Mala Powers(1931-2007)
- Actress
The daughter of a United Press executive, Mala Powers attended the
Max Reinhardt Junior Workshop as a kid and fell in love with acting the first
time she set foot on a stage. She made her film debut in Universal's
1942 Tough As They Come (1942) before actress Helene Thimig (Max Reinhardt's wife) convinced her to
continue studying rather than become a child actress. Powers worked in
radio ("Cisco Kid", "Red Ryder", "This Is Your F.B.I.", "Lux Radio
Theater", "Screen Guild on the Air") and met actress Ida Lupino while
working on the latter show; Lupino auditioned and approved Powers for
the top role in Outrage (1950), made by Lupino's Filmmakers production
company. Powers' promising career was derailed by illness in the early
'50s; when she resumed work, it was as the "B queen" of Westerns and
sci-fi flicks (and much TV). For many years she has been lecturing on
and teaching the Michael Chekhov acting technique throughout the
U.S.
