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

Biography

Born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Powell graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

About the authors
at

Hard Case Crime Hard Case Crime is an American imprint of hardboiled crime novels founded in 2004 by Charles Ardai (also the founder of the Internet service Juno Online Services) and Max Phillips. The series recreates, in editorial form and content, the flavor o ...

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 military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's staff during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

, 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 entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

. 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 southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

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! ''Pioneer, Go Home!'' is a satirical novel by Richard P. Powell, first published in 1959. The novel follows a New Jersey family, The Kwimpers, who move to Columbiana, a fictional state that resembles Florida, and squat on the side of a highway wher ...

'' (1959), . Filmed in 1962 as ''

Follow That Dream ''Follow That Dream'' is a 1962 American musical 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 song "Follow T ...

'' 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 in the late 1960s. The story features characters loosely based on great players of those days, along with some fictional characters. ...

'' (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

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 noted for his stage, film and television work. His television roles include the spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''; the ...

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 (born January 4, 1927) is an American actress. In 1954, Rush won the Golden Globe Award as most promising female newcomer for her role in the 1953 American science-fiction film ''It Came from Outer Space''.Warren 1982, pp. 151–6 ...

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, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

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

'', starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. *The 1971

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

movie ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'' 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