The Irish R.M.
1983 · TV Show
Noel Purcell
1900-12-23
•
Dublin, Ireland
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.
Filmography
The MacKintosh Man
1973 · Movie
as O'Donovan
Flight of the Doves
1971 · Movie
as Rabbi
The Onedin Line
1971 · TV Show
as Hennessy
The McKenzie Break
1970 · Movie
as Ferry Captain
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Never Say Die
1970 · TV Show
as Mr. Finucane
Sinful Davey
1969 · Movie
as Jock
Where's Jack?
1969 · Movie
as Leatherchest
No image
The Violent Enemy
1967 · Movie
as John Michael Leary
Arrivederci, Baby!
1966 · Movie
as Capt. Daniel O'Flannery
Doctor in Clover
1966 · Movie
as O'Malley
Lord Jim
1965 · Movie
as Captain Chester
The Iron Maiden
1963 · Movie
as Admiral Sir Digby Trevelyan
Nurse on Wheels
1963 · Movie
as Abel Worthy
The Running Man
1963 · Movie
as Miles Bleeker
The List of Adrian Messenger
1963 · Movie
as Countryman (uncredited)
The Ceremony
1963 · Movie
as Finigan
Mutiny on the Bounty
1962 · Movie
as Seaman William McCoy
No image
Three Spare Wives
1962 · Movie
as Sir Hubert
The Saint
1962 · TV Show
as Brendan Cullin, Mike Kelly
Double Bunk
1961 · Movie
as O'Malley
Johnny Nobody
1961 · Movie
as Brother Timothy
The Avengers
1961 · TV Show
as Jonah Barnard
The Millionairess
1960 · Movie
as Professor Merton
Man in the Moon
1960 · Movie
as Prosecutor
No Kidding
1960 · Movie
as Tandy
Watch Your Stern
1960 · Movie
as Adm. Sir Humphrey Pettigrew
Make Mine Mink
1960 · Movie
as Burglar
A Terrible Beauty
1960 · Movie
as Father Sheehy (uncredited)
Ferry to Hong Kong
1959 · Movie
as Joe Skinner
Tommy the Toreador
1959 · Movie
as Captain
Shake Hands with the Devil
1959 · Movie
as Liam O'Sullivan
Merry Andrew
1958 · Movie
as Matthew Larabee
Rockets Galore
1958 · Movie
as Father James
The Key
1958 · Movie
as Hotel Clerk
Rooney
1958 · Movie
as Tim Hennessy
The Rising of the Moon
1957 · Movie
as Dan O'Flaherty (segment 'The Majesty of the Law')
Doctor at Large
1957 · Movie
as Padre
Lust for Life
1956 · Movie
as Anton Mauve
Jacqueline
1956 · Movie
as Mr. Owen, the Parson
Moby Dick
1956 · Movie
as Ship's Carpenter
The Buccaneers
1956 · TV Show
as Pat
Doctor at Sea
1955 · Movie
as Corble
Svengali
1954 · Movie
as Patrick O'Farrell
The Seekers
1954 · Movie
as Paddy Clarke
Mad About Men
1954 · Movie
as Percy
Doctor in the House
1954 · Movie
as Padre (uncredited)
Grand National Night
1953 · Movie
as Philip Balfour
Decameron Nights
1953 · Movie
as Father Francisco
The Crimson Pirate
1952 · Movie
as Pablo Murphy
Father's Doing Fine
1952 · Movie
as Shaughnessy
The Pickwick Papers
1952 · Movie
as Roker
Appointment with Venus
1951 · Movie
as Trawler Langley
Talk of a Million
1951 · Movie
as Matty McGrath
Encore
1951 · Movie
as Tom, Captain
No Resting Place
1951 · Movie
as Guard Mannigan
The Blue Lagoon
1949 · Movie
as Paddy Button
Saints and Sinners
1949 · Movie
as Flaherty
Captain Boycott
1947 · Movie
as Daniel McGinty
Odd Man Out
1947 · Movie
as Tram Conductor (uncredited)
Ireland's Border Line
1938 · Movie
as Garda Sergeant Hogan
