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Mala Powers Collection

Her career began at age 11 with The Little Tough Guys acting company, she late found success in radio and television.

Mala Powers

12 old time radio show recordings
(total playtime 7 hours, 992 min)
available in the following formats:

1 MP3 CD
or
8 Audio CDs


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Play a sample episode from March 11, 1951:

"Lux Radio: She Wore Yellow Ribbon"



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Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

Mala Powers
(1931 – 2007)

Glamor and beauty are a very important part of the Hollywood image, and they help to sell movie tickets, but they are not the most important features in a movie star's repertoire. Folks are willing to plunk down their hard-earned money at the box office for the chance to get away from their everyday lives for a brief time. To enjoy that, they need to see someone who can act.

Acting is a skill that can be learned, and for years acting practitioners believed that the most important parts of acting training were movement and vocal training. Acting on stage does take a physical toll, and one does need to be able to project their voice so that everyone in the theater can hear what is going on, but a truly skilled actor knows that to play a character they have to not only understand the character and his motivations, they have to become the character.

This is the heart of the so-called Stanislavski System. Stanislavski developed his system for the Moscow Art Theatre in the early part of the Twentieth century. After the October Revolution, Stanislavski's most gifted student, Michael Chekov, broke with his master and refined his techniques into what is call Method acting. Eventually, Chekov emigrated to America, where his teachings would impact Hollywood.

Mary Ellen "Mala" Powers was born in San Francisco, California, 1931, to journalist parents. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1940, and that summer little Mala was given a chance to attend a Junior Workshop at Max Reinhardt's school. Her first film role came at the age of 11 with The Little Tough Guys acting company in Tough as They Come (1942), but Helene Thimig, Reinhardt's wife, convinced her to continue with her studies rather than take the path of child actor. While studying with While studying with Chekov (whose students included Yul Brenner, Patricia Neal, Sterling Hayden, Anthony Quinn, Lloyd Bridges, Elia Kazan, Jack Palance, and Marilyn Monroe) she found work on radio, appearing on The Cisco Kid, Red Ryder, This Is Your FBI, Lux Radio Theatre, and Screen Guild Theatre, where she met and became friends with actress turned director/producer Ida Lupino. Miss Lupino was sufficiently impressed with Mala to give her the chance to star in Outrage (1950), which was to be only the second film after the Production Code to deal directly with the effects of rape. The same year, she played Roxanne to Jose Ferrer's Cyrano de Bergerac (1950), her best remembered role.

While visiting Korea during a USO tour in 1951, Mala was stricken by a near fatal blood disease. To make matters worse, she had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotic she was given, resulting the loss of most of her bone marrow. She was in recovery for nine months, but returned to work in Rose of Cimarron (1952), and followed up with a series of B-Westerns. She found considerable success as a TV guest star, appearing in more than 100 episodes, including Appointment with Adventure, Crossroads, The Restless Gun, Bourbon Street Beat, The Rebel, Maverick, The Everglades, Bonanza, Mission: Impossible, Bewitched, The Wild Wild West, The Silent Force, and Cheyenne. She made several appearances on Perry Mason, usually as a defendant but once as a murderer and once as a murder victim.

After training for several years with Michael Chekov in both group and private sessions, Mala became very close to her teacher, and was named executive of his estate. She was instrumental in publishing or reissuing several of Chekov's books, and has taught the Chekov method in several different venues.

Mala Powers died of leukemia at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, on June 11, 2007. She was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6360 Hollywood Blvd for contributions to Television.

Text on OTRCAT.com ©2001-2024 OTRCAT INC All Rights Reserved. Reproduction is prohibited.

These classic recordings are available in the following formats:

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  • MP3 CDs are delivered by mail. These archival quality MP3 CDs are playable in your computer and many MP3 player devices.



    12 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00. Total playtime 7 hours, 992 min
    12 recordings on 1 MP3 CD for just $5.00
    total playtime 7 hours, 992 min
    Add MP3 CD Collection to Cart

    1. 12 shows – total playtime 7 hours, 16 minutes
    2. Carnation 521129 55 Shadow Lover.mp3
    3. Carnation 521206 56.mp3
    4. Christmas Carol 491225 Stars Lionel Barrymore.mp3
    5. Ft 490511 117 Stolen Symphony.mp3
    6. Ft 490720 127 My Terminal Moraine.mp3
    7. Ft 510110 202 Shadow On Mountain.mp3
    8. Ft 521119 294 Just For Tonight.mp3
    9. Hedda Hopper 501231 Jean Hersholt.mp3
    10. Lux Radio 491017 672 Mother Was Freshman.mp3
    11. Lux Radio 491114 676 Mother Wore Tights Repeat.mp3
    12. Lux Radio 510312 737 She Wore Yellow Ribbon.mp3
    13. Stars Over Hollywood 540904 692 Listen To Your Heart.mp3
  • MP3 downloads are available instantly after purchase!



    12 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00. Total playtime 7 hours, 992 min
    12 recordings on 1 MP3 Collection Download for just $5.00
    200 MB – total playtime 7 hours, 16 min
    Add Instant Download Collection to Cart

    1. 12 shows – 200 MB – total playtime 7 hours, 16 minutes
    2. Carnation 521129 55 Shadow Lover.mp3
    3. Carnation 521206 56.mp3
    4. Christmas Carol 491225 Stars Lionel Barrymore.mp3
    5. Ft 490511 117 Stolen Symphony.mp3
    6. Ft 490720 127 My Terminal Moraine.mp3
    7. Ft 510110 202 Shadow On Mountain.mp3
    8. Ft 521119 294 Just For Tonight.mp3
    9. Hedda Hopper 501231 Jean Hersholt.mp3
    10. Lux Radio 491017 672 Mother Was Freshman.mp3
    11. Lux Radio 491114 676 Mother Wore Tights Repeat.mp3
    12. Lux Radio 510312 737 She Wore Yellow Ribbon.mp3
    13. Stars Over Hollywood 540904 692 Listen To Your Heart.mp3
  • Standard Audio CDs are delivered by mail on archival quality media with up to 60 minutes on each CD and play in all CD players



    12 recordings on 8 Audio CDs. Total playtime 7 hours, 16 min
    12 recordings on 8 Audio CDs
    total playtime 7 hours, 16 min

    Mala Powers Disc A001

    1. Ft 490511 117 Stolen Symphony
    2. Ft 490720 127 My Terminal Moraine

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A002

    1. Lux Radio 491017 672 Mother Was Freshman

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A003

    1. Lux Radio 491114 676 Mother Wore Tights Repeat

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A004

    1. Christmas Carol 491225 Stars Lionel Barrymore
    2. Hedda Hopper 501231 Jean Hersholt

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A005

    1. Ft 510110 202 Shadow On Mountain

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A006

    1. Lux Radio 510312 737 She Wore Yellow Ribbon

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A007

    1. Ft 521119 294 Just For Tonight
    2. Carnation 521129 55 Shadow Lover

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00
    Mala Powers Disc A008

    1. Carnation 521206 56
    2. Stars Over Hollywood 540904 692 Listen To Your Heart

    Add Audio CD to Cart - $5.00

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