By Page Six | Created at 2026-09-04 16:41:01 | Updated at 2026-09-04 17:18:28
43 minutes ago
“Happy Days” star Linda Purl made a rare appearance in Los Angeles.
The ’70s icon was pictured picking up her cake from a Gelson’s market for her 71st birthday on Wednesday.
For the outing, the actress kept a low profile, wearing a red baseball cap, a long-sleeve blue shirt and black pants.
She also celebrated her special day by doing a solo hike before inviting some friends over to her house for a get-together.
Purl became a household name with her role in “Happy Days,” which followed wholesome, sweet-natured teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) as he navigated the usual awkward trials of high school, dating and growing up.
She first appeared as Gloria, Richie’s girlfriend, in the show’s second season, then returned years later as the much more notable character, Ashley Pfister, the girlfriend and fiancée of another central character, Fonzie (Henry Winkler).
The sitcom ran for 11 seasons from 1974 to 1984.
Following “Happy Days,” Purl landed a role on “Matlock” as the daughter of main character Ben Matlock (Andy Griffith), a very expensive criminal defense attorney. She was a regular during the show’s first season.
Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, Purl also starred in several films and Broadway shows.
Later in life, Purl continued her TV career with many guest roles in hit shows, including “The Office,” “Homeland,” “True Blood” and “Desperate Housewives.”
In recent years, she has stayed mainly out of the spotlight, but made headlines in 2020 for her relationship with fellow TV icon Patrick Duffy.
“I’m in an incredibly happy relationship,” the actor gushed to People at the time. “I never thought for a minute this would happen again. I never thought I’d feel this way again.”
The two had been casual friends but lost touch over time and found each other again after Duffy’s wife of 48 years died of cancer in 2017.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the duo was able to make their new relationship work.
“We Zoomed every single night for at least two to three hours,” Duffy recently told Closer Weekly in 2021.
“So we explored all our history, our past, our loves. We listened to music together and covered all that ground you normally cover over months of dating.”
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