Garmin Software: John Robert Powers

Saturday, 3 November 2012

John Robert Powers

John Robert Powers (April 16, 1892 – November 1977) was an American actor and founder of a prominent New York City modeling agency.

In 1923, John Robert Powers founded a modeling agency. The John Robert Powers Agency represented many models who went on to success in the Hollywood film industry, and even Betty Bloomer (Mrs. Jerry Ford) who became the First Lady of the United States. While Powers' clientele was overwhelmingly female, and to be a "Powers Girl" was a much sought-after position, the agency also represented several men.

At its height, the agency was so significant within the industry that Hollywood made a 1943 musical comedy film titled The Powers Girl in which Alan Mowbray portrays John Robert Powers and features Anne Shirley and Carole Landis as aspiring models.The John Robert Powers system is a franchise system and its franchises in the USA have been involved in a controversy over their status as a school vs a talent agency. Critics in the USA describe John Robert Powers franchises in America as using high-pressure sales tactics and misleading advertising.^[1] John Robert Powers USA asserts that is not an agency and does not make any percentage of the talents' earnings.