[1] Born in Bronxville, New York, Towell was the son of a Canadian-born mother and an English-born father.

He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972, expecting to face eight-term conservative incumbent Democrat Walter Baring in the general election.

Boosted by the divided opposition, a late endorsement from Baring himself, and Richard Nixon's national landslide, Towell won by a narrow margin.

In 1974, Towell ran for reelection, but was soundly defeated by a more conservative Democrat, former judge Jim Santini.

Towell ran for the U.S. Senate in 1976 against incumbent Democrat Howard Cannon, but lost by an overwhelming margin.