Edmund Purdom

Early life Edmund Cutlar Purdom was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire on 19 December 1926, the youngest of four children of Charles Purdom, a London drama critic, and his wife, Lillian Antonia ( Cutlar). Raised Catholic, Purdom was educated by Jesuits at St Ignatius College, Stamford Hill, and, later, by Benedictines at Downside School.

Career He began his acting career in 1946, aged 19, by joining the Northampton Repertory Company, appearing in productions that included Romeo and Juliet and Molière's The Imaginary Invalid. After two years of military service where he joined the Army's Central Pool of Artists, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon for two seasons. Laurence Olivier saw Purdom and offered him a chance to tour in the U.S.

He made a screen test at Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz, from a scene from Force of Arms but Warners were not interested. As Purdom had left his play, he did not have the fare to return to Britain, so he decided to stay in Hollywood.

"I was so broke", Purdom recalled, "that I couldn't afford to pay the doctor's bill when my daughter was born. I had no money for bus fare. I had to walk from studio to studio looking for a job. Once we were evicted for not paying the rent."

MGM He managed to get a small part in Julius Caesar at MGM, playing the role of the character Strato. George Cukor recommended him to Charles Brackett for the small role of Charles Lightoller in Titanic (1953). This brought Purdom to the attention of executives at MGM who signed him to a long-term contract.

The Student Prince Mario Lanza was fired from the lead role in a new version of The Student Prince (1954). Purdom was suggested for the part and he did a successful test, directed by George Sidney. He was cast opposite Ann Blyth. The film was directed by Richard Thorpe. Purdom lip-synched to Lanza's singing voice.

The Egyptian Advance word on The Student Prince was promising, and when 20th Century Fox needed an actor at the last minute to replace Marlon Brando as the title character in The Egyptian, its most lavish production of 1954, Purdom was cast over John Derek, John Cassavetes and Cameron Mitchell.

MGM's head of production Dore Schary announced the studio would build up Purdom as a star. He was cast in three films: another MGM musical, Athena; the title role in the biblical epic The Prodigal, MGM's most lavish production of 1955, opposite Lana Turner; and the swashbuckler The King's Thief (1955), in a role originally meant for Stewart Granger. There was some talk he would appear in the remake of Ben Hur.

The Student Prince was released and became a hit. Purdom was called "the most promising new star in Hollywood". Hedda Hopper called Purdom "the most surprising and notable figure this year in Hollywood...a fine actor in the great romantic tradition." Another contributing factor may have been that while The Student Prince had been a hit, The Egyptian was a box-office disappointment. Athena, The Prodigal and The King's Thief were all flops.

There was more bad publicity when he had an affair with Linda Christian (when she was married to Tyrone Power) leading to him divorcing his first wife. The split was bitter and public, and his wife later sued him for child support. Purdom argued for a reduction in child support because he no longer had his MGM contract worth $40,000 per year. He told the court he had renegotiated it in order to seek more money by freelancing and that he was in debt for $11,500. He said MGM had an option on his services for three films over three years. "It is my greatest desire to get back in front of the camera at the present time," he said.

He was announced for Loser Takes All (1956) but did not appear in the final film.

For Allied Artists, Purdom made Strange Intruder (1956) with Ida Lupino. In 1957, he married Alicia Darr, who later got in a brawl with Christian. He continued to be sued for debts by his ex-wife and his lawyers.

Purdom returned to Broadway, appearing in Child of Fortune, an adaptation of Henry James's The Wings of the Dove, for Jed Harris. Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times stated Purdom "plays the part of the faithless suitor like a cultivated gentleman but his style is heavy." The play closed after 23 performances.

Europe In 1958, Purdom went back to the UK, where he played the lead role in Sword of Freedom (also known as Marco the Magnificent), a swashbuckler television series made for ITC Entertainment. He then went to Italy, where the film industry was booming and there was a demand for English-speaking actors in order to ensure international distribution for the films. Purdom eventually settled permanently in Italy. His films included Herod the Great (1959), The Cossacks (1960), The Loves of Salammbo (1960), Suleiman the Conqueror (1961) and Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile (1961). He also occasionally worked in England on films such as Malaga (1960) and The Comedy Man (1964).

In 1962, he said "I couldn't stand Hollywood. The people, their status, symbols and public image were too much. I walked out. Perhaps I should have been more patient." Hedda Hopper wrote in response to this: "the truth is he did his best to become a star here, but he didn't make the grade – even with Mario Lanza's voice; but he did walk out on his wife and family and start gallivanting around with Linda Christian. I'll bet he'll come hopping back if anyone crooked a finger." He married Christian in 1962, but they divorced the following year.

