---
name: "William Powell"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/william-powell"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 July 1892"
died: "5 March 1984"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 75
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-19T23:09:42.816889+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# William Powell

Actor. Born 29 July 1892 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Died 5 March 1984.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 July 1892, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- **Died:** 5 March 1984
- **Active:** 1934–1936
- **Also known as:** William H. Powell, William Horatio Powell
- **Frequently works with:** [Myrna Loy](https://film.one/person/myrna-loy.md), [Hunt Stromberg](https://film.one/person/hunt-stromberg.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 75, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 3 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Romance 2, Crime 1, Drama 1, Music 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $6m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Powell, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105960, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001635/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/32428

## Fi1m on William Powell

> Powell played men who were never quite sober and never quite ruffled, and made it look like the only sensible way to live. Nick Charles is the finest of them, and the murder he is meant to be solving is the least interesting thing in the film.

In *The Thin Man* (1934) Nick Charles lies on a sofa and shoots the baubles off the Christmas tree with an air gun his wife has given him, and does not look at the tree. That is most of William Powell in one shot. He plays a man who has decided that nothing, not a corpse, not a missing inventor, not a wife who wants in on the case, is worth sitting up for, and who is nonetheless never wrong about any of it. The voice does a good deal of the work, a warm baritone that arrived with sound and seemed built for it. The rest is timing: he lets the other person finish, waits a beat longer than is polite, and answers as though the question were a mild social inconvenience.

He did not start as anyone's idea of good company. He came into films in 1922, in silents, usually as the villain, including opposite John Barrymore in *Sherlock Holmes*. Sound gave him the detective Philo Vance from 1929 and a run of suave parts at Paramount and Warner Bros., opposite Kay Francis among others. Then MGM signed him in 1934, W.S. Van Dyke put him next to Myrna Loy, and the silent-era villain became Nick Charles. There were six Thin Man films and fourteen pairings with Loy in all, along with *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936) and, opposite Carole Lombard, *My Man Godfrey* (1936).

What works is the ease, and how little he does to point at it. Nora is the invention in *The Thin Man*; Nick is the instrument, and Powell has the sense to let Loy talk over him and to look pleased about it. We went in expecting to admire the banter and found instead that we minded whenever the film left the flat. The scenes with the suspects are competent; the scenes on the sofa are the reason to watch, because Powell and Loy behave like two people who married for the conversation and have not yet run out.

The weakness is built into the parts. A detective who is never entirely sober and never remotely drunk eventually has to stand up and explain the murder, and when Powell does, for a long stretch near the end, the air goes out of him. Van Dyke stages the explanation as well as anyone could; it is still a man reading out the answers. Powell is better at the pause before the line than at the paragraph after it, and the mysteries kept handing him paragraphs.

He moved into character parts later, the stern father of *Life with Father* (1947), Doc in the ensemble of *Mister Roberts* (1955), and then stopped, with *Mister Roberts* his last film. Start with *The Thin Man*, and expect to have forgotten who did it by the time the credits finish. That was rather the point.

## Biography

William Horatio Powell (also credited as William H. Powell) was an American actor. He was born on 29 July 1892 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and died on 5 March 1984 in Palm Springs, California.

After training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and working in vaudeville, stock companies and on Broadway, Powell began his film career in 1922. He became a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including six entries in the Thin Man series as Nick Charles, beginning with *The Thin Man* (1934).

Powell received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor for *The Thin Man* (1934), *My Man Godfrey* (1936) and *Life with Father* (1947). Among his other notable films were *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936) and *Mister Roberts* (1955).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Libeled Lady* (1936), Fi1m 77, as Bill Chandler — [page](https://film.one/film/libeled-lady.md)
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), Fi1m 64, as Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr. — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)
- *The Thin Man* (1934), Fi1m 84, as Nick Charles — [page](https://film.one/film/the-thin-man.md)

