COURTESY OF ALSTON PURVIS (LEFT); PETER MOUNTAINFrom left: Melvin Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover a few weeks after the death of Dillinger and as played by Christian Bale and Billy Crudup in “Public Enemies.’’
(Courtesy of Alston Purvis (Left); Peter Mountain)
Names
Shooting straight about his G-Man dad
COURTESY OF ALSTON PURVIS (LEFT); PETER MOUNTAINFrom left: Melvin Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover a few weeks after the death of Dillinger and as played by Christian Bale and Billy Crudup in “Public Enemies.’’
(Courtesy of Alston Purvis (Left); Peter Mountain)
“At one time, my father was one of the 10 most famous men in the world,’’ says Alston Purvis, chairman of the graphic design department at Boston University. “All the movie stars wanted to date him and he was good friends with Clark Gable.’’ The professor was dishing yesterday about his dad, Melvin Purvis, the famed FBI special agent who’s played by Christian Bale in the new John Dillinger movie “Public Enemies.’’ Purvis, who was born a few years after his dad took Dillinger down, was a consultant on the Michael Mann movie and met with Bale. “Christian does a great job capturing my father,’’ said Purvis, who went to the film’s LA premiere. “He was very thorough in his research.’’ The movie only hints at his dad’s unhappy dealings with FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who resented the attention and adulation that was heaped on his special agent. “Hoover said to my father, ‘Get Dillinger for me and the world is yours,’ ’’ said Purvis. “That was an empty promise, of course, because he made my father’s life miserable.’’ (If you’re interested, Purvis wrote a book a few years ago called “The Vendetta: Special Agent Melvin Purvis, John Dillinger, and Hoover’s FBI in the Age of Gangsters.’’) This isn’t the first time Purvis pere has been on the big screen, but it’s definitely the best portrayal. “There was a movie called ‘Dillinger,’ in which Ben Johnson played my father,’’ said the prof. “Nothing irritates a Southerner more than a bad Southern accent, and Johnson said things like, ‘light my cee-gar.’ My father would have had a heart attack.’’
Model number to be determined
The CW hosted a casting call in North Attleborough yesterday for “America’s Next Top Model.’’ “ANTM’’ host Tyra Banks wasn’t at Emerald Square Mall, but that didn’t prevent a mob of wannabe models from showing up in the rain to strut their stuff.No free wedding
Gary Ritter and Alyssa Manzi, the local couple vying to get married on the “Today’’ show, lost the competition this week, but didn’t walk away empty-handed. Ritter’s mom, Rosann, tells us that “Today’’ gave the North Andover twosome a trip to Turks and Caicos. Not a bad consolation prize, right? Ritter and Manzi were ousted by a couple from Ohio, who managed to get the majority of viewer votes for the free wedding. “I guess they had quite a bit of support,’’ Rosann Ritter said of the winning pair. “They were doing rallies.’’ Ritter and Manzi, a former Pats cheerleader, will go back to their original wedding plan, which includes a reception at the Lanam Club in Andover in October.Name that album
Aerosmith’s next album is still unfinished, but Joe Perry tells Billboard.com that his solo CD is almost ready to go. The ax man expects the disc to be mastered next week, with a single released by early August. The name of the album? You decide. Seriously. Perry’s holding a contest via Twitter to let fans suggest titles. If he opts for one of those ideas, the winner will get a guitar. By the way, Billboard.com reports that the vocals on the CD are handled by a German singer who Perry’s wife, Billie, discovered on the Internet.That’s a wrap
Susie Brooks-Smith, producer of the locally shot film “Valediction,’’ said she’ll be sad to leave Boston. She’s been here for weeks to shoot the thriller, which stars Ben Barnes (a.k.a. Prince Caspian), Sarah Roemer, and hometown girl Eliza Dushku. “We’ve been stuffing our face with your fabulous seafood,’’ said Brooks-Smith, who celebrated the last day of the shoot yesterday by eating lobster with Barnes and the “Valediction’’ crew on the Summer Street set. The group was expected to continue the party at the Westin last night. Brooks-Smith told us she chose our fair city for the filming of “Valediction’’ over Hungary, which also offers a tax credit for filmmakers. “I just wanted a contemporary city that you could imagine Ben and Sarah living in,’’ she said, promising us, “You’ll like the way you look.’’ If you’re admiring Barnes’s coif in this photo, you can thank the people standing on either side of him. Liz Cecchini, who did hair for “The Proposal’’ and “Fever Pitch,’’ and Stephen Bruno, of Patrice Vinci salon, are responsible for the actor’s deliciously disheveled ’do.Picnic time
Walking on the field at Fenway Park never gets old, even for Big Papi’s bride. Tiffany Ortiz told us she looks forward every year to Picnic in the Park, the fund-raiser hosted by the Red Sox wives. “I can’t imagine spending a better time than picnicing on the most well-manicured lawn in New England,’’ she said. “For me personally, this is one of my favorite events. My kids have a blast.’’ This year’s picnic takes place Sunday, starting one hour after the Sox-Mariners game ends. (Tix are available at www.redsoxfoundation.org.) As always, Mike O’Malley will emcee and there are some unique auction items. How’d you like to watch the Farrelly brothers’ new film about Luis Tiant, “The Lost Son of Havana,’’ at Ortiz’s house? “David loves Luis, and this is a movie he needs to see,’’ said Tiffany, who suggested the auction item. “Luis will be there, and Bobby [Farrelly] wants to join us, too.’’ Also interesting is a sushi-making course with Hideki and Yuka Okajima with the help of chef Masa of Blue Fin.Around town
Before traveling to Tanglewood, where she'll perform tomorrow, Diana Krall and her husband, Elvis Costello, had lunch yesterday at Legal Sea Foods in Park Square . . . Brendan Fraser, in town shooting a film called "Furry Vengeance," dined with a few friends at LTK Bar and Kitchen in the Seaport District . . . And Adam Sandler, who's on the North Shore filming "Grown Ups," is a regular at Dragon Light, a Chinese restaurant, and also Charlie's Place in Gloucester.Linking up
Bruins bruiser Milan Lucic was among those knocking the ball around at Wednesday’s celebrity golf tourney at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. Others taking part in the event hosted by WAAF’s Greg Hill included comedian Lenny Clarke (inset left), former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson, and chef Michael Schlow, whose Alta Strada restaurant furnished the very fine food. The gang gathered afterward at Ed Kane’s club Scorpion Bar, where “Rescue Me’’ actor Michael Lombardi (inset right) played a set with his band ’Gansett gals wanted
Narragansett CEO Mark Hellendrung has decided that cute girls will help him sell beer. In an effort to boost sales and get back into the local brew market, Hellendrung was at the Rattlesnake Bar & Grill yesterday looking for new ’Gansett Girls to help promote the brand. We’d tell him that Harpoon and Sam Adams have managed to do business without gals in tight T-shirts hawking the goods, but Hellendrung, who has also signed on former Patriot Troy Brown as a Narragansett investor, seems committed to his mission. Also on hand at the Boylston Street party was Narragansett mascot Clammie.Read the Names Blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
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