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Bob Purvey

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Bob Purvey
Personal information
Full nameRobert Anthony Purvey
NationalityBritish American
Born (1948-05-14) May 14, 1948 (age 76)
Cairo, Egypt
OccupationProfessional Surfer, Actor
Years active1962–1987

Robert Anthony Purvey (also known as Bob Purvey) is a British American surfer, actor, environmentalist, and entrepreneur. He was born in the Kingdom of Egypt on May 14, 1948...[1].

Early Life[edit]

Bob Purvey was born to a British father and a Greek mother in Cairo, Egypt. Though his first language was French, he learned to speak English when he was still very young. At the age of three, his father introduced him to the game of tennis, and this was after noticing that Bob had superior physical coordination.[1].

When Bob Purvey was about six years old, Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power the Egyptian 1954 military coup.[2] Soon afterwards, the members of the Mutamassirun community (that is, natives of such foreign nations as Greece, Britain, France, and Israel) found the country to be uninhabitable[2]. This was despite the fact that they had embraced the Egyptian way of life, and were also patriotic as well [3].

Many non-native Egyptians, including Bob Purvey’s family, left when Nasser became the President due to a lack of civil liberties[2]. Purvey’s family moved to England, and then to New York where they stayed between 1955 and 1961[4]. They ultimately settled in Los Angeles, and it was here that Bob Purvey discovered his surfing talent.[1]

Surfing Career[edit]

A pictorial representation of noseriding by a USAF photographer called MSGT Jose Lopez Jr.

Bob Purvey started surfing at Santa Monica Pier when he was 14 years old. On his very first day of surfing, he managed to stand up and to ride a wave successfully. He went on to participate in the Santa Monica Mid-Winter Championships in 1962 where he was spotted by a surfing legend and promoter called Dewey Weber. Weber invited Purvey to become part of his Competition Team[5]. While there, Bob Purvey started focusing on a specific board maneuvering technique called noseriding[6]. This, among several other maneuvers, made Bob Purvey famous internationally[7][8].

Bob Purvey is reputed as having been among the very first people to surf in India, a country whose shores are largely unexplored for this particular sport[7]. Later on, however, differences of opinion with Dewey Weber compelled Bob Purvey to sign with Con Surfboards of Santa Monica. It was while at Con Surfboards that a surfboard model he had engineered (known as “The Ugly”) gained international recognition[9]. This invention and his surfing proficiency intensified his popularity to the point where he started to appeal to television and film directors[8].

A significant part of his surfing career and the successful launching of “The Ugly” are represented in the 1969 film “Follow Me” which is an adventurous odyssey [10]. There are a few other appearances besides his role in “Follow Me”[11].

Acting Career[edit]

Bob Purvey has appeared in several films, and among them include:

Follow Me (1969)[edit]

Where he appeared as himself, Bob Purvey; and it is a movie that showcases the fun associated with surfing[12][13]. It is an adventurous and eventful odyssey that is mainly filmed in far-flung exotic places[14].

Mission: Impossible (1970)[edit]

Appeared as Alex Khora where he and colleagues carries out covert operations involving highly sensitive missions[15].

Police Story and Kojak (1973-1977)[edit]

Bob Purvey appeared as John Norman Collins, the Ypsilanti Ripper who attacked and strangled at least seven women from 1967 to 1969[16].

Lovers and Friends (1977)[edit]

Purvey appeared in an American soap opera called Lovers and Friends (later renamed For Richer, For Poorer) that was about the challenges faced by two families in Point Clair, a fictional suburb in the City of Chicago. Purvey played the role of the eldest son (as Rhett) of the poorer of the two neighboring families, the Saxtons[17].

The A-Team (1985)[edit]

It is about a team of four Special Agents who are wrongly incarcerated, manage to escape, and eventually set the record straight. He appeared as Core[18].

General Hospital (1963)[edit]

It is the longest-running soap opera in the history of the American film industry[19], and Purvey appeared as Frank between the years 1985 and 1987[20].

Entrepreneurship[edit]

Bob Purvey is the owner of Ugly Enterprises, a company that deals with various kinds of surfboards[21]. Among them include "The Ugly" longboard noserider which was launched in 1966 and the "Super Ugly", a mini-noserider introduced in 1967[22]. It does also avail a variety of modified surfboard models into the market [23].

Ugly Enterprises’ latest surfboards are made using state-of-the art materials in a bid to ensure their durability, reduced weight, and cost effectiveness[24]. Users have evaluated them as being faster than the competing brands, and they are designed for use by both male and female surfers[25]. Ugly Enterprises does also deal with various kinds of surf wear[21].

