Newspaper Articles-November 15, 1958

WILL COMPLETE 'SOLOMON' FILM DESPITE DEATH
November 16, 1958

HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 15 (UPI)--Producers of the $6,000,000 movie "Solomon and Sheba" said today they would try to complete the production despite the death of its star, Tyrone Power.

Like other film land figures, Edward Small, head of the production company backing the filming in Spain, received the news of the actor's death with shock and grief.

"We just had the news this morning," he said in Palm Springs. "We haven't formulated any plans. We can't make a decision now. I can't go beyond saying that we will try to complete the picture."

Small disclosed that Power had passed an insurance company physical examination before the picture was started. "His death was a great shock to all of us," he said. "He was one of the nicest persons in show business. He was passed by the insurance company as very healthy and that made the impact of his death even greater."

Small and his associates will make the final decision on what is to be done with the film.

A similar case confronted Hollywood producer sin 1937 when the platinum-haired actress, jean Harlow, died after being stricken on the set of the film, "Saratoga."

Praised as Actor

The Harlow picture, however, was in its last states and it was completed by the use of a stand-in actress who wore large picture hats to obscure her face.

Director Edmund Goulding called Power "the greatest actor of this generation." "Ty had a deep, penetrating intelligence," he said. "He had the sensitivity and feeling for life that all fine artists must have. And he had a whale of a sense of humor to give him balance."

Henry King, who directed Power in 11 pictures and gave him his first screen test, said: "It seems almost incredible to me that one of the most brilliant of all screen careers should so abruptly and tragically come to a close because Tyrone Power was a man surcharged with a love of life."

Darryl F. Zanuck, former head of 20th Century Fox, now in Paris, released a statement through his Hollywood office, saying: "It was my good fortune to have launched his screen career. He was an artist with a great heritage as both his father and grandfather before him illustrious actors."

"As the then head of 20th Century Fox studios I cast him in a small bit part in his first picture, but so striking was his personality and so perfected his talent that we had no hesitancy in starring him in the very next picture, 'Lloyds of London.'

On-the-Scene Story : HOW TYRONE POWER DIED
ACTOR, 44, STRICKEN DURING FILM DUEL
New York Journal American
Sunday, November 16, 1958

MADRID, Nov. 15 (UPI).--Tyrone Power, whose acting and handsome profile made him one of Hollywood's greatest stars, collapsed during the filming of a swashbuckling duel scene in a Biblical extravaganza today and died of a heart attack. He was 44.

The star suffered the attack in the presence of his co-star, Gina Lollobrigida, on the outdoor set of the six million dollar film "Solomon and Sheba."

The dueling scene was with George Sanders, who was playing the role of Adjonijah, Solomon's older brother.

This correspondent, who came here from his Hollywood beat to do a story on the filming of Power's new picture, was on the set when the actor collapsed. Power died as he was being driven to a hospital, in the robes he was wearing in the role of the ancient king. His pregnant young wife, Debbie Ann Minardos, was in a state of shock. she sobbed over and over that he was not dead.

Death was attributed to angina pectoris.

Complained of Not Feeling Well

Power had complained of not feeling well this morning when he arrived on the set. but he insisted on going through with the duel scene in bitter cold temperature that had the actors and actresses shivering in their flimsy Biblical robes. His makeup man and friend of many years, Ray Sebastian, said he had suffered an attack of dysentery two days ago in the unseasonable cold Madrid weather, but he appeared well enough to go on today with a difficult assassination scene.

Sebastian said the actor had always been sensitive to the cold in spite of his strong physique.

"Ty always wears wool socks Winter and Summer," Sebastian said. "Here he has been barefoot all the time and in this weather, I've been worried stiff." the scene called for Power to fall to a cold stone floor and writhe away from the lunge of an assassin'[s dagger.

Suddenly he limply waved his hand in "cut" signal. Ashen-faced he walked unsteadily to his trailer dressing room and asked Sebastian for brandy. Sebastian said Power began gasping for air so he loosened the actor's plastic breastplate. Power became nauseated and his face became mottled with red splotches.

Producer Ted Richmond called for a car, bundled the star into it and raced to a hospital. Power slipped into unconsciousness and was dead on arrival.

When Richmond returned from the hospital, he was near collapse. He tried to say that Power was dead, but broke down in tears and rushed to his own trailer.

Performers and technical staff members clustered in little groups around the ice-cold set. they seemed unbelieving. It had happened so fast. Miss Lollobrigida, who was playing the role of Sheba, burst into tears when informed of Power's death. "I was just talking with him a few minutes ago," was all she could manage to say.

She summoned her physician husband, Dr. Milko Skofic from Rome to Madrid to be with her.

Mrs. Power was placed under sedatives even before being taken to the hospital to see the body of her husband. She was half-carried to the hotel and a physician ordered her kept in bed.

Co-star George Sanders, tears streaming over his makeup said: "I can't believe it. He was such a sweet person and a fine specimen of manhood."

The the body will be flown to the United States by military plane for burial, probably tomorrow. It was removed form the hospital and taken to the U.S. Air Force Base at Torejon, 13 miles from Madrid.

Plans for disposition of the body had been delayed because the widow was too distraught for several hours to discuss the matter with U.S. embassy officials.

There was no mention of religious ceremonies. Power was born a Roman Catholic. Power's death was a duplicate of that of his father, Tyrone Power the 2nd. His father was stricken on the set of a picture, "The Miracle Man." He died several house later in the arms of his son.

Studio officials said Power had a heart checkup a few weeks ago. Although some concern was felt about his health, no one dreamed his life was in danger.

WORK FILM STOPPED

All work halted on the color film. Director King Vidor said the United Artists Company in Hollywood would have to decide whether it should be scrapped. Vidor said there was still a month of shooting, including the love scenes, to be done.

"In these circumstances," he said, "we would have to replace Power with another actor. I think we will be able to use all battle scenes already shot with Ty, and re-do the close-ups using his successor. Obviously the picture is facing a grave situation at this particular moment. I don't know what we'll do. I've ordered that all shooting be discontinued."

Power was born in Cincinnati, May 5, 1914. Like his father, Tyrone Power 2d, his father Tyrone Power 2d, also had been a great theatrical star in his day.

Solomon was the 26the starring role for Power in a 22-year career as one of Hollywood's top romantic stars.

The thrice-married Power had been determined to make this his greatest picture since he burst on the Hollywood scene in 1936 as the dashing young broker in "Lloyds of London", a film currently making the rounds of TV late shows.

POWER BEGAN AS AN USHER

CINCINNATI, Nov. 15 (UPI)--Movie actor Tyrone Power was a young soft-spoken youth, who at 28 years ago carried cups of water to projectionists in the old Orpheum Theatre here.

Max Tull, the chief projectionist, recalled that Power who died today in Spain, wanted to be a football player rather than an actor. "He always told me he wanted to be an athlete, a football player mostly." Tull said. "When he came back to the Orpheum in 1940 for the premiere of the "Mark of Zorro", he was a star but I didn't recognize him."

Tull said Power would carry the water as part of his job as an usher. Then he would go back to ushering and watch parts of the movies on the screen, on which he someday would star.

TY'S DEBBIE CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S GONE
Serge Fliergers [NY Journal-American Correspondent]

PARIS, Nov. 15--The women in his life mourned Ty Power today.

Debbie Ann Minardos Power still won't believe her husband is dead. This correspondent just talked on the telephone with Ted Richmond, producer of "Solomon and Sheba," the film that starred Ty in his last tragic role. "she just refuses to believe her husband is gone," Richmond said. He was the one who had to break the news to Debbie, who is expecting a child in February.

"She's up there in her room so shocked she cannot even cry. Dry sobs are shaking her." Richmond said from Madrid's Castellana Hilton Hotel.

Richmond said he is making plans for Debbie and Power's body to fly to California Wednesday. this correspondent informed Linda Christian of Ty's death as she arrived in Paris on the Nord Express from Amsterdam, where she had celebrated her birthday with her father.

"I knew some tragedy would happen to Ty," the blonde star wailed as we drove in a limousine from the station. "An astrologer had told me last summer something would happen to Ty," Linda disclosed. "I didn't tell Ty anything because I know how much he loved life. "Once just after we were married I asked him where we should be buried and he told me, 'never speak tome of death.'"

Linda asked me about Ty's last moments and when I informed her that he died on the set she sighed: "he met his end as he would have liked to--swiftly and right in the midst of his work."

Linda is the mother of Ty's two girls, Romina and Taryn. She said that now that he is dead, she doesn't know how she will support the children, who are with her family in Mexico, but she said she believed Ty left life insurance in her or the children's names. "All this doesn't matter in the face of this tragedy," she said. Linda said her heart went out to Ty's present wife, Debbie--"I know how she must feel. "Tragedy seems to haunt the men I love," Linda confessed, gripping my arm as we rode through the still streets of Paris. "The first man I loved, the Englishman Geoffrey Wilson, was killed at El Alamein. The Marquis Portago (auto racer) came into my life. One day I had a terrible presentiment almost one of clairvoyance.

