{{Short description|American actress (born 1947)}} {{Infobox person | name = Lee Purcell | image = Lee Purcell.jpg | caption = Purcell in 2017 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|6|15}} | birth_name = Lee Jeune Williams | birth_place = [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]], [[North Carolina]], U.S.<ref>[https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/lee-purcell-4111/ Lee Purcell], Encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Accessed November 29, 2022.</ref> | years_active = 1969–present | occupation = Actress | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Robert Gibson|1968|1972|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Kenneth Gerbino|1975|1981|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Gary A. Lowe|1982|1995|reason=divorced}} * {{marriage|Bob Dahlquist|2014}} }} | website = {{Official URL}} }}
'''Lee Purcell''' (born '''Lee Jeune Williams'''; June 15, 1947)<ref>[https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/lee-purcell-4111/ Lee Purcell], Encyclopediaofarkansas.net. Accessed November 29, 2022.</ref> is an American actress<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lee McKnight Purcell Obituary|url=https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/628508/Lee-McKnight-Purcell|access-date=2022-02-11|website=tributearchive.com|language=en}}</ref> who worked primarily in the 1970s and 1980s.
==Early life== Purcell was born Lee Jeune Williams at the [[Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point]] (North Carolina), the elder daughter of Major Frank D. Williams Jr., a decorated Marine Corps pilot who was killed while on active duty when she was two months old.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lfeldhaus.tripod.com/holthousefamilygenealogy/id20.html | title=Frank Dunn Williams }}</ref> Her mother, Lee ({{nee}} McKnight) Williams, remarried, to Donald Purcell, a U.S. Navy doctor assigned to the Marine Corps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memorialsolutions.com/memsol.cgi?user_id=1509644 | title= Dr. Donald I. Purcell|website=memorialsolutions.com|accessdate=November 29, 2022}}</ref> Lee Purcell has a younger sister.<ref name="Usgennet.org Paragould Took Hats Off For Lee Purcell">{{cite web|url=http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ar/county/greene/paragoulleepurcell.htm|title=Paragould Took Hat Off For Lee Purcell|accessdate=November 29, 2022|website=usgennet.org}}</ref>
She graduated from [[Paragould, Arkansas|Paragould High School]] in 1965<ref name="Usgennet.org Paragould Took Hats Off For Lee Purcell"/> and briefly attended [[Stephens College]] in [[Columbia, Missouri]] as a dance and theatre student until she was expelled.{{Why|date=November 2022}}<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19690926&id=qeNKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rOkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=742,5827006|title=Schenectady Gazette - Google News Archive Search}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/colmo2&CISOPTR=729&REC=1&CISOSHOW=1098|title=Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1967-01-15 :: Columbia Missourian (1967 -- Oct 1968)}}</ref><ref>[http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=%2Fcolmo3&CISOPTR=38816&REC=1&CISOBOX=adam+travels+excelsior “Adam Travels to Excelsior Springs”]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Columbia Missourian'', September 21, 1969; accessed June 14, 2015.</ref><ref name="Columbia Missourian November 11, 1972 Success for Lee Purcell">[http://cdm.sos.mo.gov/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/colmo4&CISOPTR=97631&CISOSHOW=97920&REC=9 Columbia Missourian November 26, 1972 "Success for Lee Purcell"], cdm.sos.mo.gov; accessed June 14, 2015.</ref>
==Career== [[File:Lee Purcell in 1970.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Purcell in 1970]] She moved to California in 1967<ref>The Sumter Daily Item-Dec 26, 1969</ref> and studied acting. Purcell supported herself by working in commercials<ref name="Columbia Missourian November 11, 1972 Success for Lee Purcell"/> and selling clothes at a disco.<ref name="Daily News, Bowling Green, KY May 8, 1981">[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19810508&id=GL8aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NkcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6612,1741353 Profile], Daily News (Bowling Green, KY), May 8, 1981.</ref>
In 1969, Purcell was selected for her first feature film by [[Steve McQueen]] in his company's production of ''[[Adam at Six A.M.]]'', co-starring [[Michael Douglas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/@jeremylr/mentored-by-the-biggest-star-in-the-world-inside-steve-mcqueens-adam-at-6-a-m-2525489bc4ef|title=Mentored By the Biggest Star in the World: Inside Steve McQueen's 'Adam at 6 A.M.'—Interview by Jeremy Roberts for Medium|date=13 April 2017}}</ref> Asked to explain why he chose Purcell from nearly 500 other available actresses, McQueen said, "It wasn't easy. We kept narrowing down the field over a period of weeks until it came to giving screen tests to six of them. All of them were good, but Lee seemed to jump right out of the screen."<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JrIiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OLMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=721,6513573&dq= Profile], ''Beaver County Times'', September 25, 1969.</ref>
[[File:Lee Purcell at Emmy Awards 1994.jpg|right|thumb|110px|Purcell at the 1994 Emmy Awards]]Her television work included roles as [[Billie Dove]] and [[Olivia de Havilland]] in two biopic TV movies: ''[[The Amazing Howard Hughes]]'' (1977)<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yCYsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EMcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1698,1929238&dq=lee+purcell+billie+dove&hl=en Profile], ''Times Daily'', April 11, 1977.</ref> and ''[[My Wicked, Wicked Ways|My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn]]'' (1985).<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=G7lNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4PsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4750,1875342&dq=lee+purcell+olivia+de+havilland&hl=en Profile], ''Lakeland Ledger'', January 20, 1985.</ref>
She was nominated for two [[Emmy Awards]]. In 1991, she was nominated as Outstanding Lead Actress for ''Long Road Home''<ref>[https://archive.today/20120707180824/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1991-07-19/features/9101260788_1_comedy-series-drama-series-northern-exposure/3 Profile], ''Sun Sentinel'', July 19, 1991.</ref> and in 1994 as Outstanding Supporting Actress for ''Secret Sins of the Father''. She was co-producer, and starred in the 1998 low-budget cable-TV movie ''Malaika'' (alternate title ''Tons of Trouble'').<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121103104633/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/181154/Tons-of-Trouble/credits Profile], ''New York Times''; accessed April 8, 2015.</ref>
Purcell's film career wound down in 1983 and she has only had five motion picture credits since, the last in 2015. She has continued to do television projects.
