Tyrone Power Sr.

Birthday

May 2, 1869

Bio: Though invariably referred to by latter-day historians as Tyrone Power Sr., British stage and screen actor Tyrone Power never billed himself as such during his lifetime. The grandson of legendary Irish actor Tyrone Power (1797-1841) and the son of concert pianist Harold Power, he was sent to Florida by his family in 1883 to learn the citrus fruit business. Instead,… More Bio: Though invariably referred to by latter-day historians as Tyrone Power Sr., British stage and screen actor Tyrone Power never billed himself as such during his lifetime. The grandson of legendary Irish actor Tyrone Power (1797-1841) and the son of concert pianist Harold Power, he was sent to Florida by his family in 1883 to learn the citrus fruit business. Instead, he gravitated to the theater, billing himself variously as Tyrone Power II and Tyrone Power the Younger. He made his Broadway debut in 1886, and for the next 30 years starred in one successful stage vehicle after another. In 1914 he entered films, where it was said that he was never truly comfortable until director Henry King urged Power to forget his lines (which couldn't be heard anyway) and go along with his own emotional impulses. He continued playing colorful character roles throughout the silent era, the most memorable of which included Lord Cornwallis in the Marion Davies historical drama Janice Meredith (1924). His rich, booming voice was heard onscreen only once, when he played the villainous Red Flack in the early talkie Western epic The Big Trail (1930). Married three times, Power outlived all of his wives. While filming The Miracle Man in 1931, Tyrone Power suffered a massive heart attack and died in the arms of his namesake son, who, out of respect for his father, billed himself as Tyrone Power Jr. until he was firmly established as a film idol in his own right. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi