Tom Powers | |
|---|---|
 Powers in 1922 | |
| Born | Thomas McCreery Powers July 7, 1890 Owensboro, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1955 (aged 65) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1911–1955 |
| Spouse |
Meta Murray Janney (m. 1929) |
Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 – November 9, 1955) was an American actor in theatre, films, radio and television. A veteran of the Broadway stage, notably in plays by George Bernard Shaw, he created the role of Charles Marsden in Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude. He succeeded Orson Welles in the role of Brutus in the Mercury Theatre's debut production, Caesar. In films, he was a star of Vitagraph Pictures and later became best known for his role as the victim of scheming wife Barbara Stanwyck and crooked insurance salesman Fred MacMurray in the film noir classic Double Indemnity (1944).
Career
[edit]
Thomas McCreery Powers[1] was born in 1890 in Owensboro, Kentucky. His father, Colonel Joshua D. Powers, was a banker; his uncle was sculptor Hiram Powers. Tom Powers' mother loved the theatre and enrolled him at ballet school at age three. He entered the American Academy of Dramatic Arts at age 16, and he studied drama, wrote and produced plays, and practiced stage design in a small theatre in the attic of his home.[2] Powers apprenticed to a pantomime troupe for ten years and became a star of Vitagraph Westerns.[3]
Powers appeared in over 70 silent films from 1911 to 1917 opposite such actors as Florence Turner, Harry T. Morey, Clara Kimball Young, Alma Taylor and John Bunny.
Powers had great success in his first Broadway appearance, as William Booth in Mr. Lazarus (1916). He became a star in musical comedies, and won acclaim as a leading player and character actor. For the summer of 1925, Powers was the leading man at Elitch Theatre.[4] His best-known roles included Gregers Werle in The Wild Duck, the captain in Androcles and the Lion, and Bluntschli in Arms and the Man — all in 1925 — and King Magnus in The Apple Cart (1930). He created the role of Charles Marsden in Eugene O'Neill's long-running drama, Strange Interlude (1928–29). In 1938 he succeeded Orson Welles as Brutus in the Mercury Theatre's debut stage production, Caesar, and in 1941 he toured nationwide in The Man Who Came to Dinner. His last significant Broadway role was in Three Sisters (1942), with Judith Anderson, Katharine Cornell and Ruth Gordon.[3][5]
His radio credits include Tom Powers' Life Studies (1935–36), a 15-minute series consisting of true-life stories broadcast on NBC.[6][7] Powers published two books of monologues, Life Studies (1939)[8] and More Life Studies (1940).[9] He also wrote four plays and two romantic novels,[3] Virgin with Butterflies (1945)[10] and Sheba on Trampled Grass (1946).[11]
Powers moved to the West Coast after becoming ill with arthritis,[3] and became a full-time movie actor when Billy Wilder invited him to play the murder victim in the 1944 film noir classic, Double Indemnity. For the next dozen years or so, Powers appeared in over 80 film and television roles, usually playing middle-aged business men, military or police officers. His performance as Metallus Cimber in Julius Caesar (1953) is regarded as Powers' best during his Hollywood years.[3]
Personal life
[edit]Tom Powers was married to Meta Murray Janney of Philadelphia on September 7, 1929.[1] Powers died of heart disease at his home in Manhattan Beach, California, on November 9, 1955, at age 65.[3]
He was interred in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, in North Hollywood, California.
