person

Noel Purcell

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Gender

Male

Birthday

1900-12-23

Place of Birth

Dublin, Ireland

Noel Purcell

Biography

Patrick Joseph Noel Purcell (23 December 1900 – 3 March 1985) was a distinguished Irish actor on stage, screen, and television. He appeared in the 1956 film Moby Dick and the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty. Patrick Joseph Noel Purcell was the son of Dublin auctioneer Pierce Purcell and his second wife Catherine (née Hoban), an antique dealer. He was born at 11a, Lower Mercer Street, one of two houses owned by his mother's family. Purcell was educated at Synge Street CBS. He lost the tip of his right index finger while making cigarette vending machines, and was also missing his entire left index finger due to a different accident while he was an apprentice carpenter, a feature which he exploited for dramatic effect in the film Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). Purcell began his show business career at the age of 12 in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre. Later, he toured Ireland in a vaudeville act with Jimmy O'Dea. 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 version of The Blue Lagoon (1949). He played a member of Captain Ahab's crew in Moby Dick (1956), Dan O'Flaherty in episode one, The Majesty of the Law, of The Rising of the Moon (1957), a gamekeeper in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), and a barman in The Mackintosh Man (1973); the last two films were 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). He narrated a Hibernian documentary, Seven Wonders of Ireland (1959). In 1962, he portrayed the lusty William McCoy in Lewis Milestone's Mutiny on the Bounty. He played a taciturn Irish in-law to Lebanese American entertainer Danny Thomas's character Danny Williams in a 1963 episode of The Danny Thomas Show. In 1971, he played the caring rabbi in the children's musical drama Flight of the Doves. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1958 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the BBC Television Theatre. Purcell also gained some recognition as a singer. Shortly after the Second World War, 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, the recording was not a hit. As Purcell recalled many years later, "I don't think one person in the world bought it." However, over time it became one of the most favorite songs about Dublin, receiving countless air plays on radio programs. In his later years, Purcell was asked by RTÉ journalist Colm Connolly whether he had received many royalties down the years. Purcell replied: "Not a penny. I recorded it as a favor for a pal, Leo Maguire, who'd written it. No contract or anything, so I never got a fee or any payments." In 1981 (on YouTube it's 1974) he recorded a spoken word version of Pete St. John's "Dublin in the Rare Old Times". In June 1984, Purcell was given the Freedom of the City of Dublin. Nine months later, he died in his native city at the age of 84. On 7 July 1941, Purcell married former child actress Eileen Marmion. They had four sons.

Also Known For

poster

54

The Millionairess

Oct 18, 1960

poster

59

Svengali

Sep 01, 1954

poster

70

Mutiny on the Bounty

Nov 08, 1962

poster

70

The Crimson Pirate

Sep 27, 1952

poster

72

Lust for Life

Sep 15, 1956

poster

54

Doctor at Sea

Jul 12, 1955

poster

58

Flight of the Doves

Apr 02, 1971

poster

60

Merry Andrew

Mar 20, 1958

poster

55

The Violent Enemy

May 01, 1967

poster

64

Man in the Moon

Oct 31, 1960

poster

56

No Kidding

Nov 01, 1960

poster

55

Ferry to Hong Kong

Oct 29, 1959

poster

56

Watch Your Stern

Oct 14, 1960

poster

81

Grand National Night

Apr 15, 1953

poster

35

Tommy the Toreador

Dec 21, 1959

poster

51

Appointment with Venus

Oct 08, 1951

poster

63

The Iron Maiden

Jun 07, 1963

poster

57

The Seekers

Jun 22, 1954

poster

NA

Ireland's Border Line

Apr 28, 1938

poster

60

Rockets Galore

Oct 19, 1958

poster

61

Mad About Men

Nov 16, 1954

poster

NA

Three Spare Wives

Jan 01, 1962

poster

63

Father's Doing Fine

Aug 15, 1952

poster

69

The Rising of the Moon

Aug 10, 1957

poster

60

The Blue Lagoon

Mar 01, 1949

poster

67

Captain Boycott

Aug 26, 1947

poster

65

Shake Hands with the Devil

Jun 24, 1959

poster

55

Sinful Davey

Feb 10, 1969

poster

68

Lord Jim

Feb 15, 1965

poster

60

Jacqueline

Jun 04, 1956

poster

60

The Key

May 28, 1958

poster

57

Double Bunk

May 06, 1961

poster

58

Arrivederci, Baby!

Dec 28, 1966

poster

NA

Talk of a Million

Mar 12, 1951

poster

58

Nurse on Wheels

Jan 03, 1963

poster

55

Doctor in Clover

Mar 08, 1966

poster

67

The Running Man

Oct 01, 1963

poster

65

Doctor in the House

Mar 23, 1954

poster

56

Doctor at Large

Mar 26, 1957

poster

66

The List of Adrian Messenger

May 23, 1963

poster

72

Where's Jack?

Apr 01, 1969

poster

61

The McKenzie Break

Oct 28, 1970

poster

50

Decameron Nights

Jan 13, 1953

poster

51

The Ceremony

Dec 18, 1963

poster

65

Johnny Nobody

Oct 01, 1961

poster

62

Encore

Jun 11, 1951

poster

55

Rooney

Mar 24, 1958

poster

66

The Pickwick Papers

Nov 14, 1952

poster

70

Moby Dick

Jun 27, 1956

poster

60

Saints and Sinners

Aug 15, 1949

poster

71

Make Mine Mink

Aug 09, 1960

poster

60

The MacKintosh Man

Nov 08, 1973

poster

NA

No Resting Place

Jan 12, 1951

poster

73

Odd Man Out

Jan 30, 1947

poster

73

The Saint

Oct 04, 1962

poster

52

The Irish R.M.

Jan 06, 1983

poster

55

The Buccaneers

Sep 19, 1956

poster

NA

Never Say Die

Aug 04, 1970

poster

73

The Saint

Oct 04, 1962

poster

68

The Onedin Line

Oct 15, 1971

poster

77

The Avengers

Jan 07, 1961