"Fon (nickname for Alfonso), I told him if you go to the race in Italy I shall bring you back on a slab and bury you beside your father." "He looked at me with wondering eyes. Then he died. "Now Ty is dead, I don't know what to do. "But I vow to bring up our children to honor his memory."

Then Linda took a letter from her handbag. It was from Power to the little daughters he adored. with breaking voice Linda read:

"My dearest Romina and Taryn, I hope you and the family are well. I think of you all the time. Be good girls and work hard in school so that your mummy and daddy can be proud of you."

In a little French hamlet near the Spanish border another woman wept for Ty. she is his first wife, French movie actress Annabella, now retired. As I talked to her on the telephone she was crying unashamedly. "A great wonderful man is now gone. It's an unbelievable tragedy for all of us who knew and loved him--but most of all a tragedy for Ty. "For Ty was looking forward to what he wanted most in the world. Not fame or fortune--but a son."

Annabella said she saw Ty and his third wife Debbie five days ago in Madrid. "We had dinner together and Ty confessed to me that he was expecting the most happy event in his life--the birth of a son."

POWER AIDED HEART APPEAL

HOLYWOOD, Nov. 15--(UPI)--Tyrone Power's last film work in Hollywood before leaving for Madrid was in an appeal for aid in the battle against heart disease, the malady that took his life today.

The film shows the actor sitting in an easy hair dressed in a robe and wearing the beard he grew for "Solomon and Sheba." He picks up an hour glass, thoughtfully looks at it, turns it upside down and says, as the sands run out: "for all of us, especially the medical scientists, the most precious element we have is time. But the time runs out all too soon for many millions of us because of a health enemy that takes more lives than all other dreaded diseases combined. "Remember, the best way to fight heart disease is through you American Heart Association."

"RITES HELD FOR ACTOR"
November 15, 1958

MADRID (AP).--Movie stars and stagehands paid their final respects Sunday to Tyrone Power at a memorial service at the U.S. Torrejon Air Base.

The 45-year-old actor suffered a heart attack on the motion picture set of "Solomon and Sheba" during a duel scene Saturday and died an hour later. Sunday his body was lying in state in the Torrejon Base hospital with only members of the "Solomon and Sheba" company and close friends being admitted.

Telegrams Pour In

Air Force Chaplain Floyd M. Patterson conducted the memorial service in a chapel in the base service club.

Thousands of telegrams of condolences continued arriving from throughout the world. Among those wiring the grief stricken widow, the former Debbie Ann Minardos, were Noel Coward, Charles Laughton, Vivien Leigh, Bioly Wilder and Director Henry Hathaway.

A spokesman for the "Solomon and Sheba" company said no final decision had yet been reached on the place of burial. The young widow, a bride of only a few months who is expecting a baby in February, intends to fly to Hollywood with the body and burial probably will be in a Hollywood cemetary.

"MUST STOP, SAYS TY--DIES"
TYRONE POWER DIES AT 45
New York Mirror, Sunday, November 16, 1958

MADRID, Nov. 15--Tyrone Power died suddenly today as he had lived--in the creation of a legend. He was 45.

The handsome, dashing hero of stage and film collapsed with a heart attack on a movie set at the height of a gripping scene in which he portrayed the great biblical King Solomon. Halting in mid-action, he said, "I've got to stop. I don't feel well." Within the hour, he was dead.

His beautiful, brunette bride of five months, Debbie Ann Minardos, who is expecting a baby in February, was overcome by uncontrollable grief after crying out at the news: "I don't believe it, I don't believe it."

A few hours after his death, arrangements were made to fly the body to the U.s. by military plane, probably tomorrow. the body had been removed to the U.S. Air Force Base at Torejon, 13 miles from Madrid and plans were held up for some time because his widow was too shocked to discuss arrangements with embassy officials.

There was no mention of religious ceremonies. Ty was born a Roman Catholic. Ty died shortly after being rushed to a hospital in the car of his leading lady, Gina Lollobrigida.

Equally stunned by tragedy were Annabella, Ty's first wife, who had loved him to the end, and his second mate and mother of his two children, Linda Christian, who swayed, broke into tears and exclaimed: "Oh my god. Ty, Ty..."

Mourned Annabella: "He was a man of wonderful kindness. for me, he is irreplaceable."

Ty's death was a shocking duplicate of that of his actor-father, Frederick Tyrone Power, who was stricken fatally on a Hollywood set while filming the "Miracle Man" in 1931.

It came as Ty jousted with veteran actor George Sanders, 52, who was playing Solomon's older brother in the picture--"Solomon and Sheba"--and who was to be killed in the action. Instead of applying the finishing touches, however, Ty suddenly held up his hand weakly to signify "cut," lit a cigarette and murmured: "I've got to stop. I don't feel well." He walked slowly to his dressing room and a nurse was summoned. In the dressing room, Ty asked Producer Ted Richmond for brandy, saying: "I'll be all right in a little while."

When Richmond suggested postponing the scene. Ty smiled feebly and said: "No. Just give me a few minutes and we'll go on."

Ty took a little sip of brandy and pitched to the floor. While the rest of the crew watched in disbelief, Richmond helped cart Ty to Gina's red Mercedes sedan, parked in front of Ty's dressing room, and rushed him to the hospital.

When the announcement of his death from angina pectoris--came, director King Vidor, who had stopped all shooting sat down on the floor and, in the words of Richmond, "cried like a baby."

Gina collapsed and was nearly incoherent as she sobbed: "It was terrible, terrible. I still see his face before me." She said that earlier she had noticed Ty had gone "white in the face" and she had told him he must take care of himself, that he had been working too hard. but he just said: "It's nothing, I'll be all right." Richmond, who was at the bedside when Ty died, left immediately to tell Debbie Ann, 26, who had wed him only last May 8 in tunica, Miss.

The death ended a brilliant career in which Ty, scion of a long line of actors, came out of Cincinnati to captivate the hearts of Hollywood and movie fans as few ever had done before or since.

Handsome, gifted with charm, poise and ease of manners he was the stuff women's dreams are made of. Withall, he was undeniably masculine and rose to fame on the wings of swashbuckling parts in romantic films.

BORN IN CINCINNATI on May 5, 1913, he had his first stage role at 7. After graduating from high school, he began preparing for a theatrical career instead of going to college. He studied Shakespearean drama under the tutelage of his father, who himself had been taught by Ty's grandfather and great grandfather, the latter being Tyrone Power, who was a popular comedian on the Dublin stage as far back as 1827. The Power baptismal name sprung form County Tyrone, Ireland, and has been passed down through the generations.

When the father was at work in the "Miracle Man," the family moved to Hollywood. After the elder Power was stricken, Ty, convinced he would be unable to get a break in Hollywood, turned to stock work i Chicago.

In 1936, he got his big break--a 20th Century contract and his starring role n "Lloyds of London."

From that time on, he was one of the brightest lights in Hollywood history. In the late 30s and early 40s--prior to the war--he was THE box office attraction.

HE STARRED IN such films as "Alexander's Ragtime Band,"; "Marie Antoinette"; "Jesse James" (whom he made more legendary even than Jesse was); "Brigham Young"; "Johnny Apollo"; "The Mark of Zorro"; "The Sun Also Rises"; "The Rains Came", and "The Eddie Duchin Story."

when World War II came, he tossed it all over and enlisted as a private in the Marines. when a friend asked why he didn't apply for a commission, Ty replied "Why should I (?) what the hell do I know about being an officer."

Whatever he needed to know, he learned quickly at Officers Candidate School, took flight training and logged 3,500 flight hours piloting a transport plane for the Marines in the Pacific. He was discharged as a captain in 1945.

WHEN HE RETURNED from service, Ty, who had married Annabella, the French actress, in 1939, became restless and chafed under the usual dashing roles he was asked to continue. He explained: "Right now freedom is the greatest thing in the world to me. Nothing else matters."

Soon, in 1948, he was free from Annabella, the woman who was older than he but of whom he always insisted: "She helped me discover in myself more than I've ever been able to find alone."

He used his newfound freedom--he and Annabella had no children, though she had one by a previous marriage--to travel all over the world. His romances with Hollywood and foreign lovelies were many and included a brief but hectic fling with Lana Turner.

AND THEN ON JAN. 26, 1949, the day his divorce became final, he surprised everybody by wedding global wanderer Linda Christian in a ceremony which movie fans turned into a near-riot in Rome.

The couple had two daughters, Romina Francesca, and Taryn, before the marriage ended in divorce and million-dollar settlement for Linda in 1955.

