Embracing co-star Roger Kern against the vast Arizona sky, 22-year-old Linda Purl beamed with youthful optimism while filming the 1978 television series “The Young Pioneers” at Empire Ranch in Sonoita. Dressed in a frontier-style maroon blouse, her round cheeks and bright smile captured the tender, dewy-eyed charm that defined her roles in the late 1970s. | Source: Getty Images
Her stage roles reached far beyond Broadway. She portrayed Wanda in the Off-Broadway production of “The Baby Dance,” Joan Didion in “The Year of Magical Thinking,” Amanda Wingfield in “The Glass Menagerie,” Karen in “Dinner with Friends,” Elsa Barlow in “The Road to Mecca,” and Barbara Webster in “Johnny on a Spot.”
Each production allowed Linda to step into a completely different life. Still, one sunny television world gave her the roles viewers would remember most, along with a relationship that remained in her heart decades later.
A luminous, sun-kissed glow defined 25-year-old Linda Purl’s appearance in the 1980 ABC television movie “The Night the City Screamed” in Los Angeles. Dressed in a plunging baby-blue satin top with a delicate gold chain, her radiant smile revealed high cheekbones emerging from the soft fullness of her earlier 20s, perfectly framed by an elegant, swept-back hairstyle. | Source: Getty Images
“Happy Days” Gave Her a Homecoming and a Bond Far Deeper Than the Script
Linda first entered “Happy Days” as Gloria, Richie Cunningham’s girlfriend. When Ron Howard left the series, the characters surrounding Richie disappeared with him, seemingly closing Linda’s chapter on the show.
Years later, the producers began searching for an actress to play Ashley Pfister, the woman who would become engaged to Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. Linda asked for an audition, won the role, and stepped back onto a set she already knew. For her, the return felt like coming home.
