"One night an excited buzz went around backstage - Dick Powell is out front.   We were all standing onstage and Rosemary Lane was saying, Really? Where, where? as she peeped through the curtain to locate him.  I was just a featured player so I waited until the stars of the show had their turn before I took a peep at the screen idol.  There he was, seventh row center.  Wouldn't he be surprised, I thought as I looked through the curtain at him, to know how many times I had skipped school to go see him in a movie?  No, I suppose not.  Didn't every girl drool over America's singing idol - star of both Gold Diggers and 20 Million Sweethearts with Ginger Rogers, and scores more - like 42nd Street and Naughty But Nice.  Next to Fred Astaire, he was my favorite.  A thrill passed through me, dark wavy hair, handsome boyish grin.  They were all there, just like in the movies."

Dick Powell, one of Hollywood's most beloved stars, was born on November 14, 1904 in Mountain View, AR.  When it became apparent that music came easily to him, Dick found work singing wherever possible.  Wanting more from life, he soon found his way to California and Warner Bros. Studios, where he became the idol of America's youth.   With his boyish looks and charm, it wasn't long before Dick hit it big as the singing star of many Busby Berkeley musicals (42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933) crooning popular love songs to leading ladies such as Ruby Keeler.  However, popularity wasn't limited to the silver screen.  Dick also found a following on the radio early in his career, hosting "Hollywood Hotel," "Campana Serenade," and later "Richard Diamond."  In 1945, Dick married actress June Allyson, MGM sweetheart and "girl-next-door."  Together they have two children, daughter Pamela and son Richard (Ricky.) Dick also has two children from a previous marriage, daughter Ellen and son Norman.

When his interests in show business took a different path, Dick turned to directing and producing films in the 50s.  His vision drew him into yet another media, television, when it was still new.  Dick founded Four Star Productions and began creating many series for CBS, including "The June Allyson Show" starring June Allyson, "The Zane Grey Theatre" and "The Dick Powell Theatre."  Sadly, the world lost the genius and consummate professional, when in January, 1963 Dick succumbed to his battle with Cancer.  Later that year, the Academy awarded Dick with an Emmy, a posthumous award for his contribution to the art of television filming.   Although Dick Powell has left us with a library of entertainment, he is still missed greatly by many.

FILM CREDITS

Too Busy to Work (1932) - Dan Hardy
Big City Blues (1932) (uncredited) (voice) - Radio Announcer
Blessed Event (1932) - Bunny Harmon
Road Is Open Again, The (1933) - The Songwriter
King's Vacation, The (1933) - John Kent
Convention City (1933) - Jerry Ford
42nd Street (1933) - Billy Lawler
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) - Brad Roberts (Robert Treat Bradford)
Footlight Parade (1933) - Scott "Scotty" Blair
College Coach (1933) - Phil Sargent
Wonder Bar (1934) - Tommy
Hollywood Newsreel (1934) (uncredited) - Himself
Hollywood Hobbies (1934) (uncredited) - Himself
Flirtation Walk (1934) - Dick "Canary" Dorcey
And She Learned About Dames (1934) (uncredited) - Himself
Dames (1934) - Jimmy Higgins
Happiness Ahead (1934) - Bob Lane
Twenty Million Sweethearts (1934) - Buddy Clayton
Thanks a Million (1935) - Eric Land
Dream Comes True, A (1935) (uncredited) - Himself
Broadway Gondolier (1935) - Richard Purcell
Page Miss Glory (1935) - Bingo Nelson
Midsummer Night's Dream, A (1935) - Lysander
Shipmates Forever (1935) - Richard John "Dick" Melville III
Gold Diggers of 1935 (1935) - Dick Curtis
Stage Struck (1936) - George Randall
Colleen (1936) - Donald Ames III
Hearts Divided (1936) - Captain Jerome Bonaparte
Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936) - Rosmer Peck
Varsity Show (1937) - Chuck Daly
On the Avenue (1937) - Gary Blake
Singing Marine, The (1937) - Bob Brent
Hard to Get (1938) - Bill Davis
Hollywood Hotel (1938) - Ronnie Bowers
Cowboy from Brooklyn, The (1938) - Elly Jordan
Going Places (1938) - Peter Mason, aka Peter Randall
Naughty But Nice (1939) - Professor Donald Hardwick
I Want a Divorce (1940) - Alan MacNally
Christmas in July (1940) - Jimmy MacDonald
Model Wife (1941) - Fred Chambers
In the Navy (1941) - Tommy Halstead/Russ Raymond
Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) - Himself
True to Life (1943) - Link Ferris
Riding High (1943) - Steve Baird
Happy Go Lucky (1943) - Pete Hamilton
Murder, My Sweet (1944) - Philip Marlowe
Meet the People (1944) - William "Swanee" Swanson
It Happened Tomorrow (1944) - Larry Stevens
Cornered (1945) - Gerard
Johnny O'Clock (1947) - Johnny O'Clock
Rogues' Regiment (1948) - Whit Corbett
Pitfall (1948) - John Forbes
Station West (1948) - Haven
To the Ends of the Earth (1948) - Commissioner Michael Barrows
Mrs. Mike (1949) - Sgt. Mike Flannigan
Right Cross (1950) - Rick Gavery
Reformer and the Redhead, The (1950) - Andrew Rockton Hale
You Never Can Tell (1951) - Rex Shepherd
Tall Target, The (1951) - John Kennedy
Cry Danger (1951) - Rocky Mulloy
Callaway Went Thataway (1951) - Cameo
Bad and the Beautiful, The (1952) - James Lee Bartlow
Susan Slept Here (1954) - Mark Christopher
That's Dancing! (1985) (archive footage)

TELEVISION CREDITS

Four Star Playhouse (1952) TV Series - Alternate Lead Player
Best in Mystery, The (1956) TV Series - Willie Dante
Zane Grey Theater (1956) TV Series - Host/Occasional Lead Player
... aka Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (1956)
Dick Powell Show, The (1961) TV Series - Host/Occasional Lead Player
... aka Dick Powell Theatre, The (1963) (new title)

PRODUCER CREDITS

Conqueror, The (1956)
You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
Enemy Below, The (1957)
Hunters, The (1958)
Dick Powell Show, The (1961) TV Series
... aka Dick Powell Theatre, The (1963) (new title)

DIRECTOR CREDITS

Split Second (1953)
Conqueror, The (1956)
You Can't Run Away from It (1956)
Enemy Below, The (1957)
Hunters, The (1958)