Edmund
Anthony Cutlar Purdom was born on December 19, 1924 in Welwyn Garden City,
Hertfordshire, England. Purdom was educated at St. Augustine's Abbey School,
Ramsgate, Kent, then by the Jesuits at St. Ignatius Grammar School and Welwyn
Garden City Grammar School. He began his acting career in 1946 by joining the
Northampton Repertory Company, appearing in productions which included “Romeo
and Juliet” and Molière's “The Imaginary Invalid”. Followed by two years of
military service where he joined the Army Pool of Artists. He then joined the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon.
In
1951–1952, Purdom appeared in small roles with the Laurence Olivier/Vivien
Leigh company on Broadway in Shakespeare's “Antony and Cleopatra” and Shaw's “Caesar
and Cleopatra” when his good looks brought him to the attention of Hollywood.
20th Century Fox tested him for a role in “My Cousin Rachel” and MGM offered
him a small role in “Rhapsody” which he turned down to work at Warner Bros. But
Warners lost interest in him.
His
appearance in small roles in “Titanic” and “Julius Caesar” (both 1953) led to
his being cast in the
leading role opposite Ann Blyth in the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical “The Student Prince” in 1954, a part originally
intended for Mario Lanza, whose disagreement with director Curtis Bernhardt
over the way a certain song was to be sung had led to his dismissal by MGM.
(The film was subsequently directed by Richard Thorpe.) Purdom lip-synched to
Lanza's singing voice.
At
this time, he acquired the nickname "the replacement star" because
his other best-remembered role was taking over for Marlon Brando as the title
character in “The Egyptian”, 20th Century-Fox's most lavish production of 1954.
In the same year, he appeared in another MGM musical, “Athena”, opposite his
future wife Linda Christian, Jane Powell and Debbie Reynolds. He then played
the title role in the biblical epic “The Prodigal”, MGM's most lavish
production of 1955. He partnered with Ann Blyth again in “The King's Thief”
(1955). After that, his career as a major film star ran out of steam, with the
exception of some rare cameo appearances, such as “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” in
1964.
On
television he starred as Marco del Monte in ‘Sword of Freedom’ (1958), a
swashbuckler made for ITC Entertainment.
Purdom
moved to Rome, Italy, where he first played parts in "sword and
sandal" epics and lived there for the rest of his life. He continued to
work extensively in Italian B-films, on television and as a voice dubbing actor
for many years. In 1984, he directed his first and only film, “Don't Open 'Til
Christmas”. Purdom appeared in five Euro-westerns: “The Last Ride to Santa Cruz”
1963 as
Rex Kelly; “Charge of the 7th” (1964) as Sergeant Archibald
Timothy ‘Sugar’ Patterson; “Shoot
to Kill” (1964) as Captain Tom Jameson/Jim James, Father Andrew Jameson; “Gun
Shy Piluk” (1968) as Sheriff Roger Terence Everett Brown and “A Wreath for the
Bandits” (1968).
Purdom
died from heart failure on January 1, 2009, in Rome.
Today
we remember Edmund Purdom on what would have been his 90th birthday.
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