Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Tyrone Power
Tyrone Power Facts
| Sign | Taurus |
| Born |
May 5, 1914 Cincinnati, OH |
| Died |
Nov 15, 1958 Madrid, Spain |
| Age | Died at 44 |
| Total Facts | 52 |
Charlton Heston wrote in his 1995 autobiography "In the Arena" that while filming Ben-Hur (1959) he was shocked to learn of Power's sudden death, especially since the actor was only a decade older than him. He said the incident made him think about his own mortality for the first time.
According to the genealogy book, "Debrett Goes to Hollywood" by Charles Kidd, Power on his father's side was distantly related to both Laurence Olivier and author Evelyn Waugh. One of his first cousins was the prominent director Sir Tyrone Guthrie, who founded the Stratford Theatre in Ontario and the Guthrie Theater in Minnesota. Power was also related to the Mori family of Italy who were a prominent family in music. Power's paternal grandmother was descended from the French Huguenots.
Appears on the album jacket of The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
As a United States Marine Corps pilot in World War II, Power flew supplies into and wounded out of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
At the age of 16 years, he was an usher at the Orpheum Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio.
At the time of his death Power was a major in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
Cartoon artist C.C. Beck, on the Marvel Comics website, states that several characters in the Captain Marvel series were based on film stars. The mighty Egyptian magician Ibis the Invincible, who was featured in every issue of Whiz Comics, was based on Tyrone Power as he appeared in The Rains Came (1939).
Children: Romina Francesca born 2 October 1951, Taryn born 13 September 1953 and Tyrone William born 22 January 1959 were all born at Cedars Hospital, Los Angeles, California.
During the filming of Jesse James (1939) he had a fling with a local girl who got pregnant and put the child, a boy, up for adoption. Power spent a small fortune in the 1940s searching for the child, without success.
Father of Tyrone William Power IV, known professionally as Tyrone Power Jr..
Following his separation from Annabella, Tyrone Power entered into a love affair with Lana Turner which lasted for a couple of years.
Has his own chapter, "Disillusioned: Tyrone Power" in "The Star Machine" by Jeanine Basinger, Alfred J. Knopf Publishers, 2007.
He gave a commencement speech at the University of Tampa in 1948. He was awarded an honorary degree in the Arts.
He originally turned down role of "Leonard Vole" in Witness for the Prosecution (1957) due to depression over his film career. He was doing a lot of stage work and told Billy Wilder that he wasn't sure he ever wanted to make another film. Without Power, Wilder dropped the project, as they needed a star of his magnitude. Later, the producers went back to him and offered him $300,000 plus a percentage of the film, and he agreed to do it.
He turned down Burt Lancaster's role in From Here to Eternity (1953).
He was considered for the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939).
He was originally cast in Richard Burton's role in The Robe (1953).
He was signed by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1936 as an answer to MGM's big star Robert Taylor.
He was the first actor awarded with The Harvard Lampoon Award in the Worst Actor of the Year category in 1939.
His 1938 Photoplay cover is the first shot in the film Enter Laughing (1967).
His extramarital affair with Judy Garland is said to have contributed to the failure of their marriage.
His great-grandfather, Tyrone Power (1795-1841), wrote the two-volume "Impressions of America: during the years 1833, 1834, 1835".(London: R. Bently, 1836).
His heart attack was due to hereditary heart disease and smoking.
His last complete work was a public-service announcement for television (in which he appeared on a motion-picture set in costume) about spotting the signs of a heart attack and going to the hospital to have a doctor check it out. The film still exists and has been shown in biographical tributes. Power died of a heart attack while filming Solomon and Sheba (1959) shortly after the public-service spot first aired.
His name was invoked in an underwear commercial by spokesman Wally Cox who said, in his best, Mr. Milquetoast voice, "I may look like Wally Cox, but inside I'm Tyrone Power".
In Dreamboat (1952), a large photo of Power is prominently displayed on the wall of the agency Clifton Webb and Anne Francis enter in New York City.
In 1920, lived at 212 S. Cordova Street, Alhambra, California.
In 1957, however, he met Deborah Ann Montgomery Minardos. They were married on May 7, 1958, and she became pregnant soon after. She accompanied her husband to Madrid in September 1958, for the filming of Solomon and Sheba. She was worried about his health and asked him to slow down, but he pushed ahead with the movie. On November 15, 1958, while filming a strenuous dueling scene for the movie, he had a heart attack and died. His wife gave birth to his son, Tyrone Power IV, on January 22, 1959. [
In Season 2, Episode 4 of The Simpsons, when Homer is having his eyebrows drawn on, the campaign manager tells him "We want John Q. Public, not Tyrone Power."
