LEE POWELL BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Lee Powell was born May 15, 1908 in Long Beach, California. He attended the University of Montana, with interests in football, track, and drama. He worked in a number of stocks before deciding to try his luck at acting in Hollywood. Powell made his debut in "Under Two Flags" (1936), but did not gain fame until portraying Allen King, one of the suspects thought to be the Lone Ranger, in "The Lone Ranger" (1938). The actor followed up with a starring role in "The Fighting Devil Dogs" (1938), an adventure film that has the U.S. marine corps taking on a brutal enemy. After these two pictures, Republic offered Powell a five year contract. The actor and his agent refused the deal and asked for more, causing Republic to end their involvement with the actor.
 
In 1939, Powell hired on with Grand National Pictures for a trio of films. Unfortunately, the company went under and he only got to act in one feature, "Trigger Pals" (1939). After, he appeared in Universal Picture's "Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe" (1940). He found it hard to find much work in the film industry, so he began performing in the circus. He first signed with the Barnett Brothers Circus, and then the Wallace Brothers Circus, billing himself as "The Original Lone Ranger of Talking Picture Fame" to attract a wider audience. He also managed to carve out time to make six Western programmer films for the Frontier Marshals series between 1941 and 1942. However, not many other film ventures were taken.
 
On August 17, 1942, he enlisted in the United States Marines, seeing action in Tarawa and Saipan. He was killed on July 30, 1944 in Tinian (part of the Marianas Islands) while serving. Much mystery and controversy surround his death, for he did not die while in combat - how it was assumed he died - but from alcohol poisoning. After Powell's unit survived a bloody battle, they celebrated by drinking a homemade brew made by some fellow soldiers. Powell became ill alongside another Marine, and ended up dying a few weeks later.
 

Filmography

1944 The Adventures of Mark Twain 
1942 Along the Sundown Trail 
1942 Prairie Pals 
1942 Secret Enemies  
1942 Tumbleweed Trail 
1942 Rolling Down the Great Divide  
1942 I Was Framed 
1942 Raiders of the West 
1942 Texas Man Hunt 
1941 The Return of Daniel Boone 
1941 The Lone Rider Rides On 
1940 Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe 
1939 Trigger Pals 
1938 Come On, Rangers 
1938 The Fighting Devil Dogs 
1938 The Lone Ranger 
1937 The Last Gangster 
1937 Forlorn River
1936 Under Two Flags