William David Powell (February 27, 1925 – March 13, 1968) was an American

television writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

associate producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, dir ...

Biography

Powell was the only child of actor William Powell and actress

Eileen Wilson Eileen Wilson (born Eileen Eshelman; January 15, 1923 – September 9, 2018) was an American big band singer, and one of the original stars of the 1950s television show ''Your Hit Parade'' on NBC.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Televi ...

, who divorced in 1930. He graduated from Princeton, magna cum laude in English. On Saturday, December 22, 1956, at age 31, Powell wed former child actress Patricia Parsons (1931-2006), exchanging their wedding vows at the home of his father, on Vereda Norte in Palm Springs,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The wedding ceremony which was performed by Judge Eugene Therieau, with his father as best man and Parsons' sister Mrs. Kenneth Zook as matron of honor. The couple honeymooned in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. They divorced on September 19, 1957. Powell went on to become a television writer, whose credits include episodes of ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...

'', ''

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

'', '' 77 Sunset Strip'' and '' Rawhide''. He also worked as a story editor and coordinator, later an associate producer at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, and held an executive position at NBC. In 1968, after suffering from depression,

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

and kidney problems that had forced him to quit writing, he

died by suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by stabbing himself repeatedly in the upper body while in the shower. He left a four-page note addressed to his father, to whom he was still very close. The last two sentences were revealed to the public: "Things aren't so good here. I'm going where it's better." Powell was buried at Cathedral City's Desert Memorial Park in

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

, where his father and his father's last wife,

Diana Lewis Diana Lewis (September 18, 1919 – January 18, 1997) was an American film actress and a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player. Early years The daughter of vaudeville performers, Lewis was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She attended Fairfax ...

, are also buried.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, William David American film producers American television writers American male television writers Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States Suicides in California 1925 births 1968 suicides Burials at Desert Memorial Park 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American businesspeople Screenwriters from California 20th-century American screenwriters Deaths from bleeding 20th-century American male writers 1968 deaths de:William Powell