Tony Powell cut off contact with his family in 1981 and spent the next four decades in Los Angeles, managing a West Hollywood motel. The former Norwich City defender was traced in 2002 and is now 79, living in assisted care in San Diego. A documentary about him reached cinemas in May 2026.
Who Tony Powell Was Before He Disappeared
Tony Powell was a central defender who made 275 appearances for Norwich City between 1974 and 1981 and was voted the club’s Player of the Season in 1979.
Born in Bristol in 1947, he began at AFC Bournemouth in 1968 and played 219 league games there before moving to Norwich in 1974. He collected a Football League Cup runner-up medal in the 1974-75 season. Of his Norwich total, 237 appearances came in the league.
From 1978 to 1981 his Norwich teammates included Justin Fashanu, who in 1990 became the first English professional footballer to come out publicly. Powell has said he knew Fashanu was gay while they played together, and that Fashanu did not want to discuss it.
Powell left for the United States in August 1981, joining the San Jose Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League. He played indoor football for the Golden Bay Earthquakes, moved to the Seattle Sounders in 1983, and retired that year with 566 senior appearances across his career.
Tony Powell’s Story in Dates
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1947 | Born in Bristol, England |
| 1968 | Signs for AFC Bournemouth |
| 1974 | Joins Norwich City from Bournemouth |
| 1979 | Voted Norwich City Player of the Season |
| August 1981 | Moves to the United States to join the San Jose Earthquakes, and stops contacting his family |
| 1983 | Retires after a season with the Seattle Sounders |
| 2002 | Traced by Norwich City’s search for former players, running a motel in California |
| April 2024 | Returns to Carrow Road for the first time since 1981 |
| 8 June 2025 | Documentary premieres at the Tribeca Festival in New York |
| September 2025 | The Holloway Motel closes; Powell is its last resident |
| 22 May 2026 | The film opens in selected US cinemas |
| August 2026 | The BBC reports he is 79, has dementia and lives in assisted care in San Diego |
Why He Cut Off His Family in 1981
Powell was gay and believed that coming out during his playing career would have ended it, so he moved abroad and stopped answering his family in England.
“I just wanted to be who I am, but at that time it was not a good idea to come out,” he told The Guardian in an interview published in March 2026. He has described the isolation of the dressing room in similar terms, saying it felt as though there was nobody he could talk to.
He had married and had two daughters, and became estranged from them after his divorce. His sister Denise Smith told the BBC that their parents died within a few years of him breaking contact. “It didn’t matter to us, and it felt like what a waste of years,” she said. “If only he could have found the courage to say something.”
In Los Angeles he lived with his partner, David Castro. Instinct Magazine reported in July 2026 that Powell cared for Castro at home, rather than use hospice care, until Castro died of AIDS.
He Was Traced in 2002, Not by the Documentary
Norwich City located Powell in 2002, more than twenty years before the documentary about him was released, during a club search for former players.
The search found him managing a motel in California, and the British press reported his whereabouts in the early 2000s. His relatives in England, however, did not know where he was for about 35 years, and the reconnection with his siblings came later.
He also went back to Norwich before the film came out. The club said in a post on 21 April 2024 that Powell had been a guest at Carrow Road that weekend, his first visit since he left in 1981. Much of the coverage of the documentary skips both of these steps, which gives the impression that the filmmakers found a man nobody had seen since 1981. They did not: they found a man his old club had already located, and they put him back in touch with his brother and sisters.
The Holloway Motel and the Eviction That Became a Film
Powell managed the Holloway Motel in West Hollywood for about 25 years and was the building’s last resident when it closed in September 2025.
The directors, Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman, have described how they met him. Petros had moved in two blocks away and kept noticing the near-empty motel and the older man who sat on its balcony for much of the day. Freeman came to visit and sublet a room. When they called up from the street, Powell told them the city had bought the building to turn into a shelter, and added: “I was a professional soccer player once.”
A letter asking about a short film went unanswered, and they later spotted him outside a cantina with his chihuahua. The short grew into a feature when filming coincided with his eviction, which played out over roughly two months. The building was converted into temporary housing for homeless people.
Tracing his family took research rather than luck. Relatives had changed surnames through marriage, so the team used ancestry websites, a DNA test and Facebook groups in Bristol, and Norwich City helped them reach former teammates. Freeman compiled a list of every Roy Powell in England to find Powell’s older brother, who Powell believed might be dead. The first number they called was the right one, and Petros has said the brother started sobbing on the phone.
Where Is Tony Powell Now?
As of the BBC’s report in August 2026, Tony Powell is 79, has dementia and lives in an assisted living centre in San Diego, California.
That remains the most recent verified account of his circumstances. Coverage published on 6 October 2026 repeats the same details and reports that the documentary is still touring UK cinemas, so there has been no public update on his health or address since August 2026.
He came out publicly as gay in 2025, saying he hoped it would help younger gay men in football be themselves. His sister has said he still keeps much of his life private, and that the family has learned relatively little about the years he was away.
Powell’s reappearance follows a pattern readus247 has covered before, from the singer Duffy’s return after fifteen years to Rick Moranis coming back after 28 years.
How to Watch The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel
The film runs about 94 minutes and can be rented in the United States on Apple TV, Prime Video and Fandango at Home; in the UK it has screened in cinemas rather than on a streaming service.
It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on 8 June 2025, in a sold-out screening, and its first showing outside the United States at BFI Flare in London in March 2026. Wolfe Video and LD Entertainment opened it in selected US cinemas on 22 May 2026.
A UK tour followed through 2026, including a northern premiere in Leeds on 18 July, a screening in Bath in August, and dates in Norwich, Newcastle and Brighton. A London screening on 22 September carried a virtual director Q&A, and a Los Angeles screening on 30 September had the directors in person. The film’s own website says the digital rental is available only in the United States.
It was co-directed by Petros and Freeman and co-produced by Andrew D. Corkin and Robbie Rogers, the openly gay former Leeds United and LA Galaxy player, who used to walk past the motel during his time with the Galaxy.
Where the Sources Disagree
Four details vary between outlets, and none of them change the outcome of the story.
- Time at the motel: The Guardian says 25 years, the Los Angeles Blade says 20.
- His age: Reports in March 2026 gave 78 and reports from August 2026 gave 79, which fits a 1947 birth year.
- Years out of contact: Some accounts say 35 years, counting the period his relatives did not know his location; others say more than 40, counting from when he left public view.
- Norwich appearances: 275 in all competitions, of which 237 were league games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Tony Powell Still Alive?
Yes. The BBC reported in August 2026 that he was 79 and living in an assisted living centre in San Diego.
Did Tony Powell Ever Come Out Publicly?
Yes, in 2025. He has said he did it partly to make football easier for young gay players.
How Did Tony Powell’s Family Find Him Again?
Documentary makers Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman traced his relatives using ancestry websites, a DNA test and Bristol Facebook groups, then contacted his sister Denise Smith.
Was Tony Powell a Teammate of Justin Fashanu?
Yes, at Norwich City between 1978 and 1981, nine years before Fashanu came out publicly in 1990.
Where Can I Watch the Documentary About Tony Powell?
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel is available to rent in the United States on Apple TV, Prime Video and Fandango at Home.