## Complete filmography (104)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *William Powell: A True Gentleman* (2005), Actor
- *Alias Nick and Nora* (2005), Actor
- *Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home To* (1990), as (archive footage)
- *Going Hollywood: The '30s* (1984), as (archive footage)
- *That's Entertainment, Part II* (1976), as (archive footage)
- *The Big Parade of Comedy* (1964), as Nick Charles (archive footage)
- *Mister Roberts* (1955), as Doc
- *How to Marry a Millionaire* (1953), as J.D. Hanley
- *The Girl Who Had Everything* (1953), as Steve Latimer
- *The Treasure of Lost Canyon* (1952), as Homer 'Doc' Brown
- *It's a Big Country* (1951), as Professor
- *Dancing in the Dark* (1949), as Emery Slade
- *Take One False Step* (1949), as Andrew Gentling
- *Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid* (1948), as Arthur Peabody
- *The Senator Was Indiscreet* (1947), as Senator Melvin G. Ashton
- *Life with Father* (1947), as Clarence Day Sr.
- *Song of the Thin Man* (1947), as Nick Charles
- *The Hoodlum Saint* (1946), as Terence Ellerton 'Terry' O'Neill
- *Ziegfeld Follies* (1945), as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
- *The Great Morgan* (1945), as William Powell (voice) (uncredited)
- *The Thin Man Goes Home* (1944), as Nick Charles
- *The Heavenly Body* (1944), as William S. Whitley
- *Twenty Years After* (1944), as (archive footage)
- *The Youngest Profession* (1943), as William Powell
- *Crossroads* (1942), as David Talbot aka Jean Pelletier
- *Shadow of the Thin Man* (1941), as Nick Charles
- *Love Crazy* (1941), as Steve Ireland
- *I Love You Again* (1940), as Larry Wilson aka George Carey
- *Another Thin Man* (1939), as Nick Charles
- *The Baroness and the Butler* (1938), as Johann Porok
- *Double Wedding* (1937), as Charles Lodge
- *The Emperor's Candlesticks* (1937), as Baron Stephan Wolensky
- *The Last of Mrs. Cheyney* (1937), as Charles
- *After the Thin Man* (1936), as Nick Charles
- *Libeled Lady* (1936), as Bill Chandler — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/libeled-lady.md)
- *My Man Godfrey* (1936), as Godfrey
- *The Ex-Mrs. Bradford* (1936), as Dr. Lawrence 'Brad' Bradford
- *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936), as Florenz 'Flo' Ziegfeld Jr. — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-ziegfeld.md)
- *Rendezvous* (1935), as Lt. William 'Bill' Gordon / Anson Meridan
- *Escapade* (1935), as Fritz
- *Star of Midnight* (1935), as Clay Dalzell
- *Reckless* (1935), as Ned Riley
- *Evelyn Prentice* (1934), as John Prentice
- *The Key* (1934), as Capt. Bill Tennant
- *The Thin Man* (1934), as Nick Charles — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-thin-man.md)
- *Manhattan Melodrama* (1934), as Jim Wade
- *Fashions of 1934* (1934), as Sherwood Nash
- *The Kennel Murder Case* (1933), as Philo Vance
- *Double Harness* (1933), as John Fletcher
- *Private Detective 62* (1933), as Donald Free
- *Lawyer Man* (1932), as Anton "Tony" Adam
- *One Way Passage* (1932), as Dan Hardesty
- *Jewel Robbery* (1932), as The Robber
- *High Pressure* (1932), as Gar Evans
- *The Road to Singapore* (1931), as Hugh Dawltry
- *Ladies' Man* (1931), as Jamie Darricott
- *Man of the World* (1931), as Michael Trevor
- *The Voice of Hollywood* (1930), Actor
- *For the Defense* (1930), as William Foster
- *Shadow of the Law* (1930), as Jim Montgomery aka John Nelson
- *Paramount on Parade* (1930), as Philo Vance
- *The Benson Murder Case* (1930), as Philo Vance
- *Street of Chance* (1930), as John D. Marsden / 'Natural' Davis
- *Behind the Make-Up* (1930), as Gardoni
- *Pointed Heels* (1929), as Robert Courtland
- *Charming Sinners* (1929), as Karl Kraley
- *The Greene Murder Case* (1929), as Philo Vance
- *The Four Feathers* (1929), as Capt. William Trench
- *The Canary Murder Case* (1929), as Philo Vance
- *Interference* (1929), as Philip Voaze
- *Forgotten Faces* (1928), as Froggy
- *The Vanishing Pioneer* (1928), as John Murdock
- *The Drag Net* (1928), as Dapper Frank Trent
- *Partners in Crime* (1928), as Smith
- *Feel My Pulse* (1928), as Her Nemesis
- *Beau Sabreur* (1928), as Becque
- *The Last Command* (1928), as Lev Andreyev
- *She's a Sheik* (1927), as Kada
- *Nevada* (1927), as Clan Dillon
- *Paid to Love* (1927), as Prince Eric
- *Time to Love* (1927), as Prince Alado
- *Special Delivery* (1927), as Harold Jones
- *Senorita* (1927), as Manuel Oliveros
- *Love's Greatest Mistake* (1927), as Don Kendall
- *New York* (1927), as Trent Regan
- *The Great Gatsby* (1926), as George Wilson
- *Tin Gods* (1926), as Tony Santelli
- *Beau Geste* (1926), as Boldini
- *Aloma of the South Seas* (1926), as Van Templeton
- *The Runaway* (1926), as Jack Harrison
- *Desert Gold* (1926), as Snake Landree
- *Sea Horses* (1926), as Lorenzo Salvia
- *White Mice* (1926), as Roddy Forrester
- *The Beautiful City* (1925), as Nick Di Silva
- *My Lady's Lips* (1925), as Scott Seldon
- *Faint Perfume* (1925), as Barnaby Powers
- *Too Many Kisses* (1925), as Don Julio
- *Romola* (1924), as Tito Melema
- *Dangerous Money* (1924), as Prince Arnoldo da Pescia
- *Under the Red Robe* (1923), as Duke of Orleans
- *The Bright Shawl* (1923), as Gaspar De Vaca
- *Outcast* (1922), as DeValle
- *When Knighthood Was in Flower* (1922), as Francis I
- *Sherlock Holmes* (1922), as Forman Wells

