Nathan Purdee was born on August 6, 1950, in Tampa, Florida, to a father who served as an officer in the United States Air Force. This meant that the family moved frequently throughout Purdee's formative years, residing in various locations such as Washington, D.C., Bakersfield, California, and Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Eventually, the family settled in Denver, Colorado, where Purdee completed his high school education. Following his graduation, he went on to pursue a career in acting, which would ultimately lead him to become a prominent figure in the world of soap operas.
Purdee's breakthrough role came in 1985 when he was cast as Nathan Hastings, a mobster-turned-private investigator, on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He portrayed this character for seven years, until 1992, and during this time, he was one of only two African American cast members on the show.
Purdee's involvement on Y&R paved the way for more African American additions to the cast, and he left the show in December 1991 to take on a new role as District Attorney Hank Gannon on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He portrayed this character from 1992 until 2003.
In addition to his work on soap operas, Purdee has also appeared in other projects, including the 1994 film "The Return of Superfly," the third installment in the classic "Superfly" trilogy. He played the role of Youngblood "Superfly" Priest in this film.
After leaving One Life to Live in 2003, Purdee went on to pursue other opportunities, including becoming the President of the film and multimedia production company Karmic Release Ltd. In 2009, it was announced that he would be returning to One Life to Live, and he reprised his role as District Attorney Hank Gannon in April of that year.
Today, Purdee resides in Easton, Pennsylvania, and continues to be involved in the entertainment industry, both as an actor and as the President of Karmic Release Ltd.
