HOLLYWOOD (AP) Tyrone Power created dozens of memorable screen roles, but none was more romantic and adventurous than his own life. How many of them come to mind. . . . The eager songwriter of Alexander's Ragtime Band . . . the swashbuckler of Mark of Zorro . . . the bullfighter in Blood and Sand . . .
Jesse James . . . the soul seeker of The Razor's Edge . . . the conquistador of Captain from Castile . . .
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He Was Believable
He was Johnny Apollo, a Yank in the R.A.F., the Prince of Foxes, an American Guerrilla in the Philippines, a Diplomatic Courier, the Mississippi Gambler, King of the Khyber Rifles, and Eddy Duchin. Each time he was believable. He never won an Academy award, but to a whole generation he was the perfect picture of an adventurous hero.
His own life bore than out. This was no pose. He had scant regard for publicity, did little more than tolerate it. He merely led the kind of life he liked.
It took him all over the world in search of new experiences and challenges.
He seemed destined for a restless life. His father was a stage star in the era when an actor's life meant constant travel. As a young actor, Tyrone played at the Chicago World' Fair and toured with Katharine Cornell's troupe.
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Stayed Put Only Once
Only in the formative stage of his Hollywood career did he stay put. That was when Darryl Zanuck was putting him in one big picture after another, spreading his fame to all parts of the world.
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The war gave him an escape. His service overseas as a Marine pilot rekindled the wanderlust.
When he returned to films, he seemed uneasy tied down in Hollywood. As soon as he finished a picture, he would hop in a company plane with two or three aides and pilot them on a goodwill tour of South America, Africa, or some other far-off land.
He explained: "In my travels, I've seen too many old people sitting around on the decks of boats trying to enjoy trips they waited too long to take."
After 16 years at 20th Century-Fox, he was chafing under his contract. He took a suspension for refusing "Lydia Bailey." He said he had done five costume pictures in a row and wanted a film in which "people talk normally, not in stilted dialogue."
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No thrill left
He added: "There's no thrill left in the movie business. There's no more glory, and you can't add to your bank account: it all goes to taxes. So I figure it's better to do something I like to do."
He realized that younger stars were pressing his position. He said realistically: "When you're through in this business, you've got to have established that you can do something else."
Tyrone never had to worry about being through. He was a top star to the end. It was perhaps fitting that the end came while he was filming a lavish spectacle in a distant land.
When Tyrone Power died his mother was so ill that she couldn't be told. Soon after his funeral she was moved to the motion picture country home. He left her $60,000 life insurance; his sister Anne,$15,000. Ty also left his widow Debbie $50,000 in insurance and $75,000 for two by Linda Christian. His other assets haven't been disclosed. |