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DICK POWELL BUILDS DIME STORES
by JOE ALVIN
r)ICK POWELL, star of NBC's MAXWELL HOUSE COFFEE TIME, is the Hcllywood actor who builds dime stores for million dollar babies to work in. He doesn't do it for publicity, even if he did stage the world's first premiere cf a five and ten cent store in Long Beach, California, this year. Dick does it because h.3 gets a kick out of it; because he likes to see buildings come up where there was only a vacant let before; because he likes to see homes cluster and grow around a business establishment and form the nucleus of a new community; and last but not least, because he likes to make money. So, you find Powell building dime stores for million doliar babies besides singing about them. You find him building other store buildings and homes he hopes to sell at a profit.
An actor in years gene by wasn't supposed to have any business sense. Many of them didn't, like the old screen stars to whom Hollywood owes so much today for the lesson they taught it. The old stars had expected their big earnings to go on forever, but they didn't put anything away for the future. When their popularity began to dim, when the public turned to other favorites, they found themselves broke, jobless and in many instances, even homeless, in a world which owes a living to no one. Those Hcllywood actors were the pioneers in a new profession and their hardships taught those who followed a tremendous lesson. That fabulous salaries of Hollywood are almost as short-lived as the rainbow, and that the actor, who like the squirrel, doesn't store away some of "the nut", is certain to face the prospect of a dreary winter of future.
Here is the way Dick Powell Icoks at it:
"I consider myself very fortunate for the opportunities that brought what talent God gave me to the attention of the public, and I am grateful for the compensation that talent has brought me. And
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Dick Powell cuts the ribbon that officially opens his dime store in Long Beach while NBC stars, including Warren Hull, Irene Rich entertains the crowds — sign autographs.
for that, if for no other reason, 1 would consider myself a fool to squander the money 1 earn. Money often has been called Power. And that's what it can be, a power sometimes used to destroy, as in war; or a power to create, as by and large the human race has used it in times of peace. 1 am using money to create things that weren't in the world before — neighborhood stores that save the housewife tiring trips to do her shopping downtown — places that serve a purpose and fill a need."
Powell doesn't pretend to be a crusader flying a banner of service. He expects to earn a fair
return for the time, effort and money he puts into one of his real estate projects. He's not ashamed of turning an honest penny or an honest dollar for profit. Besides being an actor and a real estate man, he is also a husband and a father. He wants to be able to provide for his family when the time comes in the future when his screen or radio earnings stop. He wants his children to get a proper start in life and be able to meet the complex and bewildering world of today. He wants to provide for the best education their minds can absorb. If such motives are selfish, then those are the
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