Since that time, Ty had eschewed Hollywood to go on the stage in playing "Mr. Roberts" in London, touring with "John Brown's Body" and on Broadway with "The Dark is Light Enough" and "Back to Methusaleh." He returned to Hollywood only occasionally, the last time to introduce his bride.

BUT FOR TY, the Hollywood he had known and loved, was gone. He remarked: "Movies used to be of supreme importance in Hollywood. Now they are only an adjunct. Many of the old familiar faces are gone."

His death was the more unexpected as he had had a physical checkup only a few days ago and was pronounced fit. His makeup man and friend of many years, Ray Sebastian, said he had an attack of dysentery two days ago, but had recovered in time for the difficult dueling scene.

STUDIO MAY TRY TO FINISH WITHOUT TY

HOLLYWOOD, Nov. 15--The producers of the $6,000,000 film "Solomon and Sheba", will try to finish it without Tyrone Power.

Edward Small, production head, said a final decision will be made shortly whether to complete it with a stand-in. There still is a months' shooting to be done--including some love scenes--which might make a stand-in impractical.

3 Who Loved Him Mourn Their Loss

PARIS, Nov. 15--The three main women in Tyrone Power's life--those who had loved and wed him--were as one in their grief for him today.

Debbie Ann Minardos, the bride he left behind, was too shaken to even weep. Wracked by dry sobs, she said she "Won't believe it."

Annabella, who wed him first, said a large part of her own life had died with Ty. "Only last week we were together," she said. "He had invited me to meet his new little wife, whom he adored. He is irreplaceable for me."

And Linda Christian, his second wife, almost fainted when she heard the news. She sobbed: "Oh Ty, Ty...I'm at a loss for words! And the poor children, to lose their father like that!"

Only yesterday, said Linda, she received a letter--his last--to the children and said she was planning to take it to them n Mexico. In it, Ty told his daughters: "Be good girls and work hard in school, so Mummy and daddy can be proud of you. Hugs and kisses to you both and all the love from your daddy." Crumbling the letter in trembling hands, Linda, obviously badly shaken, then exclaimed: "And now he's dead! He will never write then another letter." Tyrone' s death was the second such shock for Linda within a year. The Marquis de Portago of Spain, whom she was to wed, was killed in an auto race in Italy in 1957.

As for Ty, it was left to Annabella to sum up the thoughts of all three women when she said: "The most wonderful man in the world is gone."

BRYNNER TO ASSUME TYRONE POWER ROLE
New York Times; Nov. 16, 1958

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Nov. 16--Yul Brynner will assume the starring role in "Solomon and Sheba", which Tyrone Power was playing when he died of a heart attack yesterday on the set of the film in Madrid. Mr. Brynner will leave for Spain at the end of this week.

Edward Small, producer, said today at his home in Palm springs that the multimillion-dollar production "will have to be virtually reshot." It was about two-thirds completed.

He said that King Vidor, director, plans to continue filming by shooting sequences not involving the title character until Mr. Brynner arrives. The leading lady is Gina Lollobrigida.

By a turn of the fate, Mr. Brynner now is to be associated with a picture that he had turned down originally. Mr. small said Mr. Power at one time also had declined to do the picture but accepted after the script was revised. He said that Mr. Brynner found the current script to his liking and that no major changes are planned for the screen play.

"Solomon and Sheba" is being made for United Artists release and has a production budget of $5,000,000. The picture was covered partly by insurance against accidents, Mr. Small stated, but he could not estimate the amount of the additional costs.

Service Held in Madrid

MADRID, Nov. 16 (AP)--film stars and stagehands paid final respects today to Tyrone Power at a memorial service at the United States Torrejon Air Force Base.

The 44 year old actor suffered a heart attack on the motion picture set of "Solomon and Sheba" during a duel scene yesterday and died an hour later. His body lay in the Torrejon Base Hospital today with only members of the "Solomon and Sheba" company and close friends being admitted.

Floyd M. Patterson, Air Force Chaplain, conducted the memorial service in a chapel in the base service club.

SCHEMING TYRONE POWER FAKED LOVE FOR SONJA HENIE TO GET THE ROLE THAT MADE HIM A STAR
"Star", June 11, 1985

In the Thirties, Sonja Henie was the queen of the ice, the undisputed star of ice skating. she was destined to turn her success on skates into a movie career. Further rising fame as a film Star couldn't match the notoriety of her affair with the dashing young actor Tyrone Power. In part one of the STAR'S exclusive two-part series from the book, Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie (Stein and Day) by Raymond Strait and Sonja's brother, Leif Henie, The authors tell how Power used Sonja to further his career and how he left her in the dust when he found another woman.

Tyrone Power, who worked his way through romances at a fast clip, soon discovered the new girl at Fox Studios. always a date but never a bridegroom, the handsome young actor was photographed often with reigning movie queens - Loretta Young, Alice Faye, Janet Gaynor, Betty Grable and Lana Turner.

Whatever ambitions Sonja had in Hollywood, she made a big mistake when she made Tyrone Power a part of them. Sonja met Ty in 1936 when he came onto the set of One in a Million, Sonja's first film. He invited her to lunch, and they soon began a torrid affair.

They saw each other before shooting in the mornings, at lunch, during breaks and after work. Sonja felt no need to sit patiently through the preliminaries of courtship. When she saw something she wanted, she wanted it right away.

Sonja wanted love but she didn't know if she wanted marriage. She was a romantic and simply thought that she was in fairyland. Tyrone Power was Prince charming. Why should she think of marriage?

After returning home from a skating performance in Chicago in 1937, Sonja and her mother went over to Fox Studios to discuss her next film with her boss, Darryl F. Zanuck. It was called thin Ice. Sonja would be a skating instructor who falls in love with a visiting prince.

Zanuck wanted Don Ameche to be Sonja's co-star. "Ameche is colder than a sardine in the wintertime," was Sonja's impertinent response. "Ugh! No, no. I want Ty Power."

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Tyrone Power would be a star of major proportions - no one's mind except Tyrone Power's. He was a very uncertain actor in his early days, and he had difficulty believing that he could make a living in motion pictures.

Darryl Zanuck didn't want to waste Tyrone Power, a serious dramatic actor, in Sonja Henie picture. Sonja's films, he had decided, should be ice, music, skating and costumes. "He said no," Sonja told Power in his dressing room later.

Power didn't so much as bat an eyelash. "He'll come around. It's up to you to make sure that he does." He walked over to Sonja, leaned over the chair and kissed her. "I want to do that picture."

Zanuck later threatened to suspend Sonja, but she was not to be moved by pleas or threat. "I won't let you have Tyrone Power. That's final!"

Sonja stood up as if to leave. "I've got a suggestion for you, Mr. Zanuck. Why don't you teach Shirley Temple how to skate and let her do the picture with Mr. Ameche!" Sonja already knew that Shirley Temple's mother demanded and got whatever she wanted.

Had Sonja not been so popular, Zanuck would have fired her. But the public saw Sonja as a grown Shirley Temple.

Before Sonja was out of sight he had begun dictating memos to all departments that Tyrone Power would be Sonja's co-star in the new picture.

Sonja, so taken with the handsome Power, was unable to see that she's been used by the actor to further build his own career and not, as she thought, to be near his love.

thin Ice broke all records at the box office.

Meanwhile, Power emphatically denied to the public that he would marry anyone, and to really close friends, he added certainly not to Sonja Henie. "Marriage?" he responded to a questioner. "Not for a very long time. I don't even know what kind of girl I'd want to marry."

The message to Sonja was that Ty Power wasn't interested in marriage, just his career.

But in 1938, the French actress Annabella was named in columns as Ty's new flame and soon announced her engagement to Power. Sonja didn't believe it.

"Ty would not do a thing like this without telling me first," she told reporters.

"I don't believe it is true."

It was true and, for Sonja, quite painful. Of all the men who ever entered and left her life, only one ever held her heart--Tyrone Power.

TYRONE POWER, 44, DIES IN SPAIN ; STRICKEN AFTER DUEL ON FILM SET
New York Times ; Nov. 16, 1958

MADRID. Nov. 15--Tyrone Power died here today of a heart attack after a dueling scene on a movie set of "Solomon and Sheba." His age was 44.

Mr. Power's death paralleled that of his father. Frederick Tyrone Power, who was stricken fatally on a Hollywood set in 1931. The acting tradition of the family began with his great-grandfather. Tyrone Power, who was a popular comedian on the Dublin stage in 1827. The baptismal name came from County of Tyrone, Ireland.

A virtual stranger in recent years to Hollywood, where he made his fame and fortune, Mr. Power as starring in "Solomon and Sheba" with Gina Lollobrigida. He appeared on the set today for a dueling scene in the role of Solomon with George Sanders, splaying the role of Solomon's older brother.

During the filming, Mr. Power complained of a pain in his left arm and abdomen. He was rushed to a hospital at 11:30 a.m., and died within an hour.

