Noel Purcell (actor)
Encyclopedia
Noel Purcell was an Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 film and television actor.

Career

Purcell began his show business career at the age of 12 in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. Later, he toured Ireland in a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...

 act with Jimmy O'Dea
Jimmy O'Dea
James Augustine "Jimmy" O'Dea was an Irish actor and comedian.-Life:Jimmy O'Dea was born in Lower Bridge Street, Dublin, where his mother kept a small toy-shop. He was one of 11 children. His father was an iron-monger and had a shop in Capel Street. He was educated at Blackrock College and...

.

Stage-trained in the classics in Dublin, Purcell moved into films in 1934. He appeared in Captain Boycott (1947) and as the elderly sailor whose death marooned the lovers-to-be in the first sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...

 version of The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon (1949 film)
The Blue Lagoon is a 1949 British romance and adventure film produced and directed by Frank Launder, starring Jean Simmons and Donald Houston. The screenplay was adapted by John Baines, Michael Hogan and Frank Launder from the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole...

(1949). Purcell played a member of Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab may refer to:* Ahab , the captain of the Pequod in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick* Captain Ahab , a Los Angeles based pop/electronic band...

's crew in Moby Dick
Moby Dick (1956 film)
Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and the director. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, and Leo Genn...

(1956), a gameskeeper in The List of Adrian Messenger
The List of Adrian Messenger
The List of Adrian Messenger is a 1963 black and white crime thriller about a retired British intelligence officer investigating a series of apparently unrelated deaths. It is directed by acclaimed film director John Huston...

(1963), and a barman in The Mackintosh Man
The Mackintosh Man
The Mackintosh Man is a 1973 British cold war spy thriller film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Dominique Sanda and Ian Bannen. It was produced by John Foreman and William Hill as associate producer from a screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild based on the...

 (1973), all films directed by John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...

.

In 1955, he was an off-and-on regular on the British filmed TV series The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers
The Buccaneers is the last novel written by Edith Wharton. It was unfinished at the time of her death in 1937, and published in that form in 1938. Wharton's manuscript ends with Lizzy inviting Nan to a house party to which Guy Thwarte has been invited too...

(released to American TV in 1956), and Purcell narrated a Hibernia
Hibernia
Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe , Pytheas of Massilia called the island Ierne . In his book Geographia Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of...

n documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

, Seven Wonders of Ireland (1959). In 1962, he portrayed the lusty William McCoy
William McCoy (mutineer)
William McCoy was a Scottish sailor and a mutineer on board the HMS Bounty.Following the mutiny led by Fletcher Christian, the Bounty was taken to Tahiti for a few days before being compelled to set sail. McCoy joined Christian and seven other mutineers. They took with them eleven Tahitian women...

 in Lewis Milestone's
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone was a Russian-American motion picture director. He is known for directing Two Arabian Knights and All Quiet on the Western Front , both of which received Academy Awards for Best Director...

 Mutiny on the Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...

. He played a taciturn Irish in-law to Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

-American entertainer Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...

' character Danny Williams in a 1963 episode of The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show
The Danny Thomas Show is an American sitcom which ran from 1953-1957 on ABC and from 1957-1964 on CBS...

. In 1971, he played the caring rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...

 in the children's musical drama Flight of the Doves
Flight of the Doves
Flight of the Doves is a 1971 British film based on the novel by Walter Macken, the film was written by Frank Gabrielson and Ralph Nelson. Nelson also directed the film.-Cast:...

.

Purcell also gained some recognition as a singer. Shortly after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, songwriter Leo Maguire
Leo Maguire
Patrick Leo Maguire, was an Irish singer, songwriter, and radio broadcaster.Born in Dublin's inner city, Maguire trained as a baritone under Vincent O'Brien, John McCormack's voice teacher. For many years he performed with the Dublin Operatic Society.Maguire was a prolific composer, writing over...

 composed "The Dublin Saunter" for him. He performed the song live for many years and later recorded it for the Glenside label. However, the recording was not a hit. As Purcell recalled many years later, "I don't think one person in the world bought it." In 1981, he recorded a spoken word version of Pete St. John
Pete St. John
Pete St. John is an Irish folk singer-songwriter, most notable for composing Fields of Athenry.St. John is a prolific composer of widely sung modern ballads; his other most famous song is "The Rare Ould Times"...

's "Dublin in the Rare Old Times
Dublin in the Rare Old Times
"The Rare Ould Times" is a song composed by Pete St. John in the 1970s for the Dublin City Ramblers. The song tells of the changes that have occurred in Dublin since the 1960s. The song is sung by fans of Dublin GAA teams. The song is often just called "The Rare Old Times" or alternatively "The...

".

In June 1984, Purcell was given the Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

 of Dublin. Nine months later, he died in his native city at the age of 84.

