Mala Powers, star in films of '40s & '50s, dies at 76
wazzzy
Actress Mala Powers has died of complications from leukemia. She was
76.
Powers played Roxanne to Jose Ferrer's "Cyrano de Bergerac" and
starred in other films of the 1940s and 1950s.
Powers died yesterday evening in a Santa Monica hospital.
She was born Mary Ellen Powers in San Francisco to journalist parents
who moved to Hollywood after losing their jobs. The girl began
training as an actress at an early age and at eleven played in a
Bowery Boys movie, "Tough as They Come."
At 19, Powers appeared opposite Ferrer in "Cyrano de Bergerac," which
won him an Oscar. Also in 1950 she starred as a rape victim in
"Outrage," directed by Ida Lupino. The film created a minor sensation
because rape had never been treated frankly on the screen because of
the industry's self-censorship.
In her later years, Powers became a teacher of acting, and appeared at
major universities across the country. In 2002, she made her final
stage appearance in "Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood" at the Laguna
Playhouse.
leno...@yahoo.com
http://imdb.com/name/nm0694580/
I'm surprised to see she was in two episodes of "Bewitched"! As well
as "Perry Mason," and "Disneyland." According to one site, she was
also a director - of stage productions, maybe?
I adore the 1950 "Cyrano." I just have to be careful not to watch it
too often, so it won't go stale. (It's interesting, too, how young,
text-messaging moviegoers today could easily identify with written
local gossip, satire, and the revenge taken as a result - but not
necessarily with the high level of eloquence and poetry that Roxanne
takes for granted in men!)
I also saw "Outrage." For 1950, it was pretty good, even if it could
have been a little better. (At least there are no cringeworthy scenes
as in "Anatomy of a Murder," such as when Lee Remick lets her hair
down - OK, maybe I'm talking apples and oranges here. I don't remember
how AoaM ends, though I remember what leads up to it.)
Lenona.
Magnus
> http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=6648118
>
> Actress Mala Powers has died of complications from leukemia. She was
> 76.
> won him an Oscar.
Ah, yes--a lovely woman. Too bad that with her appearance in "Cyrano,"
at age 19, she had reached the pinnacle of her success.
Stacia
>http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=6648118
>Actress Mala Powers has died of complications from leukemia. She was
>76.
That's so weird... I just saw her on TCM not 10 minutes ago, in a little
blurb on the star of the month (Ida Lupino). I noticed she looked really
great, but had unfortunately old-fashioned hair, and I logged on to look
her up, when I saw this post. What a weird coincidence.
Stacia
wazzzy
June 14, 2007
Funeral services for actress Mala Powers will be held Friday at 2:30
p.m. at the Old North Church, Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest
Lawn Drive, Los Angeles. Powers died Monday at 75.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-powers14jun14,1,7366716.story?coll=la-news-obituaries