Mr. Power's third wife, the former Mrs. Deborah Minardos, was with him here. She is expecting a child in February. They were married early this year.

The body of the actor as transferred tonight by funeral coach from the hospital to the United States Torrejon Air Force Base. A funeral service will be held there tomorrow.

Mrs. Power intends to fly to Hollywood in a chartered plan with her husband's body. the date of departure has not yet been fixed.

In Palm Springs, Calif., Edward Small, producer of "Solomon and Sheba," said today it was too early to determine whether the film would have to be scrapped because of Mr. Power's death.

"It was about two-thirds completed," Mr. Small said. "We started shooting Sept. 15 and planned to finish Dec. 15."

He said films sometimes could be completed by a double it all close-ups had been made.

******

Won Reputation on Stage

Hollywood hardly noticed Tyrone Power when he started making the rounds of casting offices in 1931. five years later, however ,he was signed to a seven-year contract on the basis of his reputation as an actor on the Broadway stage.

Katharine Cornell gave Mr. Power his start here as general understudy to the three male leads in "Flowers of the Forest" in 1935. His salary was $30 a week. A year later he was seen as Benvolio in "Romeo and Juliet" and as Bertrand de Poulengy in "Saint Joan," with Miss Cornell as the star in both plays.

Then came the return to Hollywood to carry on the tradition set by Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Mr. Power won immediate success with one of his first pictures, "Lloyds of London," in 1936. In 1941 he played the bullfighter in "Blood and Sand," the role Valentino had in the original production twenty years earlier.

By this time, Mr. power's success had added more than a few pounds to his lanky, 6-foot frame. But a year later he was back in fighting trim as a transport pilot with the Marine Corps. He spent four years on duty in the Pacific and at his death held the rank of major in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Mr. Power was born in Cincinnati on May 5, 1941. His grandfather, Harold Power, was a Shakespearean actor. At 7, he was a supporting player to his father in a play given at the San Gabriel Mission. while his father coached him in dramatics, his mother, whose stage name was Patia Power, helped him to perfect his voice and diction.

After the season with Miss Cornell, Mr. Power was signed to a contract with Twentieth Century-Fox. His association with the company spanned nineteen years, with time out for was service.

Generally, Mr. Power was the dashing rescuer of the lady in distress. He was serious and rather stiff, but darkly handsome and always ready to swing across the courtyard, if necessary, to meet his pursuers in head-on battle.

Mr. Power broke away from Fox in 1955 to form an independent company, Copa Productions, with Ted Richmond, a Hollywood director, as his partner.

In the more than forty films in which Mr. Power starred, critics occasionally fond fault with his characterizations and the unyielding solemnity with which he played each role. But his voice, with its vibrant deepness, was his greatest asset.

He used it to advantage when he returned to Broadway in 1953 to join Judith Anderson and Raymond Massey in a concert reading of "John Brown's Body." The production of Stephen Vincent Bennett's poetic narrative at the Century Theatre was directed by Charles Laughton.

Although Mr. Power was a movie idol for the generation of bobby-soxers, and the top box office star in Hollywood in 1940 [sic], he never felt far from the stage. In 1950 he spent six months in London playing the lead in "Mister Roberts."

In 1955 he played opposite Miss Cornell in Christopher Fry's verse drama, "The Dark is Light Enough" at the ANTA Theatre on Broadway. A year later he was Shaw's "The Devil's Disciple" in Dublin. Early this year, he returned to Broadway again in Shaw's "Back to Methuselah."

However, the bulk of Mr. Power's career was on film in such vehicles as "The Captain From Castile," "The Sun Also Rise", "King of the Khyber Rifles," "The Eddie Duchin Story," "Abandon Ship," and "Witness for the Prosecution."

He also played Sgt. Marty Maher, West Point's venerable athletic trainer, in "The Long Gray Line."

Earlier pictures included "The Mark of Zorro," "Rose of Washington Square," "Suez," "Jesse James," and "Nightmare Alley." He also starred in "The Rains Came" and "the Black Swan," and had the lead roles in "The Razor's Edge," "An American Guerrilla in the Philippines," "The Mississippi Gambler" and "This Above All."

Mr. Power met his first wife, the French actress Annabella, when he joined her in the cast of "Suez." they were married in 1939 and divorced in 1948. A year later he married Linda Christian, another actress, in Rome, where his fans ran wild after the ceremony. Miss Christian is the mother of his two daughters, Romina Francesca, 7, and Taryn, 5. The marriage was dissolved in 1956.

TY WAS BORN TO THE STAGE
Made Professional Debut at 17
New York Journal ; Nov. 16, 1958

To Tyrone Power, who made a fortune as a film actor, Hollywood money was not a major importance.

That was why he periodically returned to the stage for less successful but, to him, more satisfying ventures.

"You don't have to always do everything for loot, do you?" he explained in 1955

But in his occasional returns to the stage, the classically handsome, tall, slender Power may unconsciously have been impelled by a family tradition.

LONG LINE OF ACTORS

Unlike many Hollywood stars, Power came from a family of solid, distinguished theatrical background. His great-grandfather, the first Tyrone Power, was a foremost performer on the Dublin and London stages.

His grandfather, Harold Power, was an eminent concert pianist in England and Ireland.

The grandfather revived the name Tyrone which the family got from County Tyrone, Ireland, by naming his son, the screen actor's father Frederick Tyrone Power.

Frederick Tyrone soon dropped the Frederick after becoming a member of the famous Augustin Daly theatrical troupe and starring in numerous Shakespearean vehicles.

The film star's mother was the former Helen Emma Reaune of Indianapolis, whose voice was hailed by critics as one of the most expressive and flexible on the stage and in radio.

BORN IN 1914

The youngest Tyrone came into the world on May 5, 1914, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he spent his early childhood living out of theatrical trunk as his parents trouped to engagements all over the country.

Frail as a toad and extremely sensitive to cold weather, Tyrone and his sister, Ann, were kept in California as often as the family schedule -- and budget -- would allow.

And it was in California that young Tyrone was to make his first stage appearance. His mother known in the theatre as Patia Power, had a role in [___] Andrina" at the old Theatre Gabriel. [________]

His performance was warmly received y critics but 10 years were to elapse before Tyrone went on the stage again. There was his education, meanwhile and Tyrone attended the Sisters of Mercy Academy and St. Xavier Academy in Cincinnati.

He graduated in 1931 from Purcell High School, a Brothers of Mary institution in Cincinnati, and decided against a college education. He preferred to get a grounding in Shakespearean drama from his father.

Tyrone's first professional theatrical appearance almost ended in disaster. He was 17 and assuming a character part "The Merchant of Venice" at the Chicago civic auditorium. In the cast were his father, Fritz Leiberk William Faversham and Helen Menken.

In one stage action, Leiber, playing a heavy role, picked up a gouge stage knife. While brandishing it, the weapon slipped out of his hand. It flew past Tyrone's head and lodged in the scenery at Tyrone's back, almost to the hilt.

Tyrone unmoved by the incident but his father and Leiber were so upset they could barely continue.

GOES TO HOLLYWOOD

Tyrone went to Hollywood with his parents in 1931 when his father was cast in the film, "The Miracle Man."

But the fate in store for the father was the same as was to befall the son yesterday. the elder Power was taken ill on the set and died--in his sons arms

Tyrone remained briefly in Hollywood, trying to get work. But producers turned him down because of his youth and because they feared he could never measure up to his father.

With his mother and sister, Tyrone then moved to Santa Barbara. He sharpened his talents in the Community theatre there and then went to Chicago, landing in Century of Progress Theatre production in the same cast with Don Ameche. They were to become life-long friends.

Other parts followed in Chicago and then Tyrone came to New York, where he got an introduction to Guthrie McClintic, producer, and husband of Katherine Cornell. Tyrone appeared in two plays with Miss Cornell and at last attracted Hollywood.

Returning to the film capital, he appeared in several pictures, making a smash hit in the lead of "Lloyds of London."

His career assured, Tyrone went on to make a total of 37 pictures.

Tyrone interrupted his career eight months after Pearl Harbor to enlist in the Marine Corps as a private. He rose to first lieutenant.

Among his notable films were CAFE METROPOLE ALEXANDER'S RAGTIME BAND, THE ROSE OF WASHINGTON SQUARE, JOHNNY APOLLO, BLOOD AND SAND, A YANK IN THE RAF, THE RAZOR'S EDGE AND CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE.

From 1938 to 1940 he was Hollywood's top money man.

In 1952, Tyrone left Hollywood to make stage appearances with Miss Cornell in "The Dark is Light Enough" and to tour in "Back to Methuselah" and to give readings of "John Brown's Body." He also played in the London production of "Mr. Roberts."

He was married three times and has two daughters, Romina and Taryn, born of the marriage to Linda Christian. He also leaves a sister Mrs. Leslie Tyler of Honolulu.

