Matinee Classics - Linda Purl Biography & Filmography

Linda Purl ACTOR

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LINDA PURL BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Linda Purl was born on September 2nd, 1955 in Greenwich, Connecticut and was raised in Japan by her family. Both of her parents were in the entertainment industry. She attended the Toho Geino Academy and first began working as a stage actress in Japan at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo in a production of, "The King and I" and "The Miracle Worker".

Purl then relocated to England after finishing Finch College, and began studying with Marguerite Beale. She later moved again to the United States and continued to work on her craft under the direction of Lee Strasberg and Robert Lewis.

As her career continued as a stage actress she was seen in such productions as, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", "Getting and Spending" and later in her career she joined the cast of, "A Streetcar Named Desire" playing Blanche DuBois. Other stage credits she has added to her resume have been in the plays, "Seven Deadly Sins Four Deadly Sinners" and "The Glass Menagerie".

She is most remembered for her role on the television series, "Matlock" portraying Ben Matlock's (Andy Griffith) daughter, Charlene Matlock. She did a couple small film roles in Japan before taking on some American television roles such as on, "The Secret Storm" and "Hawaii Five-O".

Her first decent film role was in 1975 on, "Crazy Mama" followed by roles in such films as, "Leo and Loree" (1980), "The High Country" (1981), "Visiting Hours" (1982), "Viper" (1988), "Natural Causes" (1994), ""Mighty Joe Young" (1998) and "Fear of the Dark" (2003).

Throughout her career she has also added numerous television credits to her resume such as on the series, "Medical Center", "Medical Story", "The Oregon Trail", "Serpico", "Happy Days", "The Love Boat", "Matlock", "Murder, She Wrote", "Burke's Law", "Touched By an Angel", "Crossing Jordon", "Cold Case" and most recently, "The Office" and "Homeland".

Purl has also focused on a variety of television movie roles throughout her career being seen on, "Having Babies" (1976), "Black Market Baby" (1977), "A Last Cry For Help" (1979), "Midas Valley" (1985), "Before the Storm" (1991), "Secrets" (1992), "Holy Joe" (1999) and "Stranger at the Door" (2004).

In addition to her acting career, Purl has also released a number of jazz albums and remains active in the industry. She is also a very charitable person involved in such causes as devoting time to AIDS Project for Los Angeles, The Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, Haven House and is an avid supporter for Actors and Others for Animals.

Linda Purl has married a total of four times. First to Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1980 but divorced just one year later. She then married William Broyles Jr. in 1988 however this marriage also ended in divorce. Her third husband was Alexander Cary whom she wed in 1993 and together they had one child before another marriage came to an end in 1999. Her fourth husband was James Vinson Adams whom she married in 2006 but this marriage has recently also ended.