Filmography

  • The Irish R.M.
    The Irish R.M.
    The Irish R.M. refers to a series of books by the Anglo-Irish novelists Somerville and Ross, and the television comedy-drama series based on them...

    (1 episode, 1984)
  • The Mackintosh Man
    The Mackintosh Man
    The Mackintosh Man is a 1973 British cold war spy thriller film directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, James Mason, Dominique Sanda and Ian Bannen. It was produced by John Foreman and William Hill as associate producer from a screenplay by Walter Hill and William Fairchild based on the...

    (1973)
  • The Onedin Line
    The Onedin Line
    The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...

    (1 episode, 1972)
  • Flight of the Doves
    Flight of the Doves
    Flight of the Doves is a 1971 British film based on the novel by Walter Macken, the film was written by Frank Gabrielson and Ralph Nelson. Nelson also directed the film.-Cast:...

    (1971)
  • The McKenzie Break
    The McKenzie Break
    The McKenzie Break is a 1970 British war drama film directed by Lamont Johnson, starring Brian Keith as Jack Connor, an intelligence officer investigating recent disturbances at a German prisoner of war camp in Scotland...

    (1970)
  • Never Say Die (1970) TV series
  • Dixon of Dock Green
    Dixon of Dock Green
    Dixon of Dock Green was a popular BBC television series that ran from 1955 to 1976, and later a radio series. Despite being a drama series, it was initially produced by the BBC's light entertainment department.-Overview:...

    (1 episode, 1969)
  • Where's Jack?
    Where's Jack?
    Where's Jack? is a 1969 film based around the exploits of notorious 18th century criminal Jack Sheppard and London "thieftaker" Jonathan Wild....

    (1969)
  • Sinful Davey
    Sinful Davey
    -Production:The film, directed by John Huston, is based on the autobiography of David Haggart entitled The Life Of David Haggart. The film, about a Scottish rogue, was filmed in Ireland and consequently much of the cast have Irish brogues instead of the more accurate Scottish accent.-Cast:*John...

    (1969)
  • I Spy (1 episode, 1967)
  • The Violent Enemy (1967)
  • Dr. Finlay's Casebook
    Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)
    Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s...

    (1 episode, 1967)
  • Drop Dead Darling (1966)
  • The Saint
    The Saint (TV series)
    The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...

    (2 episodes, 1964–1966)
  • Doctor in Clover
    Doctor in Clover
    Doctor in Clover is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel by Richard Gordon.The film was shot in Carnaby Street, Wormwood Scrubs and Pinewood Studios.-Synopsis:...

    (1966)
  • The Avengers
    The Avengers (TV series)
    The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...

    (1 episode, 1965)
  • Lord Jim
    Lord Jim (1965 film)
    Lord Jim is a 1965 adventure film made by Columbia Pictures. It was produced and directed by Richard Brooks with Jules Buck and Peter O'Toole as associate producers, from a screenplay by Brooks...

    (1965)
  • The Ceremony (1963)
  • The DuPont Show of the Week (1 episode, 1963)
  • The Running Man
    The Running Man (1963 film)
    The Running Man is a 1963 British drama film directed by Carol Reed, starring Laurence Harvey as a man who fakes his own death in a glider accident, then runs into trouble when an insurance investigator starts taking a close interest....

    (1963)
  • The List of Adrian Messenger
    The List of Adrian Messenger
    The List of Adrian Messenger is a 1963 black and white crime thriller about a retired British intelligence officer investigating a series of apparently unrelated deaths. It is directed by acclaimed film director John Huston...

    (1963) (uncredited)
  • Nurse on Wheels
    Nurse on Wheels
    Nurse on Wheels is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas, and starring Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, and Joan Sims.Nurse on Wheels shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Cast:* Juliet Mills as Joanna...

    (1963)
  • Make Room for Daddy (1962)
  • Mutiny on the Bounty
    Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
    Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard based on the novel Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The film retells the 1789 real-life mutiny aboard HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh...

    (1962)
  • Three Spare Wives
    Three Spare Wives
    Three Spare Wives is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Susan Stephen, John Hewer, Robin Hunter. It was based on a play by Talbot Rothwell.-Cast:* Susan Stephen - Susan* John Hewer - Rupert* Robin Hunter - George...

    (1962)
  • The Iron Maiden (1962)
  • Johnny Nobody
    Johnny Nobody
    Johnny Nobody is a 1961 UK drama film brought to the screen by Viceroy Films Limited under the production of John R. Sloan with executive production from Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli. The original story was by Albert Z. Carr with the screenplay by Patrick Kirwan. It was directed by the...

    (1961)
  • Double Bunk
    Double Bunk
    Double Bunk is a 1961 British black-and-white comedy set on a houseboat, that stars Ian Carmichael and Sid James.The musical score was composed by Stanley Black and the title song, sung by Sid James and Liz Fraser, was by Stanley Black, Jack Fishman and Michael Pratt.-Plot:When newlyweds Jack and...