TY'S FIRST SON
Born to Widow of Two Months
January 23, 1959

HOLLYWOOD (UPI)--the only son of Tyrone Power was born yesterday--two months after the famous actor died.

The five pound 12 ounce baby will be named Tyrone William Power, thus carrying on a name made famous on the American stage and screen by his father and grandfather.

Mrs. Deborah Power, 27, and the baby were in excellent condition at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital where the birth took place.

"He's beautiful. black hair and he has a dimple in his chin exactly like Tyrone," Mrs. Power said. "He looks exactly like his father."

She said the baby was given his middle name for director William Wilder, a friend of Power.

The former Mississippi coed and Power, 44, were married last May 8 at Tunica, Miss. the actor died of a heart attack Nov. 15 while working on a movie in Madrid, Spain.

It was the third marriage for Power. He was first wed to French actress Annabella and his second wife was actress Linda Christian by whom he had two daughters, Taryn, 6, and Romina Francecsa, 8. Miss Christian has custody of both children.

MRS. POWER REWED
Widow of Actor Is Married to Arthur Loew Jr.
October 26, 1959

LAS VEGAS. Nev. Oct. 26 (AP)-- Mrs. Deborah Minardos Power, widow of actor Tyrone Power, and Arthur Lowe Jr., the producer, were married today.

The ceremony was performed by Justice of the Peach Oscar Bryan at the El Rancho Vegas Hotel. Beldon Katleman, owner of the hotel, was best man.

It was the first marriage for Mr. Loew and the third for Mrs. Power. Before her marriage to Mr. Power she was the wife of Nico Minardos, an actor. They were divorced in 1955.

Mr. Power died of a heart attack in Spain of Nov. 15, 1958. Two months after his death, a son was born to his wife.

MRS. PATIA POWER DIES
Mother of Tyrone Power Never Knew of Son's Death
September 30, 1959

CANTEBURY, N.H. Sept. 29 (UPI)--Mrs. Patia Power, mother of the late Tyrone Power, screen star, died today without ever having learned that the actor had died nearly a year ago.

Mrs. Power, who was 77 years old, resided here with her daughter, Mrs. Ann Hardenbergh. she had been too ill to be told of her son's death last Nov. 15

Mrs. Power's maiden name was Helen Emma Reaume. Patia was her stage name. Her son died of a heart attack in Madrid, Spain, after having made a dueling scene for the movie "Solomon and Sheba."

Mrs. Power was the widow of Frederick Tyrone Power, also an actor, and who, like his son, was fatally stricken on a movie set. The father's death occurred in Hollywood in 1931.

BLIND DENIED TYRONE POWER'S LEGACY OF EYES
December 9, 1959

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 (AP).--Tyrone Power willed his eyes to a medical foundation to help some blind person but it was not possible to carry out this provision.

This was disclosed today by William Gallagher, the actor's associate for many years.

"The fact that he died in Spain made it impossible to accomplish this," Mr. Gallagher told a reporter. "Actually, we were more or less ignorant of the terms of the will. If death had occurred here we no doubt would have known in time."

Mr. Power's will provided that his eyes go to Estelle Doheney Eye Foundation here for transplanting of the cornea to some blind person.

TYRONE POWER ESTATE SUIT / CLAIMS ON POWER'S ESTATE
1959

The late Tyrone Power's estate had to provide money for three Former wives. Now two of them are saying $70,000 i extraordinary fees are too high for an estate of $273,417.81

Deborah Jean Loew, the actor's widow, and actress Linda Christian, his second wife, filed objections in a Los Angeles court yesterday to a request for $30,000 by co-executors and $40,000 by attorneys for extraordinary services in settling Power's estate.

Both the co-executors and the attorneys are entitled to about $15,000 in statutory fees. They think they should get the extraordinary fees because it took them more than five years to settle the estate. In 1959 it was thought the estate might turn out to be insolvent if all the claims were met--including$294,000 in income taxes.

******************

LOS ANGELES, May 31, 1959-- Tyrone Power's estate has been tapped for $14,000, as amount allegedly advanced to actor during filming of "Solomon and Sheba," in superior Court action brought by Unartisco, overseas subsidiary of United Artists. Largely procedural in nature, suite incorporates claim by Edward Small's Theme Pictures.

It's understood that other claims against estate bring total to around $217,000, including children's claim for $200,000.

AUCTION MARKS DATE OF TY POWER'S DEATH
Born to Widow of Two Months
November 15, 1962 ; by Joseph Mancini

By a twist of fate far-fetched even for a Hollywood scenario, some of Tyrone Power's personal effects were auctioned off on the fourth anniversary of his death.

Articles from the late film idol's estate, once valued at $800,000, went under the hammer yesterday at the Plaza Art Galleries, 406 E. 79th Street.

Gallery officials were surprised to learn that it was four years ago to the day that Power died of a heart attack while filming "Solomon and Sheba" in Spain.

Floral screen Renaissance and baroque mirrors and other trappings reminiscent of the swashbuckling roles that made Power famous adorned the auction house where his property was to be sold. A crowd of about 350, mostly women, jammed the gallery, where normally 200 persons attend sales.

Rockwell Portrait

The main attraction was a full length portrait of Power by Norman Rockwell. A publicity poster for the 1946 movie "The Razor's Edge", it showed Power standing in the foreground with the heads of five of his co-stars etched into the background. It went for $500 to an unidentified man who said he had been a close friend of the actor.

About an hour after the auction began, the staccato spiel of the auctioneer signaled the fist of Power's property to come up for bidding --an ebony spinet piano. It went to a Mrs. Wealleans for $750.

Next was a three-fold canvas screen upon which a land and seascape had been painted. Power's signature was in the lower right-hand corner. It was sold for $725 to Marie Moran an agent, for an unidentified client.

The Rockwell painting was auctioned next, followed by a collection of motion picture and sound equipment used by the actor for personal filming. The equipment went for $300.

SHE WANTS SON TO BE A POWER
December 12, 1963

LOST ANGELES, Dec. 11 (AP)--Tyrone Power's widow told a judge yesterday that she had a sacred moral obligation to see that her son bears the late actor's name. Deborah Power Loew asked the court to set aside adoption of the boy, Tyrone Power Loew, 4, by her divorced husband, movie executive Arthur M. Loew.

DAUGHTER OF TYRONE POWER AND LINDA CHRISTIAN SAYS;
My Mother Talked Me Into Doing Nude Movie Scenes When I Was Only 14
By Jim Allan ; 1969 ; ENQUIRER

"My Mother pressured me into doing nude movie scenes when I was younger," admits Romina Power, the willowy 18 year old daughter of actress Linda Christian and the late Tyrone Power.

"She thought she was doing the right thing because she wanted me to become a big star," Romina told and Enquirer reporter. "At the time I thought it was art. But it was wrong."

Relaxing on a sofa in the six bedroom antique-filled Rome penthouse she shares with her mother and sister, Taryn, Romina fiddled with her chain medallion and continued:

"I was too young to know what men would think when they saw me. I'm sure that if my father had been alive to give me good advice, I wouldn't have made these mistakes.

"I don't really want to judge my mother for what she did. She acted in good faith and has always tried to do her best for me and Taryn. But I know now I shouldn't have done those naked scenes."

Romina conceded she was partly to blame. "In those days, my mother and I chose my films together. She used to tell me that when sex is for art there's nothing wrong with it. And I believe her.

"But," she added, her pretty face hardening a bit, "I've certainly no intention of letting her guide me any more. I don't want to sound too nasty about her, but I'm telling the truth."

Romina said she has made 13 movies thus far "and I don't really like any of them." In three of them-- all Italian films--she appeared naked.

At 14, she did a nude sunbathing scene in "How to Learn to Love Women," with only a pigtail covering her.

At 15, she appeared naked in "Italian Marriage," in which she played the part of the "other woman" in a love triangle.

At 16, she was the often nude "Justine" in the title role of the Marquis de Sade's tale of an innocent girl victimized by sadistic men.

What particularly disturbed her about acting in these films were the snide remarks she overheard--about the type of girl who would do nude films.

She said, "I think the mistake I made was in not staying on at school. I should have started making movies later when I knew exactly what I was doing--like now."

Romina started choosing films without her mother's help about a year ago. "It was not a mutual agreement," she said. "I just stopped taking her advice. And now that I'm over 18 I can sign my own contracts."

She doesn't fight with her mother, Romina insisted, but feels that Linda "should have seen the pitfalls and kept me from falling in them.

"But I don't hold anything against her," she said. "Everyone makes mistakes. Still, I should have thrown off her reins before--yes, like at 14!"

Romina doesn't like being compared with her mother.

As for her father, Tyrone Power, she said: "I don't think of him as a god, but he was a very good actor and a very sensitive human being.

