Actors - Tyrone Power

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	Actors - Tyrone Power

Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958), usually credited simply as Tyrone Power, was an American film actor who appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s to 1950s, usually as a swashbuckling hero, in such movies as The Mark of Zorro, The Black Swan, Prince of Foxes, The Black Rose, and Captain from Castile; however, he was very versatile and played a wide range of roles, from a protagonist with a darker side to light romantic comedy. In the 1950's, he began placing limits on the number of movies he would make in order to have time for the stage. On stage, especially in John Brown's Body and Mr. Roberts, he received his highest acclaim as an actor.

Early life

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1914, the only son of English born stage and screen actor Frederick Tyrone Edmond Power and Helen Emma "Patia" Reaume, Power was descended from a long theatrical line going back to his great-grandfather, the Irish born actor and comedian William Tyrone Power, sometimes referred to as Tyrone Power I, and known professionally as Tyrone Power (1795-1841).

During the first year of Tyrone Power’s life, he lived in Cincinnati. His father was absent for long periods, due to his stage commitments in New York. Young Tyrone was a sickly child, and his doctor advised his family that the climate in California might be better for his health. The family moved to California in 1915, and there they welcomed a sister, Anne Power, into their family on August 26, 1915. The parents appeared together on stage and, in 1917, their movie, The Planter, was released. Tyrone Power, Sr., as he later became known, found himself away from home more frequently, as his stage career took him to New York. The Powers drifted apart, and they divorced around 1920.

After the divorce, Patia Power worked as a stage actress. In 1921, at the age of 7, young Tyrone appeared with his mother in the mission play, La Golondrina, at San Gabriel, California. A couple of years later, the family moved back to Cincinnati. Tyrone’s mother supported her family as a drama and voice coach at the Schuster-Martin School of Drama, and, in her spare time, she coached him for several years in voice and dramatics. Tyrone grew up with an interest in acting, corresponding with his father about it. He went to Cincinnati-area Catholic schools and graduated from Purcell High School in 1931. Upon his graduation, he opted to join his father to learn what he could about acting from one of the stage’s finest actors

Career

Tyrone Power joined his father for the summer of 1931, and young Ty learned a lot from him, but his father suffered a massive heart attack in December of 1931, dying in his son’s arms, while preparing to perform in The Miracle Man. Tyrone Power, Jr., as he was then known, decided to continue his pursuit of an acting career. He went door to door, trying to get work as an actor, and, while many contacts knew his father well, they offered praise for his father but no work for him. He appeared in a bit part in 1932 in Tom Brown of Culver, a movie starring actor, Tom Brown. His experience in that movie didn’t open any other doors, however, and, except for what amounted to little more than a job as an extra in Flirtation Walk, he found himself frozen out of the movies but making some appearances in community theater. Discouraged, he took the advice of friend, Arthur Caesar, to go to New York to get experience as a stage actor. Along the way, he stopped in Chicago, where his friend, Don Ameche, a radio personality, convinced him to stay awhile to work in radio. He wasn’t able to get a foothold in radio, however, and he eventually went on to New York. There, he met Katharine Cornell, the great stage actress, who cast him as an understudy for Burgess Meredith, for the play, Flowers of the Forest. A better stage break came, though, when Cornell put him in the role of Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. During this time, Hollywood scouts saw him and offered him a screen test. Katharine Cornell advised against going to Hollywood, without a little more stage experience, and Tyrone Power took her advice. Cornell gave him a substantial role in her next stage play, St. Joan. Once again, Hollywood scouts saw him and offered him a screen test. Cornell told him that he was ready.

Tyrone Power went to Hollywood in 1936, where he was signed by 20th Century-Fox. He would be be their top leading man for years to come. He got a false start at 20th Century-Fox, though, when he was assigned to Sing Baby Sing, at the request of Alice Faye, already a star for the studio. The director, Sidney Lanfield, didn’t recognize his potential and removed him from the cast, telling him that he should find another line of work, as he would never become an actor. Faye intervened again on his behalf, and she convinced the studio to give him another chance. He was assigned to a small part in Girls’ Dormitory. In this movie, he caught the eye of many fans, among them Hedda Hopper, who stayed for a second showing to find out who the young man was with just a few lines at the end of the movie. Following that, he was cast in a slightly larger part in Ladies in Love, which starred Janet Gaynor, Constance Bennett, and Loretta Young. It looked as though 20th Century-Fox was not going to pick up his option, however, and Tyrone Power then went to the office of director Henry King to ask him to consider him for a role. King was impressed with his looks and poise, and he insisted that Tyrone Power be tested for the lead role in Lloyd’s of London, a role thought to already belong to Don Ameche. Despite Darryl F. Zanuck’s reservations, he decided to go ahead and give him the lead role in the movie, once Henry King and Fox editor, Barbara McLean, convinced him that Power had a greater screen presence than did Don Ameche. He was 4th billed in the movie, but he had by far the most screen time of any other actor. He walked into the premiere of the movie an unknown, and he walked out a superstar, where he stayed for the remainder of his career.

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Actors - Tyrone Power

Early life

Career

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