Environmental Advocacy[edit]

Bob Purvey is the Chairperson of the Executive Board of EcoMalibu, a California-based non-profit and a 501(c)(3) organization. EcoMalibu is geared towards the recovery and restoration of historical wetlands in Malibu, California[26]

EcoMalibu does also have programs for educating the members of the community as well as the general public about the value of wetlands, as well as their contribution towards cleansing water that has already been polluted. At least 25 per cent of the net profits obtained from the sale of Ugly Enterprises’ surf wear is donated to EcoMalibu.[21]

Besides EcoMalibu, Bob Purvey is recognized as being a founding board member of:

  • The Executive Director of "Save The Malibu" Surfrider Foundation (in 1996)[27]
  • The Co-founder Malibu Lagoon Task Force (in 1996)[28]
  • The Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy (in 1998)[28]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Purvey, Robert (2023). "Biography". Bobpurvey.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Fahmy, Ziad (2011). Ordinary Egyptians: Creating the Modern Nation through Popular Culture. Stanford University Press. p. 188, 226. ISBN 9780804772129. Retrieved 22 January 2023. Search this book on
  3. Gorman, Anthony (2012). Historians, State and Politics in Twentieth Century Egypt: Contesting the Nation. Routledge. p. 174-179. ISBN 9781135145330. Retrieved 17 January 2023. Search this book on
  4. SurferToday (2023). "Follow Me". SuferToday.com. SURFERTODAY. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  5. Gault-Williams, Malcolm (23 May 2021). "Dewey Weber (1938-1993)". Legendary Surfers. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  6. Craddock, Jim (2004). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever. Thomson/Gale. p. 307. ISBN 9780787674700. Retrieved 15 February 2023. Search this book on
  7. 7.0 7.1 Warshaw, Matt (2005). The Encyclopedia of Surfing. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 287. ISBN 0156032511. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Search this book on
  8. 8.0 8.1 Marcus, Ben (2013). 365 Surfboards: The Coolest, Raddest, Most Innovative Boards from Around the World. MVP Books. p. 136-137. ISBN 9780760345290. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Search this book on
  9. Ugly Enterprises (2023). "The Ugly: Legend of the Ugly". Uglyboards.com. Ugly Enterprises. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  10. VideoHound (1995). VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever, 1996. Visible Ink Press. p. 414. ISBN 9780787606268. Retrieved 1 March 2023. Search this book on
  11. SurferToday (2023). "Follow Me". SuferToday.com. SURFERTODAY. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  12. Weiner, David J. (1991). Video Hound's Golden Movie Retriever, 1991. Visible Ink. p. 214. ISBN 9780810394049. Retrieved 3 March 2023. Search this book on
  13. Visible Ink & Craddock (1996). Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever, 1997. Thomson Gale. p. 278. ISBN 9780787607807. Retrieved 4 March 2023. Search this book on
  14. Craig, Rob (2019). American International Pictures: A Comprehensive Filmography. McFarland. p. 151. ISBN 9781476666310. Retrieved 14 February 2023. Search this book on
  15. CTUA (2023). ""Mission: Impossible"". Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. Fournier, Gregory A. (2016). Terror in Ypsilanti: John Norman Collins Unmasked. Wheatmark, Inc. p. 427-429. ISBN 9781627874038. Retrieved 4 February 2023. Search this book on
  17. Angelfire (2023). "Lovers & Friends / For Richer, For Poorer". Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  18. Baxley, Craig (2023). "The A-Team: Body Slam (1985)". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  19. Piso, Ion (2019). Television Series as Mirrors of Contemporary Life. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 90. ISBN 9781527534711. Retrieved 4 February 2023. Search this book on
  20. Film Reporter (2023). "General Hospital". FilmReport.de. FilmReport. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 Ugly Enterprises (2023). "Surfwear and Streetwear". Ugly-garb.com. Ugly-garb. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  22. Ugly Enterprises (2023). "The Ugly: Legend of the Ugly". Uglyboards.com. Ugly Enterprises. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  23. Dean (7 November 2016). "The Ugly". Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  24. Ugly Enterprises (2023). "Super Ugly: Bob Purvey Design". Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  25. Ugly Enterprises (2023). "Ugly Noseriders". Ugly Enterprises. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  26. SurferToday (26 June 2013). "Surfrider Beach hosts Malibu NoseRiding Championship". SurferToday.com. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  27. McAllister, Sue (27 June 1997). "Malibu Event Focuses on State of Watershed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  28. 28.0 28.1 Malibu City Council (2012). "Facts About the Malibu Lagoon Restoration and Enhancement Plan". Malibu City Council. Retrieved 4 March 2023.


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