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August 28, 2008

Steve Lipman: A Comeback for the 'Jewish Jordan'

Jeffrey Weiss: Researcher reports 'intriguing' diabetes breakthrough

August 27, 2008

Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald: Removing the perfectionist's mask

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Nunn: Summer harvest linguine

JWisdom:: The Missing Link in Spiritual Life by Rabbi David Aaron

August 26, 2008

Yaffa Ganz: Grandma gets lessons in staying cool

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: The Dems' 'soft' jihadist

JWisdom:: Today: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Plague of indifference

August 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q: A friend is bearing a silly grudge from a supposed wrong. What recourse do I have?

Daniel Pipes: Barack Obama through Muslim Eyes

JWisdom:: The knowledge you need to overcome your insecurities by Malka Schulman

August 22, 2008

Rabbi Berel Wein: Life's essential ingredient

Caroline B. Glick: Dominos anyone?

JWisdom:: Actually, Do Sweat the Small Stuff! by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 21, 2008

Today in Biblical History by Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Popularization of Kabbalah: 20 Menachem-Av 1558 CE

Jonathan Rosenblum: Lessons from the Beyond

JWisdom: : The Olympian within is rooting for you -- yes, you! –- to go for the gold

August 20, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Misleading Platform Platitudes

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: America's Defense of the Jews --- Until WWII by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

August 19, 2008

Dennis Prager: If the Almighty doesn't exist

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Obama's Islamist problem has nothing to do with his upbringing

JWisdom: Think your life is messed up? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 18, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Business with Friends

Diana West: Roars About Russia, Bare Whispers About Islam

JWisdom: Relationship agony: The real cause by Malka Schulman

August 15, 2008

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: To love the Divine

Caroline B. Glick: Georgia, Israel, and the nature of man

JWisdom: The Truly Righteous Don't Demand Entitlements by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 14, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Confessions of broken spirit

Libby Lazewnik: The Numbers Game

JWisdom: Six Questions You'll Be Asked in Heaven? - Uh - Let's Just Take One for Now! by Gavriel Aryeh Sanders

August 13, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Georgia should be on their minds

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Go Greek: Pair flavorful lamb kebabs with a hearty salad

JWisdom: Human hybrids aren't science fiction by Rabbi David Aaron

August 12, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bless us

Daniel Pipes: The West's Islamist Infiltrators

JWisdom: From Sadness to Gladness: The Route from Tisha b'Av to Rosh Hashana by Rabbi Mordechai Becher

August 11, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: A Jewish view on fair pricing

Caroline B. Glick: Ignoring failure in Gaza

JWisdom: 'Communication' Is Not The Answer! by Malka Schulman

August 7, 2008

Rabbi David Gutterman: A Continuing Story With a Sustaining Goal

Rabbi Berel Wein: Mourning and morning

JWisdom: Yes, we are still in exile by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

August 6, 2008

David Ashenfelter: Government made military engineer's life a living hell because of his faith, Defense Department report documents

Jonathan Tobin: Speak the Truth; Defeat the Lies

JWisdom: Jewish Spirituality: Fusion or Confusion? by Rabbi David Aaron

August 5, 2008

Chris Leppek: Church/state wall beginning to crumble?

Paul Greenberg: Exit Olmert (no encore, please)

JWisdom: Serenity: Make the commitment by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (Read by Gavriel Sanders)

August 4, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Am I taking advantage of another's psychological quirk?

Andrew Silow-Carroll: A black and a Jew walk into the White House…

JWisdom: The Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith: Edward R. Morrow visits the ‘living dead’ by Rabbi Nosson Scherman

August 1, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: We have the power to alter another's destiny — use it well

Caroline B. Glick: Why Olmert — finally — did it

JWisdom: Life By The (Book of) Numbers by Rabbi Sroy Levitansky

July 31, 2008

This Week in Biblical History by Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Ezra the Scribe returns from exile

Joan Verdon: Demure is in demand: More brides seek 'modest' gowns

JWisdom: You don't have to be ‘compatible’ to have a stable, happy relationship by Malka Shulman

July 30, 2008

Jonathan Tobin: Does Israel need 'tough love'?

The Kosher Gourmet by Gail Borelli: Pickling captures the fleeting tastes of summer's fruits and vegetables

JWisdom: Serenity: It's Really Up to YOU! by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin (Read by Gavriel Sanders)

July 29, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Good things happen

Dick Morris: How Israel's race could shift ours

JWisdom: Holocaust in the Perspective of Faith by Rabbi Nosson Scherman: Equal but Not Jewish or Jewish but Not Human?

