Tom Powers

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.

Career

Thomas McCreery Powers Powers apprenticed to a pantomime troupe for ten years and became a star of Vitagraph Westerns.

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. 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.

His radio credits include Tom Powers' Life Studies (1935–36), a 15-minute series consisting of true-life stories broadcast on NBC. Powers published two books of monologues, Life Studies (1939) and More Life Studies (1940). He also wrote four plays and two romantic novels, and Sheba on Trampled Grass (1946).

Powers moved to the West Coast after becoming ill with arthritis, Powers died of heart disease at his home in Manhattan Beach, California, on November 9, 1955, at age 65.

He was interred in Pierce Brothers Valhalla Memorial Park, in North Hollywood, California.

Partial filmography

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