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Richard P. Powell (November 28, 1908 – December 8, 1999) was an American novelist. His full name was Richard Pitts Powell. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Powell graduated from Princeton University 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's staff during World War II, he returned to N.W. Ayer, where he rose to vice president of information services in 1952. In the 1940s, Powell began writing fiction and in 1958 was able to devote himself to writing full time. His first published books were Inner Sanctum Mysteries, published from 1943 to 1955. His major publishing debut, The Philadelphian in 1957, spent more than six months on the bestseller list. The following are his books and the years of publication:
- 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)
- A Shot in the Dark (1952)
- Say It With Bullets (1953)
- False Colors (1955)
- The Philadelphian (1957)
- Pioneer, Go Home! (1959)
- The Soldier (1960)
- I Take this Land (1963)
- Daily and Sunday (1964)
- Don Quixote, U.S.A. (1966)
- Tickets to the Devil (1968)
- Whom the Gods Would Destroy (1970)
The Philadelphian was made into the movie The Young Philadelphians (1959), starring Paul Newman, Barbara Rush and Robert Vaughn, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role. Pioneer, Go Home! was made into a 1962 film renamed Follow That Dream, starring Elvis Presley. The 1971 Woody Allen movie Bananas also uses elements of Don Quixote, U.S.A. in its plot. "Tickets to the Devil" is a glimpse into the world of duplicate bridge circa 1960. The novel features characters loosely based on great players of the day along with Powell's own creations all competing in a National Tournament. Dorchester Publishing republished "Say It With Bullets" in paperback in March 2006 as part of its Hard Case Crime series. Plexus Publishing republished "The Philadelphian" in hardcover and paperback in November 2006. The new edition features a foreword by Robert Vaughn and additional material from Powell and his daughter. "Shell Game" and "A Shot in the Dark" are scheduled to be republished by Starkhouse Press. Richard Powell died on December 8, 1999 in Fort Myers, Florida. IMDB mistakenly credits Powell's novels to Richard M. Powell.
