Movie

Purlie

Released: October 12, 1981 (1981)

Runtime: 142 minutes

Genres: Drama, Music

Purlie is a musical based on Ossie Davis' 1961 play Purlie Victorious. In the early days of the civil rights movement, a Southern plantation owner holds his sharecroppers in virtual slavery. Purlie comes home as a preacher who will shake things up and bring freedom to his people. This 1981 television adaptation won a CableACE Award.

Main Cast (Top 10 billed, oldest first)

Clarice Taylor as Idella
Age at release: 64
Linda Hopkins as Sister Hopkins
Age at release: 56
Robert Guillaume as Purlie
Age at release: 53
Brandon Maggart as Ol' Cap'n
Age at release: 47
Sherman Hemsley as Gitlow
Age at release: 43
Melba Moore as Lutiebelle
Age at release: 35
Rhetta Hughes as Missy
Age at release: 27
Brenda Braxton as Ensemble
Age at release: 25
Loretta Abbott as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
P.L. Brown as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown

Show more cast

Ted Ross as Ensemble
Age at release: 47
Pauletta Washington as Ensemble
Age at release: 31
Jeffery V. Thompson as Ensemble
Age at release: 29
Lawrence Hamilton as Ensemble
Age at release: 27
Suzzanne Douglas as Ensemble
Age at release: 24
Olivia Detante as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Cisco Drayton as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Tanya Gibson as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Michael Goring as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Milt Grayson as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Clinton King Keen as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Mildred Lane as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Judy Leak as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Eugene Little as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Lou Ann Pickett as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Herbert Rawlings as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Renee Rose as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Henry Shaw as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Valerie Smith as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown
Denessa Tobin as Ensemble
Age at release: Unknown