"When I have a decision to make, I sometimes think of what he might have suggested. It's different what you have a father and mother than when you have just one opinion. You tend to make fewer mistakes."

Romina said she may get married next year and again she is reported in conflict with her mother. Romina's love is Al Bano, a 26-year-old Italian pop singer with whom she has been going steady for three years. Linda was once quoted as criticizing Bano for having dirty fingernails.

But Romina defended him, saying: "He's not like any of the boys I've met. He doesn't chase after success and money. His parents are simple farmers. He is just like them and is very attached to them.

"I have never had any friends. I could never get along with people my own age. They were always interested in baby things. But I wasn't looking for anyone special. It just happened," she says, was that she grew up too fast.

"I wouldn't call myself a normal teen-ager," she said. "There were always photographers around. I never had a real home. We were always moving from one place to another.

"I suppose," she continued, "that producers would never have thought of asking me to do films at such an early age if it hadn't been for my name. yet I'm proud to be called Power and I'd really like to show I can act."

She will get another opportunity to demonstrate her ability when she starts filming the musical, "Midnight of Love," this summer.

And in it, Romina won't have to strip.

ACTRESS LINDA CHRISTIAN: I'M ABLE TO PREDICT THE FUTURE
'I Foretold the Deaths of My Ex-Husband Tyrone Power and a Famous Racing Driver'
National Enquirer ; October 2, 1974
By Donald McLachlan

"Clairvoyance, ESP, parapsychology--I'm not sure what you call it, but I've got it. I've always been able to predict the future for other people."

So says Linda Christian, who revealed that she accurately predicted the deaths of her first husband, Tyrone Power, and racing driver Alfunso de Portago.

"Tyrone was upset and did not want to hear my prediction.

"He didn't believe me and said, 'If that's so, why not hand around and bury me?' But sure enough, it happened exactly the way I said it would."

Tyrone Power and Miss Christian divorced during October 1954. The handsome actor married socialite Deborah Minardos during May 1958, and died Nov. 15 1958 -- while filming on location.

Miss Christian, the grandmother of two, said she met racecar driver de Portago in Paris late in 1956.

"Someone told him I could see into the future," she said, "and he kept insisting that I tell him what was in store for him. suddenly, I looked at him and said, 'My goodness, what is it you do that's going to cut your life in half?"

"He laughed and told me he was a racing driver. That's when I told him that I saw great danger in his future. He treated what I told him like a joke and I remember being furious. But six months later he was dead."

Alfunso de Portago was killed May 12, 1957, while driving in the famous Italian Mille Miglia race.

"When I predict something," Miss Christian said, "and hear that it's happened, I always react as though I've been in a head-on collision.

"It stops me in my tracks everytime.

"Fortunately, I don't always predict bad things - but people seem to forget to happy things I predict and remember the bad thing. That is the way it always is.

"I've predicted a lot of things about my daughters. Romina and Taryn," added Miss Christian.

"But when I try to tell them what is going to happen they think it's a mother's lecture and they ignore me. So--like most mothers -- I have given up trying to tell them anything.

FANS MEET TO RECALL Tyrone POWER
A Few Note 27th Anniversary of His Death
Los Angeles Times ;January 23, 1985
By Patt Morrison, Times Staff Writer

New York TV producer David Susskind, awkwardly trying to make small talk with a young assistant not long ago, finally confessed that he really missed Tyrone Power. The assistant admitted that she had never driven one of those.

Outside the gates of Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery on Friday, across Los Angeles, were thousands of people who had never driven one of those either.

But inside about 50 people, from his toddler grandchildren to his aging fans, gathered at actor Tyrone Power' whit marble tomb, 27 years to the day after he died on a movie set in Spain.

The Power face, the Power name--a name that was a London stage headliner back when only coyotes and rattlesnakes had the run of Hollywood--doesn't ring bells with the TV generation the way it once rang cash register chimes at the box office.

Still Draws a Crowd

But Power, the stage actor turned reluctant swashbuckler whose movie roles paralleled those of Rudolph Valentino, who likewise lies entombed not far away, proved Friday that he can still draw a Hopwood crowd. the crowd members ranged from a woman wearing a fur coat against the 70 degree "chill", to a street person who repeatedly warned, "I might have to leave to do a movie tonight," to fans who have followed movie stars for decades from opening nights to last rites.

It was a far quieter scene than 27 years earlier, when Power, the star of "Witness for the Prosecution," "the Razor's Edge" and "Captain From Castile," was buried. then 3,000 shoving fans mobbed celebrity mourners, one woman kissing the hearse as it took the body to the grave.

Among those gathered Friday was Tyrone Lamont, 45, whose movie smitten mother named him after Power, and Taryn Power, the daughter whose first memory of her father was as a 5 year old kneeling at his graveside, the place where she stood Friday with a small sheaf f white carnations, her father's favorite flower.

Power's daughter said she finds it "very touching and very moving that people still come to pay respects to my father."

Recites Favorite Poem

She has come here for perhaps 10 of the 27 memorial services over the years. But Friday was "the first time I've ever done anything like this," and in quick, nervous words, she recited her father's favorite poem. It was a verse, "High Flight," written by a Canadian air force pilot, in which the pilot writer "put out my hand and touched the face of God."

"That's real heavy," said Frank Bowler, 20, black jacketed with a long brush-cut. the Christian New Wave musician, down from San Francisco to answer a citation for making too much noise preaching in Hollywood, came to honor his late grandmother, "a big fan," and found the cemetery to be "the most peaceful place in Hollywood, so I applied for a job here. I'd do anything to work in this place."

Actor Lawrence Tierney, who unlike many in the crowd had at least met Power, delivered a eulogy that scolded as "despicable" the writers who have chronicled the alleged bisexual activities of the three-married actor who on film regularly romanced such leading ladies as Anne Baxter and Rita Hayworth.

when it was over, when the Marine honor guard had stepped off, when autograph books had been signed and the regulars had dispersed, cheerily calling out "See you next year!" Mary Romanek still stood looking at the tomb.

"I've been a fan for about 10 years," said the Santa Monica woman, 29, who collects Power movie posters and finagles friends to driving her to see him films. "He had a lot more presence, more charm than the others had. Just the fact you've got this guy dead 27 years, and look at all these people 27 years later--he had to have something special."

TYRONE POWER DIES IN MADRID
New York Sunday News ; By Ralph Forte ; November 16, 1958

Tyrone Power Dies as He Lived, in Greasepaint

Madrid, Nov. 15 (Special).--Tyrone Power, 44, whose dark good looks and acting ability made him one of the Hollywood's greatest stars, was fatally stricken by a heart attack today while filming a dueling scene with George Sanders.

He died just after being rushed to a hospital, still clad in the bright robes he word for his part as the Biblical King Solomon.

Power had been in apparent good health. His death left is pretty young wife, the former Deborah Minardos, 26, in a state of shock. She is expecting a child in February.

Lollobrigida Present

Power was stricken in the presence of his co-star, Gina Lollobrigida, as he was going through the strenuous scene with Sanders on the outdoor set of the $6 million film "Solomon and Sheba."

The actor, who had complained earlier of a pain in his left arm and abdomen, suddenly waved his had hand in a "cut" signal at the height of the scene.

"I don't feel well," he told the others on the set. "I'll have to go and lie down for a while,"

Pale and unsteady, he walked to his dressing room and asked his makeup man, Ray Sebastian, for some brandy. but he then became nauseous and found it difficult to breathe.

Sinks Into Coma in Car

Ted Richmond, producer of the movie and a close friend of Power, put the actor in Miss Lollobrigida's car and sped him to the hospital. He became unconscious during the drive.

Death came minutes after arrival at the hospital, as Power was being placed in an oxygen tent.

The actor's death was an unhappy parallel to that of his father, a matinee idol also named Tyrone Power. The elder Power was stricken in 1931 on the set of the movie "The Miracle Man" and died shortly after, with his son by his side.

Underwent a Checkup

Sebastian said Power had suffered an attack of dysentery two days ago by otherwise had appeared in good health. He had undergone a checkup only a few days ago.

His wife received the news from Richmond in her hotel room here. Stunned, she sobbed over and over that he could to be dead. She was taken to the hospital and then returned to her hotel, where she was put to bed under sedative.

The body was transferred tonight to the U.S. Air Force Base at Torrejon, outside Madrid, where a funeral service will be held tomorrow.

Will Be Flown Home

The widow plans to fly with the body to Hollywood in a chartered plane. The time of departure was not fixed.

The couple were married last May 7 in Deborah's home, Tunica Miss. It was the second marriage of Deborah, a dark-harried Southern beauty who was formerly wed to actor Nico Minardos, and the third for Power.

He had previously been wet to actress Annabella, whose real name is Ann Carpentier, and to actress Linda Christian, who bore him two daughters, Tary7n, 5, and Romina Francesca, 8.

