Linda Purl

Linda Purl, American actress

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Born: September 2, 1955
Age in 2026: 71
Zodiac sign: Virgo
Birth year: 1955

About Linda Purl

Linda Purl is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Pfister on Happy Days, Sheila Munroe in the 1982 horror film Visiting Hours, Pam Beesly's mother Helene in The Office, and Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock for the first season of the television series Matlock. After playing a small role in Jory (1973), Purl's first major movie role was in Jonathan Demme's 1975 comedy, Crazy Mama. In the first season of Matlock (1986–1987) starring Andy Griffith, Purl played Charlene, Ben Matlock's lawyer daughter. Furthermore, she was discovered by Toho and appeared in several films.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Linda Purl timeline

1973After playing a small role in Jory (1973), Purl's first major movie role was in Jonathan Demme's 1975 comedy, Crazy Mama.
1986In the first season of Matlock (1986–1987) starring Andy Griffith, Purl played Charlene, Ben Matlock's lawyer daughter.

The world when Linda Purl was born

Linda Purl was born in 1955. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1955

#1 song"Rock Around the Clock" – Bill Haley & His Comets
Top movieMarty
Top TV showThe $64,000 Question
Best-selling bookLolita – Vladimir Nabokov

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentBrooklyn Dodgers win their first World Series
Top headlineRosa Parks sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Technology milestoneDisneyland opens in Anaheim, California
Defining fadJames Dean and rebel culture
Notable inventionVelcro commercially available
World population2.77 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
Sports championBrooklyn Dodgers (World Series)
Also wonSyracuse Nationals (NBA)
U.S. population165.3M

1955 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Linda Purl's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1955	2026
Gas	$0.29	$3.45/gal
Average home	$10,950	$435,000
Average income	$6,200	$67,500
Minimum wage	$0.75	$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket	$0.50	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.03	$0.73
Population	165.3M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.