Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

in the 1944 film serial, co-starring with Lorna Gray and Lionel Atwill. Purcell also appeared in films such as ''Tough Kid'' (1938), ''Accidents Will Happen'' (1938), '' Heroes in Blue'' (1939), '' Irish Luck'' (1939), '' The Bank Dick'' (1940), and '' King of the Zombies'' (1941).

Early life

Purcell was born in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich ( ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

in 1905 (not 1908, as many sources suggest). One of 5 children, he attended Catholic grade school and high school, before enrolling as a student at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

in The

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

Purcell began his acting career on the stage in New York, appearing in at least three plays: '' Men in White'', ''Sailor, Beware!'' and ''Paths of Glory''. A talent scout saw Purcell's performance in ''Paths of Glory'' which led to a small role in the film '' Ceiling Zero'' (1936). In his next film, '' Man Hunt'' (1936), Purcell had a larger role as a newspaper reporter. Purcell appeared in eleven films in 1936 alone.

Captain America serial

Purcell got the title role in the 1944

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

'' despite being somewhat overweight. The script was loosely based on the comic book character

. The serial has Captain America, whose everyday identity is

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Grant Gardner, thwarting the attempts of The Scarab, the villainous alter ego of museum curator Dr. Cyrus Maldor, to acquire a pair of super weapon devices, the "Dynamic Vibrator" and "Electronic Firebolt". The serial, which would go on to be box office success, would be Republic's most expensive to make but also its last one about a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Personal life

Purcell eloped to Las Vegas with the actress Ethelind Terry. The two married on March 3, 1942, only to divorce on August 26, 1942.

Death

Shortly after he completed the ''Captain America'' film serial, and just before its general release, Purcell collapsed and died in the

locker room A locker is a small, usually narrow storage compartment. They are commonly found in dedicated cabinets, very often in large numbers, in various public places such as Changing room, locker rooms, workplaces, schools, transport hubs and the like ...

of a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

country club on 10 April 1944, shortly after playing a round of golf. His remains were interred at

Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Holy Cross Cemetery is a Catholic Church, Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Archdiocese. It is partially in the Culver City city limi ...

. Film historian Raymond Stedman speculated that the strain of filming ''Captain America'' was too much for his

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

Selected filmography

* '' The Doorway to Hell'' (1930) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' The Strange Love of Molly Louvain'' (1932) - Jimmy's College Friend (uncredited) * '' Ceiling Zero'' (1936) - Smiley * '' Freshman Love'' (1936) - Radio Announcer (uncredited) * '' Man Hunt'' (1936) - Skip McHenry * '' Brides Are Like That'' (1936) - Dr. Randolph Jenkins * '' Snowed Under'' (1936) - Bert (uncredited) * '' Times Square Playboy'' (1936) - Wally Calhoun * '' The Law in Her Hands'' (1936) - Marty * ''

Bullets or Ballots ''Bullets or Ballots'' is a 1936 American crime film, crime thriller film starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, and Humphrey Bogart. Robinson plays a police detective who infiltrates a crime gang. This is the first of sev ...

'' (1936) - Ed Driscoll (credited as Richard Purcell) * '' Public Enemy's Wife'' (1936) - Louie * ''

Bengal Tiger The Bengal tiger is a population of the ''Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the largest wild cats alive today. It is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late ...

'' (1936) - Nick DeLargo * '' Jailbreak'' (1936) - Ed Slayden * '' The Case of the Velvet Claws'' (1936) - Crandal * '' The Captain's Kid'' (1936) - George Chester * '' King of Hockey'' (1936) - Gabby Dugan * '' Navy Blues'' (1937) - Russell J. 'Rusty' Gibbs * '' Men in Exile'' (1937) - Jimmy Carmody * '' Melody for Two'' (1937) - Mel Lynch * '' Draegerman Courage'' (1937) - Trapped Draegerman (uncredited) * '' Slim'' (1937) - Tom * '' Public Wedding'' (1937) - Joe Taylor * '' Reported Missing'' (1937) - Paul Wayne * '' Wine, Women and Horses'' (1937) - George Mayhew * ''

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate, Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a Alcatraz Isla ...

