played his wife, Nora. Their on-screen partnership, which began in 1934 with Manhattan Melodrama starring Clark Gable, was one of Hollywood’s most fruitful, with 14 features together.
Personal life
Before an amicable divorce in 1930, he married Eileen Wilson (1894–1942), who was born Julia Tierney, and through whom he produced his sole child, William David Powell. Powell’s son worked as a television writer and producer before committing suicide in 1968 due to illness.
Powell married actress Carole Lombard on June 26, 1931. The marriage only lasted a little more than two years. They divorced in 1933, but remained friends and even appeared together in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey three years later.
Powell’s loss in an aviation crash in 1942 was devastating. Until her death in 1937, he was betrothed to Jean Harlow, his co-star in Reckless (1935). Powell married his third wife, actress Diana Lewis, three weeks after they met on January 6, 1940, and they stayed married until his death in 1984.
Powell, a Republican, voted for Thomas Dewey in the 1944 presidential election.
Cancer
Powell was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 1937. He underwent surgery and experimental radium treatment, which resulted in a two-year remission of the condition. Powell did not act in any films for nearly a year during this time due to his health and grief following the death of Jean Harlow.
Death
Powell died of heart failure on March 5, 1984, in Palm Springs, California, at the age of 91, some 30 years after his retirement. He is interred near his third wife, Diana Lewis, and his only child, William David Powell, at the Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California.
Conclusion
In the Hollywood film industry, William Powell is a very accomplished and well-known actor. The William Powell Net Worth serves as a source of motivation and inspiration. You should also check out – Charlton Heston Net Worth.
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