1. Edmund Cutlar Purdom was an English actor, voice artist, and director.
31 Facts About Edmund Purdom
1. 2.
Edmund Purdom worked first on stage in Britain, performing various works by Shakespeare, then in the United States on Broadway and in Hollywood, and eventually in Italy.
3.
Edmund Purdom is perhaps best known for his starring role in 1954's historical epic The Egyptian.
4.
Edmund Purdom is the author of the book Hollywood Garage, about her father's career.
5.
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.
6.
Edmund Purdom began his acting career in 1946, aged 19, by joining the Northampton Repertory Company, appearing in productions that included Romeo and Juliet and Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid.
7.
Laurence Olivier saw Edmund Purdom and offered him a chance to tour in the US.
8.
Edmund Purdom's good looks brought him to the attention of Hollywood.
9.
Edmund Purdom made a screen test at Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz, from a scene from Force of Arms but Warners were not interested.
10.
Edmund Purdom managed to get a small part in Julius Caesar at MGM.
11.
Edmund Purdom was suggested for the part and he did a successful test, directed by George Sidney.
12.
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, Edmund Purdom was cast over John Derek, John Cassavetes and Cameron Mitchell.
13.
Edmund Purdom 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, in a role originally meant for Stewart Granger.
14.
Edmund Purdom was called "the most promising new star in Hollywood".
15.
Edmund Purdom believed he was responsible for the happy result.
16.
Edmund Purdom argued for a reduction in child support because he no longer had his MGM contract worth $40,000 per year.
17.
Edmund Purdom told the court he had renegotiated it in order to seek more money by freelancing and that he was in debt for $11,500.
18.
Edmund Purdom said MGM had an option on his services for three films over three years.
19.
Edmund Purdom was announced for Loser Takes All but did not appear in the final film.
20.
Edmund Purdom continued to be sued for debts by his ex-wife and his lawyers.
21.
Edmund Purdom returned to Broadway, appearing in Child of Fortune, an adaptation of Henry James's The Wings of the Dove, for Jed Harris.
22.
In 1958, Edmund Purdom went back to the UK, where he played the lead role in Sword of Freedom, a swashbuckler television series made for ITC Entertainment.
23.
Edmund Purdom 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.
24.
Edmund Purdom's films included Herod the Great, The Cossacks, The Loves of Salammbo, Suleiman the Conqueror and Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile.
25.
Edmund Purdom occasionally worked in England on films such as Malaga and The Comedy Man.
26.
Edmund Purdom continued to work extensively in Italian B-films, on television and as a voice dubbing actor for many years.
27.
Edmund Purdom had roles in TV movies and miniseries, such as Sophia Loren: Her Own Story and The Winds of War.
28.
Edmund Purdom narrated a popular short documentary on the life of Padre Pio.
29.
Edmund Purdom narrated the 1997 documentary, 7 Signs of Christ's Return.
30.
Edmund Purdom died from heart failure on 1 January 2009 in Rome at age 82.
31.
Edmund Purdom was survived by his fourth wife, Vivienne, a photographer, and his two daughters by his first wife.