He continued to work extensively in Italian B-films, on television and as a voice dubbing actor for many years (recording dialogue translated from Italian into English for sales of Italian films in English-speaking countries).

He had roles in TV movies and miniseries, such as Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (as Vittorio De Sica) and The Winds of War. In 1984, he came back to his native country to direct the horror film Don't Open till Christmas. He narrated a popular short documentary on the life of Padre Pio. He also narrated the 1997 documentary, 7 Signs of Christ's Return. His last role was in The Knights of the Quest (2001).

Personal life

Purdom was married four times and divorced three times. Anita "Tita" Phillips, the mother of his daughters, Lilan (born 11 October 1952) and Marina Ann (born 8 July 1954); they married in a Catholic wedding at the Brompton Oratory in London on 5 January 1951 and divorced on 5 March 1956 Alicia Darr ( Barbara Kopczyńska; married/divorced 1957) Linda Christian (married in 1962; divorced in 1963) Vivienne Purdom, photographer (married from 2000 until his death in 2009) His elder daughter, Lilan Purdom, became a journalist with the French television channel TF1.

Death Purdom died from heart failure on 1 January 2009 in Rome at age 82. He was survived by his fourth wife, Vivienne, a photographer, and his two daughters by his first wife.

Partial stage credits Sources:

Selected filmography

Goodyear Playhouse (1952, TV series) – episode "The Medea Cup" Titanic (1953) – Second Officer Lightoller (uncredited) Julius Caesar (1953) – Strato The Student Prince (1954) – Prince Karl The Egyptian (1954) – Sinuhe Athena (1954) – Adam Calhorn Shaw The Prodigal (1955) – Micah The King's Thief (1955) – Michael Dermott Strange Intruder (1956) – Paul Quentin Trapped in Tangier (1957) – John Milwood Sword of Freedom (1957–1958, TV series) – Marco del Monte Herod the Great (1959) – Erode / Herodes The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) – British Radio Announcer (voice, uncredited) Tales of the Vikings (1959–1960, TV series) – Egil / King Lawrence Moment of Danger (1960, aka Malaga) – Peter Carran The Cossacks (1960) – Shamil, the Sheik The Loves of Salammbo (1960) – Narr Havas The Night They Killed Rasputin (1960) – Rasputin Fury of the Pagans (1960) – Toryok Big Request Concert (1960) – Harry Mell The Last of the Vikings (1961) – King Sveno La Fayette (1961) – Silas Deane Queen of the Nile (1961) – Tumos White Slave Ship (1961) – Dr. Bradley The Last Ride to Santa Cruz (1964) – Rex Kelly The Beauty Jungle (1964) – Rex Carrick The Comedy Man (1964) – Julian Baxter The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) – John Fane Heroes of Fort Worth (1965) – Patterson The Man Who Laughs (1966) – Cesare Sweden: Heaven and Hell (1968) – Narrator (English version) Chrysanthemums for a Bunch of Swine (1968) Blackie the Pirate (1971) – Viceroy The Fifth Cord (1971) – Edouard Vermont Lucifera: Demon Lover (1972) – Gunther Il Boss (1973) – Avvocato Rizzo (English version, voice, uncredited) The Big Family (1973) – Giovanni Lutture High Crime (1973) – Franco (English version, voice, uncredited) Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974) – Prefect The Perfume of the Lady in Black (1974) – Andy (English version, voice, uncredited) What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974) – Prof. Beltrame (English version, voice, uncredited) The Suspects (1974) – Le journaliste américain The Cursed Medallion (1975) – Doctor Povero Cristo (1975) – Man in tailcoat A Matter of Time (1976) – (uncredited) Mister Scarface (1976) – Luigi Cherico Big Pot (1976) – Professor Vanderberg The Concorde Affair (1979) – Danker Pensieri Morbosi (English title: Deep Thoughts) (1980) - The Pianist Absurd (1981) – Father Pieces (1982) – The Dean Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982) – Griba Amok (1983) – Jaarsveld 2019, After the Fall of New York (1983) – President of the Pan American Confederacy Champagne in paradiso (1983) – Paola's Father Don't Open till Christmas (1984) – Inspector Ian Harris Killer vs. Killers (1985) - His Excellency The Assisi Underground (1985) – Cardinal Della Costa Fracchia contro Dracula (1985) – Count Dracula Don Bosco (1988) – Urbano Rattazzi The Rift (1990) – CEO Steensland Un orso chiamato Arturo (1992) A Ray of Sun (1997) – voice of Renzo Rossellini Titanic: The Legend Goes On (2001) – voice of Jeremy McFlannel The Knights of the Quest (2001) – Hugh of Clarendon