Interred at Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now called Hollywood Forever), Hollywood, California, USA. His tombstone includes the masks of Comedy and Tragedy and the inscription, "Good night, sweet prince...".
Kept a copy of all the scripts from his movies and had them bound.
Lead character in the play "Filthy Rich," which is a film-noir parody, is named Tyrone Power.
Mentioned in three films: Sunset Blvd. (1950) with the line "Can you see Ty Power as a shortstop?"; All About Eve (1950) with the line "What shall I tell Tyrone Power?"; and Flags of Our Fathers (2006) when the character of Rene Gagnon is referred to as "Tyrone Power" because of his good looks.
Mother's name is Patia Riaume (Mrs. Tyrone Power).
Older brother of Anne Power.
On Nov 14-16, 2008, an event was held at the American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of his untimely passing. Four of his films were screened: Love Is News (1937), The Mark of Zorro (1940), The Razor's Edge (1946) and Nightmare Alley (1947). In attendance were his children, Tyrone Power Jr., Romina Power and Taryn Power. Also attending were several actors who worked with him, including Coleen Gray, Piper Laurie, Terry Moore and Jayne Meadows.
Played the role of a West Point cadet (uncredited role) in the 1934 film, Flirtation Walk (1934). Twenty one years later, in 1955, starred in the film, The Long Gray Line (1955), again about West Point, but this time as the legendary enlisted man, Martin "Marty" Maher, whose service to the Academy will never be forgotten.
Portrayed Senator Dean Edwards on the syndicated radio show "Freedom USA" (1951-1952).
Power was the first performer to win a "Harvard Lampoon" Worst Actor Award for The Rains Came (1939) in 1939.
Son of Tyrone Power Sr., father of Ann Power, Romina Power, Taryn Power, and Tyrone Power Jr..
The novel "Quicksilver" by Fitzroy Davis chronicles, in fictional form, a tour of "Romeo & Juliet" with Katharine Cornell that Power was with in the 1930s before going to Hollywood. Others in the cast included, at various times, Orson Welles, Brian Aherne and Basil Rathbone. All the names have been changed but many of the stories in the book did actually happen. When Aherne joined the cast, Welles was demoted, taking over Power's role, and Power moved into a smaller one. This is included in the book. It was a best-seller, written in 1942 after many of the actors had Hollywood success, and the story goes that Cornell tried to buy up all of the copies. Given that Davis knew these actors' fates by the time he wrote the book, it's easier to figure out who was who, though it appears the author did mix various traits among the characters in order to make the actors less recognizable.
The song "Hooray for Hollywood" includes the lyric "Within a half an hour, you'll look like Tyrone Power."
There are yearly memorial services at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on the anniversary of his death, November 15. There is also one for Rudolph Valentino yearly.
Tyrone Power appears on the famous cover of The Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the third row, 8th from the left.
Tyrone Power is the only son of the English-born American stage and screen actor Tyrone Power, Sr. 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 Tyrone Power (1795-1841). Through his paternal great grandmother, Anne Gilbert, Power was related to the actor Lord Laurence Olivier; through his paternal grandmother, Ethel Lavenu, he was related by marriage to author Evelyn Waugh and through his father's first cousin, Norah Emily Gorman Power, he was related to the theatrical director Sir (William) Tyrone Guthrie, founder of the Stratford Festival (now the Stratford Shakespeare Festival) in Canada and the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapoli, Minnesota.
Tyrone Power was one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors when he married French actress, Annabella (born Suzanne Georgette Charpentier) on April 23, 1939. They met on the 20th Century-Fox lot, around the time they starred together in the movie Suez. Annabella was a big star in France when 20th Century-Fox brought her over to America, and she was given the big buildup as the next great French star for Hollywood pictures. When Darryl F. Zanuck, 20th Century-Fox studio boss, realized the serious
Was immortalized in the song, "My Baby Just Cares for Me" with the lyrics, "My baby don't care for Tyrone Power/She'd rather be with me by the hour".
Was involved in an illicit affair with Judy Garland that ended when he would not leave his wife for her (January-May 1943).
Was originally set to star in Way of a Gaucho (1952) with Henry King directing, but in May 1951 King requested a transfer to another picture and Power's name also disappeared from the picture.
Was the adoptive father of his ex-wife's, Annabella daughter, Ann Power.