    (1961)
  • The Three Worlds of Gulliver
    The Three Worlds of Gulliver
    The Three Worlds of Gulliver is a 1960 Columbia Pictures fantasy film loosely based upon the 18th-century English novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. The film stars Kerwin Mathews as the titular character, June Thorburn as his fiancée Elizabeth, and child actor Sherry Alberoni as...

    (1960)
  • Man in the Moon
    Man in the Moon (film)
    Man in the Moon is a 1960 comedy film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Kenneth More and Shirley Anne Field.-Plot:William Blood is a man who appears to be immune to all known diseases, and possesses extraordinary resistance to heat and cold - a fact he puts down to his carefree, single life,...

    (1960)
  • The Millionairess
    The Millionairess
    The Millionairess is a 1960 British romantic comedy film set in London, directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Sophia Loren and Peter Sellers...

    (1960)
  • Make Mine Mink
    Make Mine Mink
    Make Mine Mink is a 1960 British comedy directed by Robert Asher and featuring Terry-Thomas, Athene Seyler, Hattie Jacques, Billie Whitelaw, Elspeth Duxbury, Jack Hedley and Raymond Huntley, with cameos by Kenneth Williams and Irene Handl. A group of misfits go on a spree, stealing mink coats...

    (1960)
  • No Kidding
    No Kidding (film)
    No Kidding is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas featuring Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan and Irene Handl, Noel Purcell and Julia Lockwood. The film is adapted from Verily Andersons novel Beware of Children.-Plot:...

    (1960)
  • Watch Your Stern
    Watch Your Stern
    Watch Your Stern is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas and starring Kenneth Connor, Eric Barker and Leslie Phillips.Watch Your Stern shares its cast and production team with the Carry On films, but the film is not an official member of the Carry On series.-Synopsis:When the crew...

    (1960)
  • Tommy the Toreador (1959)
  • Ferry to Hong Kong
    Ferry to Hong Kong
    Ferry to Hong Kong is a 1959 British melodrama/adventure film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Curd Jürgens, Sylvia Syms, Orson Welles and Jeremy Spenser.-Plot:...

    (1959)
  • Shake Hands with the Devil
    Shake Hands with the Devil (1959 film)
    Shake Hands with the Devil is a 1959 film directed by the English director Michael Anderson.It is set in 1921 Dublin, where the Irish Republican Army battles the "Black and Tans," the ex-British soldiers sent to suppress the IRA with excessively harsh measures.The film stars James Cagney as Sean...

    (1959)
  • The Key
    The Key (1958 film)
    The Key is a 1958 war film set in 1940 during the World War II Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the novel Stella by Jan de Hartog.-Plot:...

    (1958)
  • Rooney
    Rooney (film)
    Rooney is a 1958 British comedy film directed by George Pollock and starring John Gregson, Muriel Pavlow and Barry Fitzgerald. The film depicts the life of James Ignatius Rooney, a Gaelic sportsman at the weekends, and a Dublin rubbish collector during the week...

    (1958)
  • Merry Andrew
    Merry Andrew (film)
    Merry Andrew is a 1958 American musical film directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart and I.A.L. Diamond is based on the short story "The Romance of Henry Menafee" by Paul Gallico...

    (1958)
  • The Rising of the Moon
    The Rising of the Moon (film)
    The Rising of the Moon is a 1957 anthology film directed by John Ford. It consists of three episodes all set in Ireland:*"The Majesty of the Law", based on the short story of that title by Frank O'Connor in Bones of Contention...

    (1957)
  • Pretty Polly (1957)
  • Doctor at Large
    Doctor at Large (film)
    Doctor at Large is a 1957 British comedy film, the third installment of the Doctor in the House series. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Muriel Pavlow, Donald Sinden, and James Robertson Justice.-Cast:* Dirk Bogarde as Dr. Simon Sparrow...

    (1957)
  • Rockets Galore!
    Rockets Galore! (film)
    Rockets Galore! is a 1957 comedy film sequel to Whisky Galore! It was much less successful than its predecessor.It was directed by Michael Relph and based on the novel by Compton Mackenzie...

    (1957)
  • The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1 episode, 1956)
  • The Buccaneers (1 episode, 1956)
  • Lust for Life
    Lust for Life (film)
    Lust for Life is a MGM biographical film about the life of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, based on the 1934 novel by Irving Stone and adapted by Norman Corwin.It was directed by Vincente Minnelli and produced by John Houseman...

    (1956)
  • Moby Dick
    Moby Dick (1956 film)
    Moby Dick is a 1956 film adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick. It was directed by John Huston with a screenplay by Ray Bradbury and the director. The film starred Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, and Leo Genn...

