Show Notes
Linda Purl has spent more than five decades building an extraordinary career across television, film, Broadway and music. In this episode of Still Here Hollywood, Linda joins Steve Kmetko for a funny, candid and surprisingly personal conversation about Happy Days, Matlock, The Office, Andy Griffith, Garry Marshall, aging in Hollywood and the unexpected love story that brought her and Dallas star Patrick Duffy together. Linda reveals what The Office was really like behind the scenes, why Happy Days had only one bathroom for the cast and crew, and the remarkable story Andy Griffith told her about fighting for his role in A Face in the Crowd. She also opens up about reconnecting with Patrick Duffy during COVID, their nightly Zoom conversations and the moment he finally drove from Oregon to Colorado to see if their friendship could become something more. Plus, Linda talks about returning to the stage, her lifelong love of music, handling criticism, getting older without “giving up,” and how she and Patrick turned a 70-year-old family sourdough starter into Duffy's Dough and a mission to help fight food insecurity. It's Linda Purl, still working, still laughing, still singing and very much Still Here.
YOUTUBE CHAPTERS 00:00 Linda Purl Is Still Here 01:02 Growing Up in Japan 07:34 Becoming an Actor 10:42 Auditioning for The Office 12:17 Garry Marshall and the Happy Days Family 14:49 The Truth About Improv on The Office 16:20 The Lasting Bonds of Happy Days 18:26 Returning to Happy Days as a Different Character 20:16 Working With Andy Griffith on Matlock 21:58 Andy Griffith's Wild Elia Kazan Story 24:30 Linda's Advice for Young Actors 27:43 Criticism and Bad Reviews 29:21 Social Media and the New Hollywood 32:37 Aging in Hollywood 34:20 Linda's Other Career as a Singer 38:55 Her New Album, From My Heart 41:33 Reinvention and Gregory Harrison's Life Lesson 44:22 Playing 16 Characters in Crazy Mama 47:55 Falling in Love With Patrick Duffy 53:05 Patrick's 70-Year-Old Sourdough Starter 56:36 Turning Duffy's Dough Into a Business 1:03:33 What Linda Hopes People Remember
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