Born On This Day- July 29th... The Embodiment Of Savoir Vivre- William Powell

After a rather difficult exchange, at the height of a short era of not doing all that well as a couple, I turned to the Husband with the challenge: “Are we George & Martha… or Nick & Nora?” Even in the heat of the disagreement, he was able to answer without a pause- "We are William Powell & Myrna Loy... NOT Elizabeth Taylor& Richard Burton!"

William Powell was major star at MGM, where he was paired with one of the Husband’s favorites- Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the Thin Man series in which Powell & Loy played Nick & Nora Charles. I never have recovered from seeing the Thin Man films in my early adulthood. It was then that I decided that I would grow old with William Powell (or David Niven) as my model: sophisticated, urbane, cynical, with martini in hand at all times. He was nominated for 3 Academy Awards for Best Actor: The Thin Man (1934), My Man Godfrey (1936) & Life with Father (1947).

After an earlier 1st marriage, Powell married actress Carole Lombard in 1931. They were married for only 2 years, but stayed good friends, even co-starring in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey 3 years later.


He had a passionate affair with actress Jean Harlow beginning in 1935, cut short by her untimely death in 1937. It is reported that a single white gardenia with an unsigned note were placed in her hands before she was interred, presumed to be written by Powell. The note read, "Good night, my dearest darling". He also paid for her final resting place at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Powell married actress Diana Lewis in 1940. The couple had only known each other for 3 weeks before their wedding. They remained married until Powell's death. In 1984, Powell died in Palm Springs, at the age of 91, 30+ years after his final film- Mr. Roberts. I would like to finish up my life looking good at 91 years old, in Palm Springs, right after that last martini. Thank you, William Powell, for being a role model.