Noel Purcell

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 mothers 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 Dublins Gaiety Theatre Later he toured Ireland in a vaudeville act with Jimmy ODea Stagetrained 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 loverstobe in the first sound film version of The Blue Lagoon 1949 He played a member of Captain Ahabs crew in Moby Dick 1956 Dan OFlaherty 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 offandon 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 Milestones Mutiny on the Bounty He played a taciturn Irish inlaw to Lebanese American entertainer Danny Thomass character Danny Williams in a 1963 episode of The Danny Thomas Show In 1971 he played the caring rabbi in the childrens 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 dont 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 whod written it No contract or anything so I never got a fee or any payments In 1981 on YouTube its 1974 he recorded a spoken word version of Pete St Johns 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