Linda Purl

Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on Happy Days (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season-two episodes 1, 2, 6, and 7), Sheila Munroe in the 1982 horror film Visiting Hours, Pam Beesly's mother Helene in The Office, and Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock for the first season of the television series Matlock.

Early life Purl was born on September 2, 1955, in Greenwich, Connecticut, to chemical-industry executive Raymond Charles Arthur Purl and Marshelline "Marshie" Purl. She has a sister, Mara. At age five, While at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Purl performed in several plays, gaining the role of Louis in The King and I, Bet in Oliver!, and Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker. Furthermore, she was discovered by Toho and appeared in several films. On Happy Days, she played two different roles: Richie's occasional girlfriend Gloria in season two of the show (1974) and Fonzie's steady girlfriend Ashley eight seasons later (1982–1983). She also played secret agent Kate Del'Amico in the short-lived series Under Cover and played Brett Robin in the 1994–1995 series Robin's Hoods.

She has also featured in many movies made for television, including Testimony of Two Men, The Night the City Screamed, Little Ladies of the Night, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs. She voiced Delilah in a 1985 direct-to-video episode of The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.

Purl appeared in the historical-biographical TV mini-series Eleanor and Franklin, in 1976, broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network. She portrayed Alice Roosevelt Longworth, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Purl guest-starred in a 1975 episode of Hawaii Five-O, "The Hostage", as teenaged babysitter Ruth held captive by a mentally ill veteran. She played two different roles on The Waltons; early in its run, in 1974, she played sophisticate Alicia in the season three-episode, "The Spoilers". In the season-five episode, "The Heartbreaker" (1977), she played Mary Ellen's sister-in-law (and Jason's love interest) Vanessa and also sang. In 1981, she starred in Manions of America. In 1984, she played Nydia, the blind flower girl in the miniseries "The Last Days of Pompeii". In 1985, she appeared in a Murder, She Wrote episode entitled "Murder at the Oasis". In 1988, she again made an appearance on Murder, She Wrote in the episode "Mourning Among the Wisterias" and in 1993, appeared for a third time on the series in "Dead Eye".

In 1986, Purl played Eve Harper, the love interest of rock star Niles Perry, played by Rick Moses, in the TV movie Pleasures.

In the first season of Matlock (1986–1987) starring Andy Griffith, Purl played Charlene, Ben Matlock's lawyer daughter. She was cast in the series First Monday (2002) as Sarah Novelli, a real estate agent and Justice Joseph Novelli's wife.

Purl appeared in the role of Pam Beesly's mother on NBC's The Office TV series, starting with the season-six episode "Niagara" in 2009–2010. Purl appeared in several more episodes throughout the series and was a romantic interest for Steve Carell's character. In May 2010, she made a guest appearance on Desperate Housewives. In 2011, Purl made guest appearances on Showtime's Homeland, playing Elizabeth Gaines. She played Barbara Pelt, mother of Debbie Pelt, in two episodes of HBO's True Blood in 2012. In 2017, Purl appeared in one episode of Designated Survivor, playing an old college supervisor of President Kirkman's, who assists in appointing nominees to the Supreme Court in the episode "The Ninth Seat".

She currently plays a recurring character alongside her current boyfriend Patrick Duffy on The Bold and the Beautiful.

Theatre Purl has been a regular performer (and was in the original cast) of international touring play Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners. In November 2007, she appeared at the Théâtre Princesse Grace, Monte Carlo, directed by Marc Sinden, as part of Sinden's British Theatre Season, Monaco.

In 2008, Purl opened at the Cleveland Play House in Cleveland, Ohio, in a production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, playing Amanda.

Music Purl launched a jazz music career after leaving Matlock and has released several albums of music, including Out of This World – Live.

She released her fourth full-length album, a collaboration with music director Tedd Firth called This Could Be the Start on Reaching Records, August 2023. Purl is a jazz vocalist, known for imbuing classic show tunes and jazz standards with a distinctive narrative expressiveness.

Personal life Purl has been married and divorced four times. Her first marriage was January 13, 1979, to Desi Arnaz Jr., son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. On January 3, 1980, Purl filed for divorce, which was finalized later that year. On November 5, 1988, she married screenwriter William Broyles Jr., whom she later divorced. On July 23, 1993, Purl married British screenwriter and producer Alexander Cary, Master of Falkland, with whom she has a son. They later divorced. On July 15, 2006, she married James Vinson Adams whom she divorced in 2011.

Since 2020, she has been in a relationship with Patrick Duffy.

Filmography Film

Television