Born at his mother's home in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Edmund Power III, from a family of famous theatrical actors. A frail, sickly child, he was taken by his parents to the warmer climate of southern California. After his parents' divorce, he and his sister 'Anne Power' returned to Cincinnati with his mother. There he attended school, while developing an obsession with acting.

Although raised by his mother, he corresponded with his father, who encouraged his acting dreams. He worked with the Shakespearean Repertory Company (1931-32). Tyrone has been married three times, to Annabella (real name: Suzanne Charpentier), to Linda Christian and to Deborah Minardus.

He served in the Marine Corps in World War II as a pilot and saw action in the South Pacific, distinguishing himself in action. After the war, he got his best reviews for an atypical part as a downward-spiralling con-man in Nightmare Alley (1947). But although he remained a huge star, much of his postwar work was unremarkable.

His marriages were all total disasters. His "gay" associations were too tension-filled to be fulfilling for him - Tyrone was a bottom in search of the perfect top. Thus, he ended his life a basically spent man, drinking heavily and trying in vain to have successful heterosexual relations.

He died in Madrid, Spain, from a heart attack. He is interred at Hollywood Memorial Cemetery (now called Hollywood Forever), Hollywood, California, USA. His three children, including his namesake, Tyrone William Power IV (known professionally as Tyrone Power Jr. (I) ), have all followed him in the family acting tradition.

His films include: Lloyds of London (1936) In Old Chicago (1938) Suez (1938) Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) Jesse James (1939) The Razor's Edge (1946) The Black Rose (1950) The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) Seven Waves Away (1956) The Rising of the Moon (1957) The Sun also Rises (1957) Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Theatre: Low and Behold (1933) Romeo and Juliet (1935) Saint Joan (1936) Liliom (1941) Mister Roberts (1950) John Brown's Body (1950) The Dark is Light Enough (1954/1955) A Quiet Place (1955) Back to Methuselah (1955) The Devil's Disciple (1956) Biography: The Drama of a Bisexual in the Spotlight