Bruce Purchase

Who was Bruce Purchase?

Bruce Purchase was a New Zealand-born actor known for his roles on stage and television. Born in Thames, New Zealand, he won a scholarship to study acting in England, training at RADA, and went on to become a founding actor-member of Laurence Olivier's National Theatre. He also performed regularly with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

His television credits include: Callan, The First Churchills, A Picture of Katherine Mansfield, Doomwatch, Fall of Eagles, I, Claudius, The New Avengers, Doctor Who, Blake's 7, the ITV serial Quatermass in 1979 and The Tripods.

In 2007, Purchase became seriously ill while touring with a production of The Last Confession. He died of cancer on 5 June 2008 at his home in Putney, London.