## Gallery

- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-9a1f2198b612.jpg) William Powell — George Hurrell for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/William_Powell_by_Hurrell.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![William Powell, silent film actor Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1927)](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-a52088fd3468.jpg) William Powell, silent film actor Subjects (LCTGM): actors (1927) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/William_Powell%2C_silent_film_actor_%28SAYRE_7971%29.jpg/1280px-William_Powell%2C_silent_film_actor_%28SAYRE_7971%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lobby card for the 1941 film Shadow of the Thin Man. Myrna Loy is wearing a costume designed by costume designer Robert Kalloch.](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-717797a23be1.jpg) Lobby card for the 1941 film Shadow of the Thin Man. Myrna Loy is wearing a costume designed by costume designer Robert Kalloch. — MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Shadow_of_the_Thin_Man_lobby_card.jpg/1280px-Shadow_of_the_Thin_Man_lobby_card.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Lobby card for the 1941 film Shadow of the Thin Man. Myrna Loy is wearing a costume designed by costume designer Robert Kalloch.](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-be6dfc3dc600.jpg) Lobby card for the 1941 film Shadow of the Thin Man. Myrna Loy is wearing a costume designed by costume designer Robert Kalloch. — MGM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Shadow_of_the_Thin_Man_lobby_card_4.jpg/1280px-Shadow_of_the_Thin_Man_lobby_card_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-d4f7622e471f.jpg) William Powell — Image via TMDB
- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-6501e19a48f1.jpg) William Powell — Image via TMDB
- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-bc1de8a09bae.jpg) William Powell — Image via TMDB
- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-3c13c55801a2.jpg) William Powell — Image via TMDB
- ![William Powell](https://film.one/media/person/1227449/gallery-ed576bc36bf8.jpg) William Powell — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 1948: Best Actor (nominated), for *Life with Father*
- 1937: Best Actor (nominated), for *My Man Godfrey*
- 1935: Best Actor (nominated), for *The Thin Man*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/william-powell