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Noel Purcell (actor)

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Noel Purcell (born 23 December, 1900 — March 3, 1985) was an Irish film and television actor.

Purcell was born in Dublin and was educated at Synge Street Christian Brothers School. He began his showbusiness career at the age of 12 in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre when he played the hind legs of a donkey. Later he toured Ireland in a vaudeville act with Jimmy O'Dea.

Purcell graced many a film and TV show with variations of his standard character, the bearded, boozy son of the Auld Sod. Stage-trained in the classics in Dublin, Purcell moved into films in 1934.

His days of prominence, which began with Captain Boycott (1947) and lasted until the 1970's, saw Purcell cast as the elderly sailor whose death marooned the lovers-to-be in the first sound film version of The Blue Lagoon (1949). Purcell was dominant among Captain Ahab's crew in Moby Dick (1956) and highly visible as a gameskeeper in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), both films directed by John Huston.

In 1955, he was an off-and-on regular on the British filmed TV series The Buccaneers (released to American TV in 1956), and Purcell narrated a Hibernian documentary, Seven Wonders of Ireland (1959). 1962 was a good year for the hirsute hibernian with a sterling performance as the lusty William McCoy in Lewis Milestone's Mutiny on the Bounty. One of Purcell's best-remembered appearances of the 1960s was as a taciturn Irish in-law to Lebanese-American entertainer Danny Thomas' character Danny Williams in a 1963 episode of The Danny Thomas Show.

In 1971 he turned in a rare and powerful performance in his best part to date as the caring Rabbi in the children's musical drama The Flight of The Doves. Shot in a fictional synagogue in Dublin's now Temple bar area. Purcell is immense as the bearded holy man who assists in the escape of the tragic brother and sister Finn and Derval Dove.

Purcell also gained some recognition as a singer. Shortly after World War 2, songwriter Leo Maguire composed "The Dublin Saunter" for him. He performed the song live for many years and later recorded it for the Glenside label. However, despite being indelibly associated with Purcell in his later years, the recording was by no means 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's "Dublin in the Rare Old Times".

In June 1984, Purcell was conferred with the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Nine months later he died in his native city at the age of 84.

Filmography

Movies/TV Appearances and Characters played: "The Irish R.M." .... O'Reilly (1 episode, 1984) 

   - Oweneen the Sprat (1984) TV episode .... O'Reilly

The MacKintosh Man (1973) .... O'Donovan "The Onedin Line" .... Hennessy (1 episode, 1972) 

   - Survivor (1972) TV episode .... Hennessy
Flight of the Doves (1971) .... Rabbi The McKenzie Break (1970) .... Ferry Boat Captain ... aka Escape (USA: video title) ... aka Wolfpack "Never Say Die" (1970) TV series .... Mr. Finucane (unknown episodes)

"Dixon of Dock Green" .... Thomas (1 episode, 1969) 

