Dick Purcell

Dick Purcell
Richard Gerold Purcell Jr. (August 6, 1905 – April 10, 1944) was an American actor best known for playing Marvel Comics' Captain America in the 1943 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 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 in The Bronx in New York City.
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 serial film Captain America despite being somewhat overweight. The script was loosely based on the comic book character Captain America. The serial has Captain America, whose everyday identity is District Attorney 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.
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 of a Hollywood country club on 10 April 1944, shortly after playing a round of golf. His remains were interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. Film historian Raymond Stedman speculated that the strain of filming Captain America was too much for his heart.
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 (1936) - Ed Driscoll (credited as Richard Purcell)
Public Enemy's Wife (1936) - Louie
Bengal Tiger (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 (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 (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 (1940) - Agent Melvin Pierce
New Moon (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 (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 (1943) - Duke Springer
Aerial Gunner (1943) - Pvt. Lancelot 'Gadget' Blaine
High Explosive (1943) - Dave
Mystery of the 13th Guest (1943) - Johnny Smith
Timber Queen (1944) - Milt Holmes
Captain America (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
1905 births
1944 deaths
Male actors from Greenwich, Connecticut
20th-century American male actors