'' (1937) - 'Harp' Santell * '' Missing Witnesses'' (1937) - 'Bull' Regan * '' Daredevil Drivers'' (1938) - Bill Foster * '' Over the Wall'' (1938) - Ace Scanlon * '' Accidents Will Happen'' (1938) - Jim Faber * '' Flight into Nowhere'' (1938) - Bill Kellogg * '' Air Devils'' (1938) - Percy 'Slats' Harrington * '' Mystery House'' (1938) - Lance O'Leary * '' Penrod's Double Trouble'' (1938) - Tex Boyden * '' Valley of the Giants'' (1938) - Creel * '' Garden of the Moon'' (1938) - Rick Fulton * '' Broadway Musketeers'' (1938) - Vincent 'Vince' Morrell * '' Nancy Drew... Detective'' (1938) - Keiffer * '' Tough Kid'' (1938) - 'Red' Murphy * ''

Blackwell's Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, with an area of , and had a ...

'' (1939) - Terry Walsh * '' Streets of New York'' (1939) - T.P. 'Tap' Keenan * '' Irish Luck'' (1939) - Steve Lanahan * '' Heroes in Blue'' (1939) - Terry Murphy * ''

Outside the Three-Mile Limit ''Outside the Three-Mile Limit'' is a 1940 American crime film directed by Lewis D. Collins and written by Albert DeMond. The film stars Jack Holt, Harry Carey, Sig Ruman, Eduardo Ciannelli, Donald Briggs and Irene Ware. The film was rele ...

'' (1940) - Agent Melvin Pierce * ''

New Moon In astronomy, the new moon is the first lunar phase, when the Moon and Sun have the same ecliptic longitude. At this phase, the lunar disk is not visible to the naked eye, except when it is silhouetted against the Sun during a solar eclipse. ...

'' (1940) - Alexander * '' Private Affairs'' (1940) - Dick Cartwright * '' Arise, My Love'' (1940) - Pink * '' The Bank Dick'' (1940) - Mackley Q. Greene * '' Flight Command'' (1940) - Lieut. 'Stichy' Payne * '' King of the Zombies'' (1941) - James McCarthy * '' Two in a Taxi'' (1941) - Bill Gratton * '' Bullets for O'Hara'' (1941) - Wicks * '' Flying Blind'' (1941) - Bob Fuller * '' The Pittsburgh Kid'' (1941) - Cliff Halliday * '' No Hands on the Clock'' (1941) - Red Harris * ''

Torpedo Boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

'' (1942) - Ralph Andrews * '' In Old California'' (1942) - Joe Dawson * '' I Live on Danger'' (1942) - Norm Thompson * '' The Old Homestead'' (1942) - Scarf Lennin * '' Phantom Killer'' (1942) - Edward Arlington Clark * '' X Marks the Spot'' (1942) - Police Lt. William 'Bill' Decker * '' Reveille with Beverly'' (1943) - Andy Adams * '' No Place for a Lady'' (1943) - Rand Brooke * ''

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

'' (1943) - Duke Springer * '' Aerial Gunner'' (1943) - Pvt. Lancelot 'Gadget' Blaine * ''

High Explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...

'' (1943) - Dave * '' Mystery of the 13th Guest'' (1943) - Johnny Smith * '' Timber Queen'' (1944) - Milt Holmes * ''

'' (1944, Serial) - Grant Gardner / Captain America * '' Trocadero'' (1944) - Spike Nelson * '' Leave It to the Irish'' (1944) - Pat Burke (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Dick Purcell biography
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Dick 1905 births 1944 deaths Male actors from Greenwich, Connecticut 20th-century American male actors