“I have to work hard in pictures. I’m not one of those handsome dogs who can stand around and people look at my profile and get by with that. I have to dig for what I do.” — William Powell in 1930.

Artist: Charles Lennox Wright II. A 27″ x 14″ linen finish personality poster created at the Paramount Studios, circa 1928-29.

“In the silents I played villains. When the talkies came along, my voice seemed to fit the more polished, sophisticated roles, since I had been trained on the stage. That’s how it all began.” – William Powell

“The tailor who permits a customer to leave his shop without a pair of suspenders to accompany a newly-purchased suit is committing a crime against his trade. The suspenders need not match the clothes but they are necessary for perfect fitting of a suit.” – William Powell (or, ahem, a publicist), giving fashion advice in 1931.

Source: “Hollywood’s Film Shop.”

“Cultivate solitude and quiet and a few sincere friends, rather than mob merriment, noise and thousands of nodding acquaintances.” — William Powell

Shadow of the Law (1930). With Natalie Moorhead.

Private Detective 62 (1933)

“I never enjoyed my work more than when I worked with William Powell. He was a brilliant actor, a delightful companion, a great friend and, above all, a true gentleman.” — Myrna Loy

“I have an uncontrollable urge for old clothes. That’s what wearing so many dress suits has done to me. ‘Comfort at any price’ has become my private-life motto….My favorite evening garb, alone at home, is attire that looks like something out of the Salvation Army’s old-clothes bins, or else a dressing gown and shorts. That’s one reason, too, why I never eat in the studio commissary, never give luncheon interviews. Eating in my dressing room, I can take off my clothes and be comfortable. And have another look at the script.” – William Powell. Here he is, relaxing inside his dressing room at MGM.

Source: James Reid (1937)

With Jean Harlow at the Cocoanut Grove in 1936.

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