(From Old Corral collection)

(From Old Corral collection)

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

(Courtesy of Les Adams)

(Courtesy of Pat LaRosa)

To pick up some cash after his exit from Republic Pictures, Powell worked with the Barnett Bros. Circus, Wallace Bros. Circus, and the Hamid-Morton and Clyde Beatty Combined Circus. And he and / or the circus billed him as "The Original Lone Ranger of Talking Picture Fame", et al. As noted on an earlier webpage, lawsuits were filed to halt Powell and the circuses from using that tie-in to the Lone Ranger character and Republic cliffhanger. And in January, 1942, an appeals court ordered Powell and Wallace Bros. to stop using that Lone Ranger reference in their show and advertising.

Powell took a break from circus work for the six film 'Frontier Marshal' trio series that was churned out by Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC), and those adventures were released in 1942.

Lee Berrien Powell enlisted in the Marines on August 17, 1942 in Los Angeles, and his circus and Hollywood movie careers were over.

In September, 1999, I received a batch of circus-related material from Fred D. Pfening, Jr. and the Circus Historical Society, and that material is displayed above.

In late November, 1998, I got an e-mail from cowboy and serial fan Stan Segal. He writes in part: "When I was about 7 years of age I saw Lee Powell in a circus.  He rode a horse and was wearing a mask. I was with a group of other kids.  I had already seen the Lone Ranger serials in the movies several years before ...." Stan thinks the year of this circus performance was either 1940 or 41.  In some follow-up e-mails, I asked Stan about the horse that Powell was riding, and he thought it was white. Stan also recalled that Powell's 'uniform' seemed different than the outfit he wore in the LR serial. Thx for that great info Stan!

Stan Segal also sent me a copy of a two-page 1938 magazine article titled 'I Am The Lone Ranger' which was supposedly authored by Lee Powell. My guess is that the Republic publicity department did much of the writing.The article is on two jpeg/jpg images. If you want the article, send ye Old Corral webmeister an e-mail. Thanks Stan!

In late July, 1998, I received an e-mail from western and serial fan Bob Siler. Bob was able to provide lots of information on Lee Powell, including his full name, birth date, hometown, and most all of the details on Powell's interment. A big thank you to Bob.

  Although some of the data may be incomplete or inaccurate, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) has information on Lee Powell: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0694205/

The Family Search website (free), Ancestry.com (subscription), National Archives, trade publications, and newspapers have information on Lee Powell and family:

• California Birth Index for Lee B. Powell, born May 15, 1908 in Los Angeles, and mother's maiden name of Berrien: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGN7-DSB
• Powell's birth announcement in the May 16, 1908 Long Beach Telegram and Daily News - "A baby boy arrived yesterday about noon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lee C. Powell, 354 Walnut (Long Beach, California)": https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100861182/lee-berrien-powell-was-born-may-15/
• 1910 census - owning their home at 354 Walnut Avenue, Long Beach, California were 25 year old Lee C. Powell (born Indiana; occupation "Bank Clerk"), 24 year old wife Helen (born Illinois), 2 year old son Lee Ber*Ing [sic] Powell, and newborn daughter Sylvia. Appears that when the census record was digitized, they had difficulty with Lee Powell's middle name of Berrien: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MVL7-5DF
• 1920 census - living at 354? Wal? Avenue, Long Beach, California were 36 year old Lee C. Powell (born Indiana; occupation "Cashier - Bank"), 33 year old wife Helen (born Illinois) (and she is mistakenly listed as Lee B. Powell, which is probably another digital transfer error), 11 year old son Berrien Powell (born California), 10 year old daughter Sylvia (born California), and 7 year old daughter Virginia (born California): https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHQZ-DD3
• 1930 census - owning their home at 3811 East Sixth Street, Long Beach, California were 47 year old Lee C. Powell (born Indiana; occupation "Assistant Cashier - Bank"), his 44 year old wife Helen B. (born Illinois), 21 year old son Berrien (born California), 20 year old daughter Sylvia H. (born California), and 18 year old daughter Virginia E. (born California): https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XCJL-QWQ
• Ancestry.com had the marriage application and the January 1, 1934 marriage license in Yuma, Arizona for 25 year old Lee Berrien Powell (of Long Beach, California; occupation "Salesman") and 21 year old Veral Louise Strong (of Glendale, California).
• January 5, 1934 Long Beach, California Sun newspaper has an announcement of the marriage of Lee Berrien Powell to Vera Louise Strong on January 1, 1934 in Yuma, Arizona: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100698759/the-long-beach-sun/
• Ancestry had the Cook County, Illinois marriage index - Lee Powell and Norma Rogers were married January 5, 1940 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
• The Time magazine website has an archive page which notes the marriage of Lee Powell and Norma Rogers. However, it does not mention the date of their marriage (which was January 5, 1940 in Chicago): "Married. Lee Powell, who plays the cinema role of the Lone Ranger; and Norma Rogers of York, S. C.; in Chicago.": http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,763409,00.html
• 1940 census - 31 year old Lee Powell, 25 year old wife Norma (born Canada), and 4 year old daughter Patsy (born Georgia) lived at 281 Jefferson Street, York, South Carolina, the home location and winter quarters of the Barnett Bros. circus. Powell completed four years of college; his occupation was "Actor - Motion Picture", and in 1939, he worked 2? weeks and earned $5000.00+. Norma's occupation was "Performer - Circus". The census takers worksheet contains names of many circus performers: https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K46P-2SF
• Ancestry.com had the October 16, 1940 World War II draft registration for 32 year old Lee Berrien Powell. He was born May 15, 1908 in Long Beach, California; lived in Long Beach; contact was Mitchell Gertz (his agent); and occupation / employer was "Independent (Free Lance Actor)" and "Different Studios". He was 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed 195 pounds.
• Ancestry.com had the Marine Muster Roll for Powell's enlistment - he enlisted August 17, 1942 and assigned to HQ Company, 2d Battalion, 18th Marines, Camp Elliott, San Diego, California.
• Powell is listed as military casualty at the US National Archives & Records Administration. This link below will take you to War Casualties from World War II for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Personnel from California. When you get to this webpage, scroll down until you get to Page 71, and click on that. On the listing, you'll find Sgt. Lee B. Powell, USMCR, at the bottom of the middle column, and there's a mention of "Wife, Mrs. Lee B. Powell, 421 S. State St., Los Angeles". Go to: http://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/navy-casualties/california.html
• On an earlier webpage, there's info on the death of Sergeant Lee B. Powell in Marine Corps Muster Rolls. The Rolls confirm his July 30, 1944 death on Tinian, Marianas Islands, and he "died as a result of wood alcohol poisoning, not in line of duty, not result of own misconduct".
• Death announcement for Marine Corps Sergeant Lee Berrien Powell in the August 30, 1944 Long Beach, California Press-Telegram newspaper: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/116699291/death-notice-for-marine-sgt-lee-powell/
  Death announcement for Marine Corps Sergeant Lee Berrien Powell in the August 31, 1944 Long Beach, California Sun newspaper: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100699163/the-long-beach-sun/

