Richard Pitts Powell (November 28, 1908 – December 8, 1999), professionally known as Richard P. Powell, was an American novelist.

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, Powell graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

About the authors
at Hard Case Crime in 1930 then worked at the '' Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger'' newspaper. After ten years, he joined the advertising agency N. W. Ayer & Son. Following service on Gen.

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

's staff during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he returned to N.W. Ayer, where he rose to vice president of information services in 1952. In the 1940s, Powell began writing

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

, and his first published books were

Inner Sanctum Mysteries ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels ...

, published from 1943 to 1955. By the mid-1950s, he was able to devote himself to writing full time. ''The Philadelphian'' (1956), his major publishing debut, spent more than six months on the bestseller list, and was filmed in 1959 as ''

The Young Philadelphians ''The Young Philadelphians'' is a 1959 American legal drama film directed by Vincent Sherman and starring Paul Newman, Barbara Rush, Robert Vaughn and Alexis Smith. The film is based on the 1956 novel ''The Philadelphian'', by Richard P. Powell ...

'', starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

. Two of his other novels (one written under a pseudonym) also were adapted into films. Richard Powell died on December 8, 1999, in

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,395; it was estimated to have grown to 95,949 in 2022, making it the List o ...

Novels

*''Don’t Catch Me'' (1943) *''All Over but the Shooting'' (1944) *''Lay that Pistol Down'' (1945) *''Shoot if You Must'' (1946) *''And Hope to Die'' (1947) *''Shark River'' (1949) *''Shell Game'' (1950) *''The Build-Up Boys'' (1951) (written as Jeremy Kirk) *''A Shot in the Dark'' (1952), republished with Shell Game in 2008, *''Say It with Bullets'' (1953), republished in 2006,

Dorchester Publishing Dorchester Publishing was a publisher of mass market paperback books. Although mostly known for romance, Dorchester also published horror, thriller and Western titles. Publication lines Dorchester was the original publisher of the '' Hard Case ...

Hard Case Crime, *''False Colors'' (1955) *''The Philadelphian'' (1956), republished in 2006, ''Plexus Publishing'', *'' Pioneer, Go Home!'' (1959), . Filmed in 1962 as ''

Follow That Dream ''Follow That Dream'' is a 1962 American musical comedy film made by Mirisch Productions and starring Elvis Presley. The film was based on the 1959 novel '' Pioneer, Go Home!'' by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the film's son ...

'' starring Elvis Presley. *''The Soldier'' (1960) *''I Take this Land'' (1963) *''Daily and Sunday'' (1964) *''Don Quixote, U.S.A.'' (1966) *''

Tickets to the Devil ''Tickets to the Devil'' (1968) by Richard P. Powell is novel taking a glimpse into the world of duplicate bridge Duplicate bridge is a variation of contract bridge where the same set of bridge deals (i.e., the distribution of the 52 cards a ...

'' (1968), *''

Whom the Gods Would Destroy The saying Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad, sometimes given in Latin as ''Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat'' (literally: Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first deprives of reason) or ''Quem Iuppiter vult perdere, dementa ...

'' (1970) Dorchester Publishing republished ''Say It with Bullets'' in paperback in March 2006 as part of its Hard Case Crime series. Plexus Publishing republished ''The Philadelphian'' in hardcover and paperback in November 2006. The new edition features a foreword by

Robert Vaughn Robert Francis Vaughn (November 22, 1932 – November 11, 2016) was an American actor and political activist, whose career in film, television and theater spanned nearly six decades and who was best known for his role as secret agent Nap ...

and additional material from Powell and his daughter. ''Shell Game'' and ''A Shot in the Dark'' were republished by Starkhouse Press in 2008.

In film

*''The Philadelphian'' was made into the movie ''

'' (1959), starring

Barbara Rush Barbara Rush (January 4, 1927 – March 31, 2024) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. In 1954, she won the Golden Globe Award for most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It ...

and

, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role. *''The Build-Up Boys'' (written under the pen name of Jeremy Kirk) was made into a 1961 film renamed ''

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

''. *''Pioneer, Go Home!'' was made into a 1962 film renamed ''

'', starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. *The 1971

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

movie ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – berry (botany), botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called pla ...

'' also uses elements of ''Don Quixote, U.S.A.'' in its plot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Richard P. 1908 births 1999 deaths Writers from Philadelphia American male novelists 20th-century American novelists Princeton University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania United States Army officers