==Personal life==
In December 2010, Purcell launched an interactive fashion and beauty website, BoomerBabes, geared towards [[Baby Boomer]] women. The website gained few visitors<ref>{{Cite web|title=boomerbabes.com Traffic Analytics & Market Share|url=https://www.similarweb.com/website/boomerbabes.com/|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Similarweb|language=en}}</ref> and BoomerBabes stopped updating in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boomerbabes.com/|title=BoomerBabes}}</ref>
Purcell is a member of the [[Church of Scientology]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Stephen A.|last1=Kent|first2=Susan|last2=Raine|title=Scientology in Popular Culture|year=2017|publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=9798216142621|page=144}}</ref>
==Filmography== ===Feature films=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Director |- | 1970 |''[[Adam at Six A.M.]]'' | Jerri Jo Hopper | [[Robert Scheerer]] |- | rowspan="3"| 1972 | ''[[Dirty Little Billy]]'' | Berle | [[Stan Dragoti]] |- | ''[[Stand Up and Be Counted]]'' | Karen Hammond | [[Jackie Cooper]] |- | ''[[Necromancy (film)|Necromancy]]'' | Priscilla | [[Bert I. Gordon]] |- | 1973 |''[[Kid Blue]]'' | Molly Ford | [[James Frawley]] |- | 1974 | ''[[Mr. Majestyk]]'' | Wiley | [[Richard Fleischer]] |- | rowspan="2"| 1978 | ''[[Big Wednesday]]'' | Peggy Gordon | [[John Milius]] |- | ''[[Almost Summer]]'' | Christine Alexander | [[Martin Davidson]] |- | 1980 | ''[[Stir Crazy (film)|Stir Crazy]]'' | Susan | [[Sidney Poitier]] |- | rowspan="2"| 1982 | ''[[Airplane II: The Sequel]]'' | Mrs. Seluchi (Deleted Scene) | [[Ken Finkleman]] |- | ''[[Homework (1982 film)|Homework]]'' | Ms. Jackson | James Beshears |- | rowspan="2"| 1983 |''[[Eddie Macon's Run]]'' | Jilly Buck | [[Jeff Kanew]] |- | ''[[Valley Girl (1983 film)|Valley Girl]]'' | Beth Brent | [[Martha Coolidge]] |- | 1985 | ''Space Rage'' | Maggie | Conrad E. Palmisano |- | 1996 | ''Movies, Money, Murder'' | Lilah | Stephen Eckelberry, Arthur Webb |- | 1998 | ''Dizzyland'' | | Dennis Hackin |- | 2005 | ''The Unknown'' aka ''Clawed: The Legend of Sasquatch'' | Doris Winslow | Karl Kozak |- | 2015 |''[[Kids vs Monsters]]'' |Francine Gingerfield | |- | 2019 | ''Carol of the Bells'' | Lilliane | |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1969 |''[[Bracken's World]]'' |Girl | |- | rowspan="3"| 1970 | ''[[Marcus Welby, M.D.]]'' | Cathy Cullen | Made a second appearance in 1972, as 'Carol Lockett' |- |''[[Bonanza]]'' | Angie | |- | ''[[The Young Rebels]]'' | Maggie Todd | |- | 1972 | ''[[Medical Center (TV series)|Medical Center]]'' | Liza | |- | rowspan="2" |1973 | ''[[Cannon (TV series)|Cannon]]'' | Marian Luke | Made two additional appearances in 1975, various characters |- | ''[[Hijack (1973 film)|Hijack]]'' | Eileen Noonan | TV movie |- | rowspan="2" |1974 | ''[[ABC's Wide World of Entertainment|ABC Wide World Mystery]]'' | Donna | |- | ''[[The Rockford Files]]'' | Susan Parsons | S1 E13, "The Dexter Files" | |- | rowspan="3" |1975 | ''[[The Waltons]]'' | Bobby Strom | Played a “wing walker” |- | ''[[Insight (American TV series)|Insight]]'' | Tracy | |- | ''[[Barnaby Jones]]'' | Kathy Cooper | Made a second appearance in 1977, as 'Peggy Giroux' |- | rowspan="2" |1976 | ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]'' | Molly Taggert | Made a second appearance in 1977, same character |- | ''[[Jigsaw John]]'' | Virginia Sand | |- | rowspan="2" |1977 | ''[[The Amazing Howard Hughes]]'' | [[Billie Dove]] | TV movie |- | ''[[The Streets of San Francisco]]'' | Carol Revson | |- | 1978 | ''[[Stranger in Our House]]'' | Julia Trent | TV movie (aka ''Summer of Fear'') |- | rowspan="2"| 1979 | ''Murder in Music City'' | Samantha