   - The One That Got Away (1969) TV episode .... Thomas
Where's Jack? (1969) .... Leatherchest Sinful Davey (1969) .... Jock "I Spy" .... Fletcher (1 episode, 1967) 
   - Now You See Her, Now You Don't (1967) TV episode .... Fletcher
The Violent Enemy (1967) .... John Michael Leary "Dr. Finlay's Casebook" .... Alexander Craig (1 episode, 1967) 
   - The Masterpiece (1967) TV episode .... Alexander Craig
Drop Dead Darling (1966) .... Captain O'Flannery ... aka Arrivederci, Baby! (USA) "The Saint" .... Cmdr. Brendan Cullin / ... (2 episodes, 1964-1966) 
   - Little Girl Lost (1966) TV episode .... Cmdr. Brendan Cullin
   - The Wonderful War (1964) TV episode .... Mike Kelly
Doctor in Clover (1966) .... O'Malley ... aka Carnaby, M.D. (USA) "The Avengers" .... Jonah Barnard (1 episode, 1965) 
   - A Surfeit of H2O (1965) TV episode .... Jonah Barnard
Lord Jim (1965) .... Captain Chester The Ceremony (1963) .... Finigan "The DuPont Show of the Week" .... Meager (1 episode, 1963) 
   - The Last Hangman (1963) TV episode .... Meager
The Running Man (1963) .... Miles Bleeker ... aka Carol Reed's The Running Man ... aka The Ballad of the Running Man (International: English title) The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) (uncredited) .... Countryman Nurse on Wheels (1963) .... Abel Worthy ... aka Carry on, Nurse on Wheels ... aka What a Carry On: Nurse on Wheels (UK: video box title) "Make Room for Daddy" .... Francis Daly (1 episode, 1962) ... aka The Danny Thomas Show (USA: new title) 
   - The Ould Sod (1962) TV episode .... Francis Daly
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) .... Seaman William McCoy Three Spare Wives (1962) .... Sir Hubert The Iron Maiden (1962) .... Admiral Sir Digby Trevelyan ... aka The Swinging Maiden (USA) Johnny Nobody (1961) .... Brother Timothy Double Bunk (1961) .... O'Malley The 3 Worlds of Gulliver (1960) (uncredited) .... Capt. Pritchard ... aka The Worlds of Gulliver Man in the Moon (1960) .... Prospector The Millionairess (1960) .... Professor Merton Make Mine Mink (1960) .... Burglar No Kidding (1960) .... Tandy ... aka Beware of Children (USA) Watch Your Stern (1960) .... Sir Humphrey Pettigrew ... aka What a Carry On: Watch Your Stern (UK: video box title)

Tommy the Toreador (1959) .... Captain Ferry to Hong Kong (1959) .... Joe Skinner, Chief Engineer Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) .... Liam O'Sullivan The Key (1958) .... Hotel Porter Rooney (1958) .... Tim Hennessy Merry Andrew (1958) .... Matthew Larabee The Rising of the Moon (1957) .... Dan O'Flaherty Pretty Polly (1957) .... Jarvey Doctor at Large (1957) .... Bartender Rockets Galore! (1957) .... Father James ... aka Mad Little Island (USA) "The Adventures of Sir Lancelot" .... Llian (1 episode, 1956) 

   - The Pirates (1956) TV episode .... Llian
"The Buccaneers" .... Pat (1 episode, 1956) 
   - Whale Gold (1956) TV episode .... Pat
Lust for Life (1956) .... Anton Mauve Moby Dick (1956) .... Ship's Carpenter ... aka Herman Melville's Moby Dick (USA: complete title) Jacqueline (1956) .... Mr. Owen Doctor at Sea (1955) (uncredited) .... Corbie Svengali (1954) .... Patrick O'Ferrall Mad About Men (1954) .... Percy The Seekers (1954) .... Paddy Clarke ... aka Land of Fury (USA) Doctor in the House (1954) (uncredited) .... The padre (bartender) Grand National Night (1953) .... Philip Balfour ... aka Wicked Wife (USA) Decameron Nights (1953) .... Father Francisco ... aka Tres historias de amor (Spain) The Pickwick Papers (1952) .... Roker The Crimson Pirate (1952) .... Pablo Murphy Father's Doing Fine (1952) .... Shaughnessy Encore (1951) .... Tom, Captain (segment "Winter Cruise") Appointment with Venus (1951) .... Trawler Langley ... aka Island Rescue (USA) No Resting Place (1951) .... Garda (Officer) Mannigan Talk of a Million (1951) .... Matty McGrath ... aka You Can't Beat the Irish

Saints and Sinners (1949) .... Flaherty The Blue Lagoon (1949) .... Paddy Button Captain Boycott (1947) .... Daniel McGinty Odd Man Out (1947) (uncredited) .... Tram Conductor ... aka Gang War

Ireland's Border Line (1939) .... Sergeant Hogan ... aka Blarney (UK) Jimmy Boy (1935)

Blarney (1926/I) .... Garda Sergeant

References

See also

External links



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