’70s icon makes rare appearance running errands in Los Angeles

“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. “Happy Days” star Linda Purl made a rare appearance in Los Angeles this week. BACKGRID In photos obtained by Page Six, the actress picked up a cake for her 71st birthday on Wednesday. BACKGRID 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. The TV icon kept a low profile as she ran some other errands. BACKGRID Purl wore a long-sleeve shirt and black pants. BACKGRID 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.” That same day, Purl went on a solo hike. BACKGRID After she wrapped up her hike, friends came over to her house to celebrate her special day. BACKGRID 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. Purl made herself a household name with her role as Ashley Pfister in “Happy Days.” Her character was the girlfriend of Henry Winkler’s character, Fonzie (seen above). ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection In more recent years, she has made headlines for her sweet relationship with fellow TV icon Patrick Duffy (pictured in 2023). Getty Images 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.” Community Guidelines Welcome to the Page Six Community! Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space. In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience. Simply put, keep it civil. Your post will/might be rejected if it contains: Spam Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice: Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk So, how can you be a power user? Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across. 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions! Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules. Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!