Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955 in
Greenwich,
Connecticut
) is an American
actress and
singer, best known for portraying Ben
Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock
in the first season of Matlock.
Early life and education abroad
Purl was
raised in Japan
, becoming
the only foreigner to train at the Toho Geino Academy. 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 the role of Helen in
The Miracle
Worker. Ms. Purl attended high school at Wykeham
Rise school for girls in the arts in Washington, CT. After
attending
Finch College, Ms. Purl went
to England to study under
Marguerite
Beale, before returning to the United States to study at the
Lee Strasberg Institute, and
later with Robert Lewis.
Movie roles
Purl's first major movie role was in
Jonathan Demme's 1975 comedy,
Crazy Mama. Subsequent movie appearances
have included
The High
Country,
Viper and
Mighty Joe Young. She has also
featured in many movies made for television, including
Little Ladies of the Night
and
The Young
Pioneers.
Television roles
Linda Purl has played several roles on television, notably on
The Secret Storm,
Happy Days,
Matlock, and
First Monday. She also played secret agent
Kate Del'Amico in the short-lived series
Under Cover. In
Happy
Days she played two different roles: Richie's occasional
girlfriend Gloria in the second year of the show, and Fonzie's
steady girlfriend Ashley eight seasons later. In 1978, she appeared
as newlywed Molly Beaton in the three-episode
ABC western drama series,
The Young Pioneers, set
in the
Dakota Territory of the
1870s and based on the novels of
Rose
Wilder Lane.
Roger Kern starred as
her television husband, David Beaton. She also acted alongside
Shaun Cassidy in the 1979 TV movie
Like Normal People. She also portrayed a hospital nurse,
Sheila Munroe in the 1982 horror movie
Visiting Hours.
Purl appeared in two episodes of
The
Waltons. She played sophisticate Alica in a third season
episode called "The Spoilers", original airdate 10/31/74. In a
fifth season episode called "The Heartbreaker" she played Mary
Ellen's sister-in-law (and Jason's love interest) Vanessa, and sang
a couple songs in this episode, original airdate 2/17/77 .
Purl appeared in the role of
Pam Beesly's
mother on
NBC's
The Office, starting with
the
Season 6
episode "
Niagara.".
Theatre roles
She is a regular performer (and part of the original cast) of the
long-running touring play
Seven Deadly Sins Four
Deadly Sinners produced by
Marc
Sinden.Sept. 12, 2008 Linda Purl opened at the Cleveland
Playhouse in Cleveland, Ohio in the production,
The Glass Menagerie, by
Tennessee Williams, playing Amanda, the
mother of the main characters.
Charity
Ms. Purl also does charity work, for AIDS Project Los Angeles,
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Haven House, and Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation. She also supports Actors and Others for
Animals.
Music
Purl launched a jazz music career after leaving
Matlock
and has released several albums of music, most recently
Out of This World ---
LIVE.
See also
References
External links
Wikis
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