Happy Days Are Here Again — For Actress Linda Purl

Oct. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- TV audiences fell in love with her on “Happy Days” as Fonzie’s one-and-only fiance “Ashley,” the blond with the huge blue eyes and the adorable little daughter. And they fell in love with her again in “Mattock,” when she portrayed Andy Griffith’s one-and-only daughter-lawyer.

Over the last two years, Purl has been capturing a whole new fan base with appearances on “Criminal Minds” and “Desperate Housewives.” And a new generation of fans fell in love with her as Helene Beasley, Pam’s Mom on “The Office.”

But if audiences loved a kinder, gentler Purl on other shows, they’ll be infatuated—and a little scared—by this Linda Purl. As the conniving Elizabeth Gaines on the new hit Showtime series “Homeland,” she now is so commanding—while maintaining her porcelain-skinned blue-eyed beauty—it’s unclear whether she blasts her adversaries or whether they just melt in the heat of her presence. Trying saying “no” to those eyes, or escaping the range of that voice.

Squeezed into her busy shooting schedule, Purl currently tours her stunning cabaret performances from New York’s Feinstein’s to multiple venues across the U.S. Her solo show is "Come Rain of Come Shine” with Musical Director jazz pianist Tedd Firth. Her duet shows feature Lee Lessack in “Steppin Out with My Baby,” a Tribute to Irving Berlin; and Kevin Spirtas in a singing and dancing tribute to the 40’s in “Rhapsody in Two”; and the sumptuous “An Evening to Remember” with Gregory Harrison.

Over the past five years, Linda founded and ran the California International Theatre Festival. Its mission—to work for the betterment of cross cultural understanding through theatre arts by bringing in plays from all over the world to perform in Southern California. Her commitment to this transformative non-profit has brought international casts and original shows to California from Ivory Coast, France, Germany, the Ukraine, Armenia, Ireland, China, Japan, Iran and Turkey.