    (1956)
  • Jacqueline
    Jacqueline (film)
    -Cast:* John Gregson as Mike McNeil* Kathleen Ryan as Elizabeth McNeil* Jacqueline Ryan as Jacqueline McNeil* Noel Purcell as Mr. Owen* Cyril Cusack as Mr. Flannagan* Tony Wright as Jack McBride* Maureen Swanson as Maggie* Liam Redmond as Mr. Lord...

    (1956)
  • Doctor at Sea
    Doctor at Sea (film)
    Doctor at Sea is a 1955 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Jack Davies was the sequel to their film from the previous year Doctor in the House, and also starring Dirk Bogarde, playing the character of the...

    (1955)
  • Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents
  • Svengali
    Svengali (1954 film)
    Svengali is a 1954 British drama film directed by Noel Langley and starring Hildegard Knef, Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan. A svengali hypnotises an artist's model into becoming a great opera singer, but she struggles to escape from his powers. It was based on a novel by George Du Maurier.-Cast:*...

    (1954)
  • Mad About Men
    Mad About Men
    Mad About Men is a British comedy film, made in 1954. It was directed by Ralph Thomas and written by Peter Blackmore, who also wrote the 1948 film Miranda which preceded Mad About Men...

    (1954)
  • The Seekers (1954)
  • Doctor in the House
    Doctor in the House
    Doctor in the House is a 1954 British comedy film, directed by Ralph Thomas and produced by Betty Box. The screenplay, by Nicholas Phipps, Richard Gordon and Ronald Wilkinson, is based on the novel by Gordon, and follows a group of students through medical school.It was the most popular box office...

    (1954) (uncredited)
  • Grand National Night
    Grand National Night
    Grand National Night is a 1953 British thriller brought to the screen by George Minter under the production of Phil C. Samuel from a play by Campbell and Dorothy Christie. It was directed by Bob McNaught and starred Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell with support from Michael...

    (1953)
  • Decameron Nights
    Decameron Nights
    Decameron Nights is a 1953 anthology film based on three tales from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, specifically the ninth and tenth tales of the second day and the ninth tale of the third...

    (1953)
  • The Pickwick Papers
    The Pickwick Papers (film)
    The Pickwick Papers is a 1952 British film from George Minter of the Charles Dickens classic. Both screenplay and direction were by Noel Langley. It was awarded a Golden Bear in Russia where the rights were sold for £10,000.-Cast:...

    (1952)
  • The Crimson Pirate
    The Crimson Pirate
    The Crimson Pirate is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak. It stars Burt Lancaster, who also co-produced the film, as Captain Vallo, the eponymous pirate, and is set in the Caribbean late in the 18th century, on the fictional islands of Cobra and San Pero...

    (1952)
  • Father's Doing Fine
    Father's Doing Fine
    Father's Doing Fine is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Richard Attenborough, Heather Thatcher, Noel Purcell and Sid James. It was based on the 1950 play Little Lambs Eat Ivy by Noel Langley.-Cast:...

    (1952)
  • Encore
    Encore (1951 film)
    Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:*"The Ant and the Grasshopper", directed by Pat Jackson and adapted by T. E. B...

    (1951)
  • Appointment with Venus
    Appointment with Venus (film)
    Appointment with Venus is a 1951 film adaptation of the Jerrard Tickell novel of the same name. It was directed by Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty E. Box and its screenplay was written by the novelist Nicholas Phipps...

    (1951)
  • No Resting Place (1951)
  • Talk of a Million
    Talk of a Million
    Talk of a Million is a 1951 British film directed by John Paddy Carstairs starring Jack Warner, with an early appearance from Sid James.-Cast:*Jack Warner as Bartley Murnahan*Barbara Mullen as Bessie Murnahan*Joan Kenny as Sally Murnahan...

    (1951)
  • Saints and Sinners (1949)
  • The Blue Lagoon
    The Blue Lagoon (1949 film)
    The Blue Lagoon is a 1949 British romance and adventure film produced and directed by Frank Launder, starring Jean Simmons and Donald Houston. The screenplay was adapted by John Baines, Michael Hogan and Frank Launder from the novel The Blue Lagoon by Henry De Vere Stacpoole...

    (1949)
  • Captain Boycott (1947)
  • Odd Man Out
    Odd Man Out
    Odd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...

    (1947) (uncredited)
  • Ireland's Border Line (1939)
  • Knight Without Armour
    Knight Without Armour
    Knight Without Armour is a 1937 British historical drama film made by London Films and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Jacques Feyder and produced by Alexander Korda from a screenplay by Lajos Biró adapted by Frances Marion from the novel by James Hilton. The music score was by...

    (1937) (uncredited)
  • Jimmy Boy (1935)
  • Blarney (1926)

External links

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