Thomas McCreery Powers (July 7, 1890 â€" 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).Thomas McCreery Powers 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. 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. 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 â€" all
in 1925 â€" 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 (1928â€"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 (1935â€"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, Virgin with Butterflies
(1945) and Sheba on Trampled Grass (1946).
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).Thomas McCreery Powers 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. 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. 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 â€" all
in 1925 â€" 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 (1928â€"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 (1935â€"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, Virgin with Butterflies
(1945) and Sheba on Trampled Grass (1946).
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