Hi, all, I just discovered this board.

I've enjoyed Tyrone Power's films for many years but with the recent releases of the Swashbuckler and Matinee Idol collections, as well as Rawide in the Fox Western Classics collection, my fandom has blossomed into outright worship. :)

The past couple of years have really been a golden time for Power fans with all the DVD releases. And one more still on the horizon -- Rose of Washington Square, in the upcoming second Alice Faye box set.

I sure hope Fox gets around to releasing the rest of TP's work -- how about a "historical spectacular" box with Lloyd's of London, Suez, Pony Soldier and King of the Kyber Rifles? I'd also love to see releases of the two movies with Sonia Henie, as well as Domestic Courier and Untamed.

My only TP related story is that I was lucky to see Nightmare Alley some years ago in a screening of a 16mm print, when it was not available on video. I was really blown away by it and TP's performance (his best, I think, but that's not to discount his wonderful work in many other movies). Thank goodness they finally got it out on DVD too.

So here's my question: can anyone tell me anything about the ring TP wore in many of his movies and also in his "real" (as opposed to "reel") life?

Thanks! Great to meet you all. :)

Welcome, Peachtreegal! Great place to be!

Joanne had done a great job putting this website together. It's a great tribute to Tyrone Power.

Hi, thanks for the welcome, and yes, this is a wonderful website. :)

Hi Peachtreegal (are you a Gone w/ the Wind fan :-)?,

Welcome indeed! I know what you mean about that ring. I did a quick search in his bio (the Guiles,only) and Parish's The Swashbucklers (which has quite a detailed bio) and didn't find anything; doesn't mean that there isn't anything if one delves into the Guiles book deeper (the other bio doesn't have an index). Thought perhaps his father may have given it to him (or his mother for that matter), but again, can't find anything after quickly scanning the books. Sorry I'm not much help. I'll do a quick look in the Films of book as well.

Perhaps someone else might know?

>Hi Peachtreegal (are you a Gone w/ the Wind fan ?,

Actually... no. The name comes from the fact that I live in an Atlanta suburb and everything is Peachtree down heah, ya'll. I am a fan of the actors in the movie (especially the exquisite Vivien Leigh), it's an absolutely GORGEOUS production, and I admire Scarlett's spirit if not her ethics, but the racial politics of GWTW are too problematic for me to be an out and out fan (of either the book or the movie). I should add that Margaret Mitchell endowed scholarships for black students, so she actually was quite enlightened compared to many others. And the movie did give Hattie McDaniel a terrific (if stereotypical) role, and the opportunity to become the first African-American woman to win an Oscar.

Back to on topic -- Interesting no mention of the ring. Ty's always wearing it both in the films and in photos, so I assume it had a great personal meaning for him. Perhaps one of his children could answer the question, should anyone here be in contact. Surely this is something fans would like to know about.

Speaking of racial politics and Tyrone Power in the same message, it's fascinating to wonder what might have happened if Billy Wilder had ever filmed that update of Camille for which he wanted Ty as the male lead. Lena Horne would play a Creole version of Camille, and Ty would play a white man who falls in love with her, only to discover at some point that his own father actually was black. This was around 1951. I don't think Hollywood was ready for that yet. When Frank Sinatra fell in a love with a biracial girl in the 1958 film Kings Go Forth -- a daring notion back then, at least in the movies (the film was adapted from a novel) -- she was played by Natalie Wood, the daughter of Russian immigrants.