Power was immensely popular with his fellow actors.

Richmond broke down when he returned from the hospital to announce that the actor was dead. Miss Lollobrigida wept and called her physician husband, Dr. Milko Skofic, from Rome to be with her.

Sanders, tears streaming down over his makeup, said: "I can't believe it. He was such a sweet person and a fine specimen of manhood."

Annabella Grief-Stricken

Annabella, who had remained a good friend of Power's after their 1948 divorce, was grief-stricken when told the news at her Paris home.

Linda Christian, who had just arrived in Paris, said the death was a "terrible shock." She added: "He always said that if he had to die he wanted his death to be sudden."

About a month of shooting still remained to be done on the film in which Miss Lollobrigida played the Queen of Sheba and Sanders played Adonijah, Solomon's jealous brother. Director King Vidor said United Artists in Hollywood would have to decide whether the color extravaganza should now be scrapped.

HE WAS THE THIRD IN LINE OF TYRONES

Born in Cincinnati on May 5, 1914, Tyrone Power was the third in a line of actors bearing the name Tyrone. His great-grandfather was an Irish comedian and his father a Shakespearian and screen actor. He took his first stage part at 7.

After he graduated from high school, he began repairing for a theatrical career instead of going to college. He studied Shakespearian drama under his father.

The family moved to Hollywood, but young Power, convinced he never could get a break in the movies, turned to stock company work in Chicago. However, in 1936 he got his break with a 20th Century-Fox contract.

Soon On His Way

With his success in "Lloyds of London," he was on his way to stardom. He was romantic figure and his name was linked with the beauties of the film capital--Janet Gaynor, Arleen Whelan, Loretta Young and Norma Shearer.

He starred in such box office attractions as "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "Marie Antoinette," "Jesse James," "Johnny Apollo," "The Rains Came," "Brigham Young," "The Mark of Zorro," "The Eddy Duchin Story," "The Sun Also Rises" and "Witness for the Prosecution."

Power was Hollywood's top box office star in 1938 and 1940.

When World War II came, he chucked his career and in 1942 enlisted as a private in the Marines.

"Why the hell should I ask for a commission?" he demanded of a friend who wanted to know why he was enlisting as a private. "What the hell do I know about being an officer?"

But he learned. He entered officer training school, took flight training at corpus Christi, Tex., and logged 3,500 flight hours piloting a transport plane for the Marines in the Pacific. He was discharged in 1945 as a captain.

Power had married Annabella in 1939. Back from the war, he appeared restless and chafed at playing his usual dashing roles.

In January of 1948, he and Annabella were divorced. They had no children.

A year later, he wed Linda Christian at a Rome wedding that had all the elements of a movie scene. He was all but mobbed by spectators outside the church. Uninvited guests crowded inside, elbowing invited guests aside.

This marriage lasted six years. Miss Christian, who bore Power two daughters, won a divorce an million dollar settlement in 1955.

Discontented with his film roles, Power turned to the stage in 1952 returning to Hollywood for only an occasional movie.

Asked why he was quitting the much more profitable movies for the stage, he said: "You don't always do everything for loot, do you?"

He played "Mr. Roberts" in London, toured the United States with "John Brown's Body," and appeared on Broadway with "The Dark is Light Enough" opposite Katharine Cornell.

Before going off to Europe this year, he toured the East in George Bernard Shaw's "Back to Methuselah."

AVA GARDNER COLLAPSES AT NEWS

East Grinstead, England, Nov. 15 (Special).--Ava Gardner collapsed tonight with grief after being told of Tyrone Power's death.

"She is extremely upset and hasn't the heart to talk about it," said her host, Sir Archibald McIndow, a plastic surgeon.

Ava became a close friend of the McIndoes after she consulted the surgeon about facial injuries she received in a fall from a horse in Spain last year.

HER STARS WARNED HER, A STUNNED LINDA CRIES
By Bernard Valery

Paris, Nov. 15 (Special).--Linda Christian nearly fained ttoday when told of the death of Tyrone Power, her ex-husband. She said she had been told twice by her astrologist this summer that he would meet sudden death.

"This is terrible. Poor Ty, poor children," she said. she is the mother of Power's two daughters, Taryn, 5, and Romina Francesca, 8, and had remained a "good friend" of the actor following their 1955 divorce.

She was given the news by reporters when she arrived at a Paris railway station from visiting her retired father in Amsterdam. She closed her eyes, then asked for a glass of water.

Shows a Letter

She showed reporters a letter for the children sent to her by Power form Madrid. I urged the girls, now staying with Linda's mother in Mexico, to "work well at school, my darlings, so that your mummy and daddy are proud of you."

Linda said she believed firmly in astrology but had not passed on to Power the two warnings she received about his this summer because "he loved life too much to discuss the possibility of death."

She said she would tell their daughters of Power's death by telephone tonight. "I'm sorry they did not stay with their father longer," she said. "I'll see to it that his memory is forever engraved in their minds."

LINDA MAY GET TYRONE MILLION INSURANCE $
New York Daily News ; By Bernard Valery ; November 18, 1958

PARIS, Nov. 18 (Special).--Linda Christian may collect up to $1 million under a special insurance policy Tyrone Power took out with Lloyd's of London before he died, a friend of Power disclosed here today.

The policy was designed to continue payment under the "million-dollar" alimony settlement in the Power-Christian divorce of 1955 in case of the actor's death.

Even Linda may not know of this step taken by her ex-husband. An interview published by a London newspaper just before Power's death reported that Linda's ex-husband would "pay her something like a million dollars in alimony over the years--if she does not remarry, and if he remains solvent."

Last Saturday--the same day the interview appeared--Linda arrived in Paris. She was obviously uncertain about her future as she told this correspondent:

"I suppose Ty's death will bring changes in my financial status but I suppose he provided for the children in his will and I know he had life insurance in may favor."

Better Than Expected

Now it appears that the reality is rosier than even Linda's hopes. Power took out what is called a "creditor's life insurance" policy with Lloyd's covering his "million-dollar" alimony settlement with Linda.

Lloyd's writes no life insurance but does write creditor's insurance to assume an unpaid obligation in case of death.

[Tyrone and Linda's children, Romina, 7 and Taryn, 5] flew to Hollywood from Mexico to await their mother. they will attend the funeral with her, although they have not yet been told of their father's death. Linda said she would tell them as soon s she could.

Tells of His Letters

The actress said she and the children had received more letters than ever from Power during the four months before his death, and that in his last letter to the children he told them he was almost finished with the outdoor part of the film.

He ended that letter: "With kisses and hugs to you both, and all my love and a big hello from Debbie. Daddy."

UNTOLD TY POWER STORY
New York Daily Journal
By Louis Sobol ; Nov. 20, 1958

ONE OF THE sincere mourners for the late Tyrone Power is Bob Kriendler of the 21 clan. Both recalled yesterday the occasion back in 1945 when he was a major in the Marines stationed at Iwo Jima. there flew in a transport plane piloted by Lt. Ty Power of the Marines--bearing with him for Kriendler various gifts--including a bottle a Ballantine scotch and a box of cigars--contributed by pals stationed in Guam. Ty had volunteered to fly them over. He spent the night with Kriendler in his shelter--helped him celebrate his birthday--and then flew back.

4th TYRONE POWER BORN IN HOLLYWOOD
It's First Son for Late Actor
New York Journal-American ; January 23, 1959
By Louella O. Parsons

HOLLYWOOD, Jag. 23--It's a BOY--and it's wonderful news! Tyrone William Power was born yesterday to the former Debbie Smith Minardos, Tyrone Power's widow. He is the fourth Tyrone William Power. His great grandfather, his grandfather and his father all bore the same name.

Debbie had a comparatively easy time. she went into Cedars of Lebanon Hospital at 5 a.m. Dr. Leon Krohn, who delivered the baby, says that mother and son are doing well, that the young man weighed in at 5 lbs. 12 ox. the child is Tyrone's first son.

Invitations are out for a baby shower to be given today for Debbie by Mrs. Van Johnson, but Debbie will have to send her regrets.

TYRONE POWER JR. : LOST LEGACY
New York York Post
Jan. 27, 1959

Hollywood, Jan. 27--The little, thumb-worn book was packed away in a scuffed briefcase.

The man carried with him wherever his work took him around the world.

"My father gave it to me," he said.

It was Hamlet. A strange book for a father to give a son?

Net for these two, for the father had been an actor and the son was an actor.

Whatever allegory Shakespeare may have phrased, the play was simply the symbol of tradition for these two. They were the players and life was their stage.

There was also a ring, a gold circlet of two parts bearing the family crest. This, too, passed from one to the other.

And as the younger actor walked through three decades of acting, he spoke occasionally of his hope of having a son who would carry on the family tradition into the third generation.

Would the son choose to be an actor?