Hunt | TV movie (aka ''The Country Western Murders'') |- | ''[[A Man Called Sloane]]'' | Michele Blake | |- | rowspan="3"| 1980 | ''[[Kenny Rogers as The Gambler]]'' | Jennie Reed | TV movie |- | ''My Wife Next Door'' | Lisa Pallick | Pilot for proposed TV series |- |''[[The Secret War of Jackie's Girls]]'' | Casey McCann | TV movie |- | rowspan="2"| 1981 | ''[[The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite]]'' | Bonnie Lee Beaumont | TV movie and pilot for proposed TV series |- | ''[[Killing at Hell's Gate]]'' | Jane Pasco | TV movie |- | 1982 | ''[[The Phoenix (1982 TV series)|The Phoenix]]'' | Cindy Houghton | |- | rowspan="4"| 1985 | ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'' | Goldie Morris | |- | ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' | Joanna Benson | Made four additional appearances in 1986, 1989 and 1994, various characters |- | ''[[My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Legend of Errol Flynn]]'' | [[Olivia de Havilland]] | TV movie |- | ''[[Hollywood Beat]]'' | Maggie | |- | 1986 | ''Betrayed by Innocence'' | Sharon DeLeon | TV movie |- | rowspan="2"| 1987 | ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'' | Andrea Colter | |- | ''[[MacGyver (1985 TV series)|MacGyver]]'' | Shadow | |- | rowspan="3"| 1988 | ''To Heal a Nation'' | Sandie | TV movie |- | ''[[The Incredible Hulk Returns]]'' | Dr. Maggie Shaw | TV movie |- | ''[[Jake and the Fatman]]'' | Pamela Parker | |- | 1989 | ''[[Simon & Simon]]'' | Colleen Huntley/Missy Taylor | |- | 1990 | ''Shades of LA'' | Alex Taylor | |- | 1991 | ''[[Long Road Home (1991 film)|Long Road Home]]'' | Bessie Robertson | TV movie. Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress |- | 1994 | ''Secret Sins of the Father'' | Ann Thielman | TV movie. Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress |- | rowspan="3"| 1995 | ''[[Due South]]'' | Louise St. Laurent | Made five additional appearances in 1995 and 1996, same character |- | ''Dazzle'' | Red | TV movie |- | ''The Magic of Christmas'' | Herself | Holiday special |- | 1997 | ''[[Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction]]'' | Dr. Kim O'Farrell | Segment: "The Unknown Patient" |- | rowspan="2"| 1998 | ''[[Promised Land (1996 TV series)|Promised Land]]'' | Beth Hixon | |- | ''Malaika'' | Molly DeMornay | TV movie (aka ''Tons of Trouble'') |- | 2010 | ''[[Persons Unknown (TV series)|Persons Unknown]]'' | Eleanor Sullivan | Mini-series. Five appearances |- | 2016 | ''[[J.L. Family Ranch]]'' | Mable Ritter | TV film |- | 2017 |''Love at First Glance'' |Susan |TV film |- | 2018 | ''Sick'' | Gretchen | TV film |}
===Special projects=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | rowspan="2"| 1987 | ''A Woman's Guide to Firearms'' | Herself | Instructional video |- | ''Your First Gun- A Family Guide To Shooting'' | The mother | Instructional video |- | 1992 | ''The Joke'' | Jane | 35mm short |- | 1997 | ''This World, Then the Fireworks'' | | ADR work (additional dialogue recording) |- | 2006 | ''White Picket Fence'' | Bonnie Durley | Super 16mm short |- |}
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category-inline}} *{{Official website}} *{{IMDb name}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Lee}} [[Category:1947 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:20th-century American actresses]] [[Category:21st-century American actresses]] [[Category:Actresses from Arkansas]] [[Category:Actresses from North Carolina]] [[Category:American film actresses]] [[Category:American Scientologists]] [[Category:American television actresses]] [[Category:People from Cherry Point, North Carolina]] [[Category:People from Paragould, Arkansas]] [[Category:Stephens College alumni]]