Partial filmography
[edit]
- A Window on Washington Park (1913) – The young millionaire
- Barnaby Rudge (1915) – Barnaby Rudge
- As Ye Repent (1915) – Harry Somers
- The Auction Block (1917) – Bob Wharton
- Double Indemnity (1944) – Mr. Dietrichson
- Practically Yours (1944) – Commander Harry Harpe
- The Phantom Speaks (1945) – Harvey Bogardus
- The Chicago Kid (1945) – Mike Thurber
- Two Years Before the Mast (1946) – Bellamer
- The Blue Dahlia (1946) – Capt. Hendrickson
- Her Adventurous Night (1946) – Dan Carter
- The Last Crooked Mile (1946) – Floyd Sorelson
- Angel and the Badman (1947) – Dr. Mangram
- The Farmer's Daughter (1947) – Hy Nordick
- For the Love of Rusty (1947) – Hugh Mitchell
- They Won't Believe Me (1947) – Trenton
- The Son of Rusty (1947) – Hugh Mitchell
- I Love Trouble (1948) – Ralph Johnston
- Up in Central Park (1948) – Rogan
- The Time of Your Life (1948) – Freddy Blick (a stool pigeon and frame-up artist)
- The Velvet Touch (1948) – Detective (uncredited)
- Station West (1948) – Capt. Iles
- Angel in Exile (1948) – Warden
- Mexican Hayride (1948) – Ed Mason
- Special Agent (1949) – Chief Special Agent Wilcox
- Scene of the Crime (1949) – Umpire Menafoe
- Chicago Deadline (1949) – Glenn Howard
- Chinatown at Midnight (1949) – Capt. Howard Brown
- East Side, West Side (1949) – Owen Lee
- The Nevadan (1950) – Bill Martin
- Destination Moon (1950) – General Thayer
- Right Cross (1950) – Tom Balford
- Again Pioneers (1950) – Ken Keeler
- Fighting Coast Guard (1951) – Admiral Ryan
- The Strip (1951) – Detective Lt. Bonnabel
- The Tall Target (1951) – Simon G. Stroud (uncredited)
- The Well (1951) – Mayor
- Phone Call from a Stranger (1952) – Dr. Fernwood (uncredited)
- Flesh and Fury (1952) – Andy Randolph
- Deadline – U.S.A. (1952) – Andrew Wharton (uncredited)
- The Fabulous Senorita (1952) – Delaney
- Jet Job (1952) – Oscar Collins
- Denver and Rio Grande (1952) – Sloan
- Bal Tabarin (1952) – Eddie Mendies
- Diplomatic Courier (1952) – Cherney (uncredited)
- We're Not Married! (1952) – Atty. Gen. Frank Bush (uncredited)
- The WAC from Walla Walla (1952) – General (uncredited)
- Horizons West (1952) – Frank Tarleton
- The Steel Trap (1952) – Valcourt, Travel Agent
- The Marksman (1953) – Lt. Governor Watson
- Scared Stiff (1953) – Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
- Julius Caesar (1953) – Metellus Cimber
- Hannah Lee (1953) – Sheriff
- The Last Posse (1953) – Frank White
- Devil's Canyon (1953) – Joe Holbert (uncredited)
- I, the Jury (1953) – Milt Miller
- Donovan's Brain (1953) – Donovan's Washington Advisor
- Sea of Lost Ships (1953) – Rear Admiral
- Lucky Me (1954) – Thayer Crony (uncredited)
- The Mad Magician (1954) – Inspector (uncredited)
- The Americano (1955) – Jim Rogers
- Ten Wanted Men (1955) – Henry Green
- New York Confidential (1955) – District Attorney Rossi
- The Eternal Sea (1955) – General (uncredited)
- Double Jeopardy (1955) – Harry Sheldon
- The Go-Getter (1956) – Miller's Business Partner
References
[edit]- ^ a b "She Marries Tom Powers, the Actor, in Philadelphia". The New York Times. September 8, 1929. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "In the Spotlight". The Theatre. XXV: 18. January 1917. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Tom Powers Dies; Stage, Film Actor". The New York Times. November 10, 1955. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "Tom Powers (1925) – Historic Elitch Theatre". historicelitchtheatre.org. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
- ^ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "Judith Anderson, Ruth Gordon, Gertrude Musgrove, Tom Powers and Katherine Cornell in the stage production Three Sisters (1942)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lennox, and Tilden Foundation. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
- ^ "Tom Powers' Life Studies". RadioGOLDINdex. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ Behind the Mike. Internet Archive. February 23, 1941. Event occurs at 22:17. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
- ^ Powers, Tom (1939). Life Studies. New York: Samuel French, Inc. OCLC 1024181.
- ^ Powers, Tom (1940). More Life Studies. New York: Samuel French, Inc. OCLC 2910404.
- ^ Powers, Tom (1945). Virgin with Butterflies. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company. OCLC 1422543.
- ^ Powers, Tom (1946). Sheba on Trampled Grass. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company. OCLC 4300358.
External links
[edit]
- Tom Powers at IMDb
- Tom Powers at the TCM Movie Database
- Tom Powers at the Internet Broadway Database
- Tom Powers at Find a Grave
