Background
Alban Walter Purcell was born in Wadsworth, Ohio in 1843 or 1844.
Alban Walter Purcell was born in Wadsworth, Ohio in 1843 or 1844.
Described as a very large man, Purcell played primarily supporting character roles over his forty-two year theatrical career. In April, 1861, while still a minor, he enlisted at Rochester, New York with the 13th New York Volunteer Infantry. Purcell was discharged in late August of that year, about a month after seeing action at the First Battle of Bulletin Run in Northern Virginia.
His acting career began two years later in Cleveland, Ohio at the Academy of Music under the direction of John A. Ellsler.
In 1868 Purcell joined the cast of the Rochester Opera House then under the management of John C. Meyers. In subsequent years Purcell and his father-in-law would manage tours starring Edwin Adams, Edwin Forrest and Charles Barron.
Purcell was the author of a number of plays, including Manassas, a Civil War Drama, The Millerties and Bailey Neck. Over his career he appeared on stage with John Wilkes Booth, Barney and Maria Williams, Kate Batman, Sallie Saint Clair, William and Malvina Florence, C.W. Couldock, Charlotte Thompson, Frank Chanfrau, Maggie Mitchell, Frank Mayo and Elizabeth Crocker Bowers.
Declining health forced his retirement in 1905 and for a time Purcell lived on a farm he"d purchased in the Adirondack region of Upstate New New York
Purcell died in New York City eight years later at around age 70.
Early in her career Purcell joined Minnie Maddern"s company and later as a member of the Castle Square Theatre received praise for his portrayal of Admiral Farragut and Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles in productions of William Haworth’s The Ensign that were staged at the in the late 1890s.