Jeremy Kirk

Richard Pitts Powell (November 28, 1908 – December 8, 1999) was an American novelist. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Powell graduated from Princeton University in 1930 then worked at the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger newspaper. After ten years, he joined the advertising agency N. W. Ayer & Son. Following service on Gen. Douglas MacArthur's staff during World War II, he returned to N.W. Ayer, where he rose to vice president of information services in 1952.

In the 1940s, Powell began writing fiction, and his first published books were Inner Sanctum Mysteries, published from 1943 to 1955. By the mid-1950s, he was able to devote himself to writing full time. The Philadelphian (1956), his major publishing debut, spent more than six months on the bestseller list, and was filmed in 1959 as The Young Philadelphians, starring Paul Newman. Two of his other novels (one written under a pseudonym) also were adapted into films.

Richard Powell died on December 8, 1999, in Fort Myers, Florida.