July 28, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: How and when to lie

Steven Emerson: More Perils of Interfaith Dialogue

JWisdom:: A TripTik for Your Spiritual Journey by Rabbi Dovid Gross

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review July 18, 2008 / 15 Tamuz 5768

William Powell: Debonair and Delightful

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The wonderful thing about cable television and DVD's is it enables us to be exposed to things that ordinarily we would know very little about. I've always been a big fan of classic movies, even as a kid, so becoming more familiar with them for me wasn't a huge jump. Turner Classic Movies in particular shows all the great classics, plus the second stringers, two-reelers, and obscure programmers and shows them totally commercial-free. Thanks to TCM I've seen pictures that I never knew existed, and what a treat to discover a brand new (for me) Bogart or Tracy or Jimmy Stewart film.


I want to spotlight a star that may have been one of Hollywood's most underestimated actors but has become one of my all-time favorites, William Powell. For anyone who is not familiar with Powell, well, you don't know what you're missing. Graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1912, he played over 200 stage roles, including Shakespeare and the classics, before getting into the movies in the 1920's.


He had a film career that spanned silent films to talkies and included more than 95 pictures between 1922 and 1955. He played an amazing number of character types including nasty cads, out and out villains, lovable rogues, goofy bohemians, and romantic leading men. He did screwball comedy, drama, even musicals and with everything he did he is best remembered to this day as Nick Charles, the urbane playboy detective, oozing with charm, elegance, sophistication, and poise who along with beautiful Myrna Loy teamed for six "Thin Man" films.


He was nominated for Academy Awards three times, in 1934, 1936 and 1947, but never took home an Oscar. He did win The New York Film Critics Award for his excellent portrayal of Clarence Day, the cantankerous but deeply human patriarch of an 1880's family in the heartwarming movie adaptation of the successful stage play, "Life With Father."


Bill Powell appeared opposite some of Hollywood's most notable (and beautiful) actresses including thirteen times with Myrna Loy, twice with Hedy Lamarr, three times with Luise Rainer, three times with Carole Lombard (who was to be the second of his three wives), twice with Jean Harlow (one of the great loves of his life), Kay Francis, Irene Dunne, Ruth Chatterton, Ginger Rogers, Jean Arthur, Rosalind Russell, Ann Harding, Donna Reed, and Joan Crawford.


In the beginning of his movie career he was teamed with such stars as Bebe Daniels, Lillian and Dorothy Gish, Marion Davies, and Evelyn Brent. Toward the end he played opposite Esther Williams, Angela Lansbury, Lauren Becall, Elizabeth Taylor, and Marilyn Monroe. Quite a range of actresses, to say the least.


Among his male co-stars were John Barrymore, Richard Barthelmess, Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, Emil Jannings, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Robert Montgomery, Henry Fonda, James Cagney, and Jack Lemmon. He worked with many of the great directors including John Ford, W.S. Van Dyke, Mervyn LeRoy, Jack Conway, William K. Howard, Irving Pichel, Michael Curtiz, Victor Fleming, Gregory LaCava, Josef Von Sternberg, and Henry King.


"Chemistry" is the term used to describe what happens when an actor and an actress blend perfectly in a film. William Powell and Myrna Loy had that chemistry. Myrna Loy once told an interviewer, "From the very first scene we did together in "Manhattan Melodrama" (1934), we felt that particular magic between us. There was this feeling of rhythm, of complete understanding, and an instinct of how each of us could bring out the best in the other." You bet they had chemistry - it positively jumps off the screen when you watch them together.


Besides being a charismatic personality and a powerful performer, Powell had another commodity as an actor that is worth noting. He was a great listener. Watch him in a scene when someone else is talking and you'll see what I mean. He is listening as if he is hearing the words for the first time. His expressions, his body language, his comportment are perfect. He never is a distraction when the spotlight is on another performer, never attempts to upstage, but he is in the moment completely. His reactions are wonderful. Watch his eyebrows, his mouth, and his head gestures.


His performances in "My Man Godfrey," "The Great Ziegfeld," "Libeled Lady," as well as "Life With Father," and "The Thin Man" pictures are all first rate and considered among his best. But I find that nearly any film that William Powell is in is eminently watchable and great fun. And his last part, that of Doc in "Mister Roberts" was a wonderful way for him to retire at the top of his form in 1955. He was 63 when he did that last role. He retired to Palm Springs and died in 1984 at the age of 91.


William Powell was a movie star when being a movie star was really something. He was also a gentleman when being a gentleman was what most men strived for and most women appreciated. William Powell. A great actor and a really good listener!

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

Greg Crosby Archives

© 2006, Greg Crosby

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