Perhaps. Sons sometimes emulate their fathers. He would at least have the book to study, the ring to wear, a heritage to consider.

Tyrone Power, the man who carried the Hamlet with him the gift from his actor father, died of a heart attack last November, three months before his wife was to give birth to a child, the son he had always wanted.

The baby boy, Tyrone William Power, was born last Thursday in Hollywood to the actor's young widow.

She and the infant were to return to the actor's home yesterday morning. the briefcase with the slim volume of Hamlet was in the den of the Power home in Benedict Canyon.

The gold ring was in a jewelry case in one of the bedrooms.

The housekeeper made the discovery. Essie L. Ruffin went to work at the Power house at 8:45 yesterday morning to prepare for the arrival of the infant. she found the front door unlocked.

She found the back door had been jimmied, the glass broken.

Mrs. Ruffin called the police. The loss was counted at upwards of $15,000. The thieves took two mink wraps, some jewelry, a TV set and, apparently as an afterthought, the locked briefcase in the den.

With them went Tyrone William Power's ring and his book, legacies from the father he will never see.

WHY TYRONE POWER'S SON LOST FATHER'S NAME
Sunday News ; By Florabel Muir ; November 26, 1961

In domestic arrangement unusual even for Hollywood, Debbie Power Lowe, shown above with frequent date, actor Brett Halsey, agreed last week told her estranged husband, Arthur Lowe Jr., adopt her 3-year-old son by Tyrone Power, who died shortly before [the] boy was born. Debbie has [a] 1 1/2 year old son by Lowe, with whom she lived les than a year. she said she agreed to adoption so that "the boys could live as brothers."

The 3 year old heir to a dynasty of glamour and stardom will not be able to carry on the dashing family tradition as Tyrone William Power 4th--unless he takes it as a stage name. Henceforth, he will be legally known as Tyrone Power Lowe.

The boy's legal father now is really his stepfather, Arthur Lowe Jr., estranged (and probably soon to be divorced) husband of Tyrone Power's widow, Deborah.

Though 30 year old Debbie and Lowe, 35, grandson of tycoons Marcus Lowe and Adolph Zukor, have been separated for more than a year. Lowe makes daily visits to Tyrone and his own 1 1/2 year old son by Debbie, Gerald (Gerry) Zukor Lowe.

The two boys have been raised practically as cribmates, and despite their own differences, Debbie and Lowe felt that he shouldn't be separated now. So, 10 days ago, together and affectionate in an estranged way, Debbie and Arthur appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court and the highly unusual adoption was approved.

Before making the move, the couple discussed the plan with their baby doctors, carious child psychiatrists and representatives of the Los Angeles County Adoption Board.

'Best Think,' Debbie Says

"I think it will be the best thing for my son by Ty," Debbie explained. "He and Gerry are very close, and they will be always together, raised as full brothers.

"Arthur is just as much a father as little Ty's own father could have been. It would be different if his father were alive, but this way I believe it will work out well for him and his future will be in safe hands."

Debbie and the boys have been living in Beverly Hills apartment since she and Lowe separated less than a year after their marriage. Some Hollywood observers think formal divorce proceedings have been held up pending the adoption, but Debbie denies this.

"Neither of us has any plans to remarry," she says. "In fact, I am just about fed up with marriage"

****************

Debbie's prudence is based on the experiences of three unions--terminated by divorce death and estrangement, in that order.

She Won Hearts But No Contracts

The dark-harried, soft-voiced daughter of a well to do lumberman contractor in Mississippi, she came to Hollywood for a summer vacation in the early '50s. She liked it, made friends stayed to attend UCLA classes and then married actor Nico Minardos.

Late in 1957, three years after their divorce, she met Tyrone Power, who had previously been married to actresses Annabella and Linda Christian. One of the nicest things about Debbie, Power thought, was that while she enjoyed Hollywood, she had no hell-bent theatrical ambitions.

On May 7, 1958, they were quietly married in Tunica, Miss., where her family lived. Six months and a week later, on Nov. 15, 44 year old Power died suddenly while on location in Spain for the filming of "Solomon and Sheba." On Jan. 22, 1959, Tyrone William Power 4th (5 pounds 12 ounces) was born in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles.

To many still grieving Power fans, the story should have ended right there, but Debbie began dating Lowe, one of the richest and most eligible bachelors in Hollywood. On Oct. 26, only nine months after little Tyrone's birth, less than a year after his father's death, Debbie and Lowe were married by justice of the peace in Las Vegas.

"I am sure that people who would have qualms certainly aren't any friends of mine," Debbie said defensively. "My friends wouldn't have any reservations about it."

However, the following Sept. 17, after 11 months of marriage, the Loews separated, and despite the patter of four little feet, no signs of reconciliation have appeared.

Just the other night, Lowe escorted Mary Morrison, widow of restaurateur Charlie Morrison, to a party. Debbie is seen frequently in the company of 28 years old Brett Halsey, movie-TV actor and a handsome young veteran of two unsuccessful marriages.

Brett first met Debbie casually some five or six years ago, before she knew Tyrone. "We have been friends that long," Debbie says. "He is a wonderful friend. but my friendship with Brett Halsey is just that--friendship."

Friend Halsey, blue-eyed and black haired, is an athletic 180 pounder who stands 6 feet 2. With him, Debbie explains, she is relaxed because they like the same things, laugh at the same jokes, enjoy the outdoors and get a kick out of riding in fast cars. As a matter of fact, Brett used to race cars, but quit after a bad accident in a Mexico road race three years ago.

Used to Be Good Ol' Charley Hand

He is a native Californian whose real name is Charles Oliver Hand Jr. He was born June 20, 1933, in Santa Ana, the oldest of four boys and one girls born to a building contractor and his wife. On his father's side, he is related to a noted federal jurist, the late Learned Hande, and also to Adm. William F. Halsey. Through his mother, he is descended from Juan Francisco Reyes, first Spanish alcalde of Los Angeles.

Brett went to school in Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Cruz, and just a typical red-blooded California boy, he played football, basketball, track and tennis. For recreation, he took swimming, sailing and horseback riding and, at the other extreme, somehow picked up an interest in chess.

In 1950, he entered the Navy for a two year hitch, serving in various installations as a disk jockey. He came back to LA to study radio-TV technique, planning a career in radio and working meantime as a radio studio page in Hollywood.

There, his tall, dark and lean looks caught the eye of Jack Benny and Mary Livingston. Through them, he met producer William Goetz, who put him under [a] two year contract to Universal International. At the U-I studios, he labored hard but humbly, getting 33 roles, chiefly minor.

He's Still in Minors but Coming Up Fast

At the expiration of the contract, Brett went independent, appearing in feature pictures and in many TV shows. His film credits include "The Return of the Fly," "The Return of the Fly," "The Best of Everything" and "Return to Peyton Place," while on the home screens he has been seen in Playhouse 90, studio One, Gunsmoke, Sea Hunt and silent Service, among others.

Currently, Brett is under contract to 20th Century-Fox and also plays Paul Templin, a freelance magazine writer headquartered in Hawaii, in ABC-TV's Follow the Sun series. (Along the line, studio executives persuaded him to drop Charles Oliver hand, and he picked Brett Halsey as a theatrical name because, after all, Harlsey is a family name. He has since had it legalized.) .................[THE REMAINING ARTICLE CONTINUES EXCLUSIVELY WITH THE BIOGRAPHY OF BRETT HALSEY]

TYRONE POWER'S SON IN DAD'S FOOTSTEPS
New York Daily News
By Louis Sobol ; November 30, 1982

He's the spitting image of his father, the late actor Tyrone Power. Now, after studying for the last two years under Sandy Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse, Tyrone Power 4th is ready to follow in dad's footsteps.

"I'm looking for work," Power 23, told the People Page during a dinner party at Eliot's Sunday night. "I'm attending casting calls."

The party, given by Jim Mitchell and Tony Manning for Hollywood designer Jean Louis and wife Maggi, enabled Power to sit beside living legend Loretta Young, who starred with his pop in "Second Honeymoon," "Suez" and "Ladies in Love."

Also among the 30 guests were actor Robert Horton and his wife, Marilyn, Dr. and Mrs. Jerry Lynn (he's the dentist who administers to the greats of opera and ballet); Loretta's daughter, Judy Lewis; Tony Winnder Lillian Montevecchi of "Nine," and Frank Bowling, who runs the ritzy Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Loretta, as beautiful as ever, never had met young Power, whose mother is Debby Minardos. (Senior, also was married to Annabella and Linda Christian.)

Loretta mesmerized the young actor and the other guests at her table with tales about her studio days in Hollywood, "when you always worked, even when you weren't filming--they'd always find something for us to do."

Power, whose godfather is actor Rock Hudson, took it all in. "I'm ready to do anything," he said. "Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway I'm not afraid to work, I love acting." Good show.

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