Some biographies on Powell mention that he attended the University of Montana. In 2022, I connected with their Alumni Office who checked their records. They found nothing on Powell attending the University of Montana. However, Powell did attend the School of Mines in Butte, Montana and was a freshman in 1926 and a sophomore in 1927. Then he went to Long Beach City College, and returned to the School of Mines circa 1931.

Two of the School of Mines yearbooks are online. When you go to the links below, click on the 'Find' button in the lower right, and then enter 'Powell' in the search box:

• 1926 yearbook for the Montana School of Mines at Butte, Montana - Powell is a member of the Freshman Class on page 36; and a member of the Anderson-Carlyle Technical Society on page 71: https://issuu.com/mtechlibrary/docs/1926
• 1927 yearbook for the Montana School of Mines at Butte, Montana - Powell is a sophomore on page 36; on page 48, he's a member of the 'M' Club which are athletes that have earned their letters; page 56 mentions Powell playing football; page 61 mentions Powell playing end in football, and his nickname was 'Poky': https://issuu.com/mtechlibrary/docs/1927
• Long Beach City College 1929 yearbook has photos of Powell playing football and portraying 'Little John' in the play 'Robin Hood'. Newspapers reported that Powell received his letter for football.
• September 1, 1931 Long Beach Press-Telegram , Powell's hometown newspaper, had a sports column razzing football player Lee Powell who was returning to the School of Mines after a year or two hiatus from college ... jokes about him being a thespian ... and his nickname was 'Pokey': https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101074243/long-beach-press-telegram/

March 26, 1931 Long Beach Sun has an article and large photo of Powell who was doing a play for the Long Beach, California Players Guild. Mentions that he was a 1925 graduate of Long Beach, California Polytechnic High School: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100861434/the-long-beach-sun/

June 8, 1934 Long Beach Sun article on Powell's mother and father seeing him in the 'Fugiitive At Large' play for the Community Arts Players in Santa Barbara, California: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101073931/the-long-beach-sun/

The February 1, 1940 Akron, Ohio Beacon Journal newspaper had an article with a large photo of Lee Powell and new bride, Norma Rogers. They talked about Hollywood, movies, and circus life: https://www.newspapers.com/clip/100703391/the-akron-beacon-journal/

The U.S. Veterans Administration has a gravesite locator to find burial locations of Military veterans: https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/index.jsp
Enter the appropriate search terms in the boxes and you should find a record for:

POWELL, LEE BERRIEN
SGT US MARINE CORPS
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 05/15/1908
DATE OF DEATH: 07/30/1944
BURIED AT: SECTION F SITE 1246
NATIONAL MEMORIAL CEMETERY OF THE PACIFIC
2177 PUOWAINA DRIVE HONOLULU, HI 96813

Info about the 'Punchbowl', the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific: http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/nmcp.asp

Find A Grave confirms that Lee Powell is interred at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9931288/lee-powell

Find A Grave has a photo of the marker for Lee's parents and sister Virginia at Sunnyside Cemetery, Long Beach, California. Interred there are: Lee Carlyle Powell (1883 - 1956), Helen B. Powell (1886 - 1977), and Helen Virginia Conrad (1912 - 1998): https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/78806649/lee-carlyle-powell

If you came here directly, you may want to read more about Lee Powell and his experiences at PRC in the Frontier Marshal trio series by clicking HERE and a separate window / tab will open with that webpage.

Read about Lee Powell, Herman Brix, the Lightning, and the FIGHTING DEVIL DOGS cliffhanger at Images, A Journal of Film and Popular Culture website: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue04/infocus/fightingdevildogs.htm