Nosher Powell
Encyclopedia
Nosher Powell is known both as an actor
(credited variously as Nosher Powell, Freddie Powell, Frederick Powell or Fred Powell) and as a boxer
.
, London, England. His younger brother, Dinny Powell (b.Dennis Powell, 1931, Camberwell), followed a similar career, acting and stunt co-ordinating many films, as have his sons Greg Powell and Gary Powell.
Powell has had an extensive but mostly uncredited career in acting, and, in his autobiography
, Nosher!, he is described as the ultimate hard man – a boxer, bouncer
, minder, a stunt man
and a force to be reckoned with. In 1969, he portrayed the role of the powerful thug Lord Dorking in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
.
Apart from his acting career, Powell was a heavyweight
boxing champion in the worlds of unlicensed fighting and the professional arena. He also worked as a sparring
partner for Joe Louis
, Sugar Ray Robinson
and Muhammad Ali
, among others. The last fight of his career was against Menzies Johnson. Nosher won the fight on points, over eight rounds.
According to his autobiography, Nosher had a total of seventy-eight fights: fifty-one as a professional, with nine losses, though he was never knocked out. Boxrec.com, though, lists Nosher as losing sixteen times as a professional, with nine of those losses being by KO, two by TKO and five on points.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
(credited variously as Nosher Powell, Freddie Powell, Frederick Powell or Fred Powell) and as a boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Life and career
Powell was born in CamberwellCamberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, London, England. His younger brother, Dinny Powell (b.Dennis Powell, 1931, Camberwell), followed a similar career, acting and stunt co-ordinating many films, as have his sons Greg Powell and Gary Powell.
Powell has had an extensive but mostly uncredited career in acting, and, in his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Nosher!, he is described as the ultimate hard man – a boxer, bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
, minder, a stunt man
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
and a force to be reckoned with. In 1969, he portrayed the role of the powerful thug Lord Dorking in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...
.
Apart from his acting career, Powell was a heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing champion in the worlds of unlicensed fighting and the professional arena. He also worked as a sparring
Sparring
Sparring is a form of training common to many martial arts. Although the precise form varies, it is essentially relatively 'free-form' fighting, with enough rules, customs, or agreements to make injuries unlikely...
partner for Joe Louis
Joe Louis
Joseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
, Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...
and Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, among others. The last fight of his career was against Menzies Johnson. Nosher won the fight on points, over eight rounds.
According to his autobiography, Nosher had a total of seventy-eight fights: fifty-one as a professional, with nine losses, though he was never knocked out. Boxrec.com, though, lists Nosher as losing sixteen times as a professional, with nine of those losses being by KO, two by TKO and five on points.
Filmography
- Oliver TwistOliver Twist (1948 film)Oliver Twist is the second of David Lean's two film adaptations of Charles Dickens novels. Following the success of his 1946 version of Great Expectations, Lean re-assembled much of the same team for his adaptation of Dicken's 1838 novel, including producers Ronald Neame and Anthony...
(1948) - There Is Another SunThere Is Another SunThere Is Another Sun is a 1951 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert.-Cast:* Maxwell Reed as Eddie 'Racer' Peskett* Laurence Harvey as Mag Maguire* Susan Shaw as Lillian* Leslie Dwyer as Mick Foley...
(1951) - Demetrius and the GladiatorsDemetrius and the GladiatorsDemetrius and the Gladiators is a 1954 sword and sandal drama film and a sequel to The Robe. It was made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross. The screenplay was by Philip Dunne based on characters created by Lloyd C...
(1954) - Violent PlaygroundViolent PlaygroundViolent Playground is a 1958 British film directed by Basil Dearden starring Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and David McCallum.-Plot:A British take on the popular genre of J.D. films, Violent Playground centres on a Liverpool street gang led by Johnny Murphy...
(1958) - The Road to Hong KongThe Road to Hong KongThe Road to Hong Kong starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Joan Collins, was the last in the long-running Road to … series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence...
(1962) - A Shot in the DarkA Shot in the Dark (1964 film)A Shot in the Dark is a 1964 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and is the second installment in the Pink Panther series. Peter Sellers is featured again as Inspector Jacques Clouseau of the French Sûreté...
(1964) - A Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. Released in Italy in 1964 then in the United States in...
(1964) - Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965)
- Circus of FearCircus of FearCircus of Fear is a 1966 British-German international co-production thriller film starring Christopher Lee, Suzy Kendall, Cecil Parker and Victor Maddern. The U.S. title was Psycho-Circus. It was based on a novel by Edgar Wallace.-Plot:...
(1966) - Oliver!Oliver! (film)Oliver! is a 1968 British musical film directed by Carol Reed. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris....
(1968) - On the BusesOn the Buses (film)On the Buses is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Harry Booth and starring Reg Varney and Doris Hare. The film is the first spin-off film from the TV sitcom On the Buses and was followed by two further films Mutiny on the Buses and Holiday on the Buses...
(1971) - Nearest and DearestNearest and DearestNearest and Dearest is a British television sitcom that ran from 1968 to 1973. A total of 46 episodes were made, 18 in monochrome and 28 in colour...
(1972) - Love Thy NeighbourLove Thy Neighbour (1973 film)Love Thy Neighbour is a 1973 British comedy film starring Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker, Kate Williams and Nina Baden-Semper, spun off from the television series Love Thy Neighbour.-Cast:* Jack Smethurst as Eddie Booth...
(1973) - Carry on Dick (1974)
- BranniganBrannigan (film)Brannigan is a British action film set principally in London, directed by Douglas Hickox, and starring John Wayne and Richard Attenborough...
(1975) - Victor Victoria (1982)
- KrullKrull (film)Krull is a 1983 heroic fantasy film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Ron Silverman. Released by Columbia Pictures, it stars Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony as Princess Lyssa....
(1983) - Eat the Rich (1987)
- WillowWillow (film)Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard and produced/co-written by George Lucas. Warwick Davis stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, and Patricia Hayes...
(1988) - LegionnaireLegionnaire (film)Legionnaire is a 1998 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a 1920s boxer who wins a fight after having been hired by gangsters to lose it, then flees to join the French Foreign Legion. The cast includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Steven Berkoff, Nicholas Farrell and Jim Carter...
(1998)