William David Powell, Bill Jr, was born on the 27th of February, 1925, in California. He was the only child of William Powell and actress Eileen Wilson.
William David's early life was wholly with his mother, as his parents separated a year after his birth, and finally divorced in 1930. But, once William Powell finished his stage career and started in film, Eileen moved with Bill Jr to Hollywood so that he would be closer to his father.
Bill Jr had a bad start at various schools and was already suffering from mental health problems at a young age, exacerbated by his mother's untimely death in 1942. But Bill's (Sr) third wife Diana had a lovely relationship with him and helped him graduate and start a career in the army.
After serving in the Korean War, William David returned to the US and started a television career, becoming a scriptwriter. He also worked as a story editor and associate producer for Warner Bros. and Universal Studios.
On the 22nd of December, 1956, Bill Jr married child actress Patricia Parsons. Unfortunately, the marriage was never stable and the couple subsequently divorced only one year later.
With growing mental health problems, and a diagnosis of hepatitis, which stopped him from writing, William David Powell died by suicide on the 13th of March, 1968. The Los Angeles police telephoned his father to inform him that his only son had stabbed himself to death at the age of 43. William David left a letter to his father, the contents of which have never been divulged to the public, except for the ending statement: "Things aren't so good here. I'm going where it is better."
His ashes are buried at Cathedral City's Desert Memorial Park in California, where his father and Diana were later buried.
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