Purl just wants to have fun in Boulder Theatre performance

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 8:11 a.m.

Linda Purl's marriage to Desi Arnaz Jr. was brief, 1980-81, but their friendship has lasted almost half their lives.

The actress/singer will perform a cabaret show at Arnaz's Boulder Theatre in Boulder City at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, presenting songs by such legends as Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Sammy Cahn and Hoagy Carmichael.

Arnaz (son of the late Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball) will sing a couple of numbers with his ex-wife and play drums for a number or two.

"We were married a long time ago," Purl said during a recent telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles, "but he's always been a part of my life."

Both have remarried. Arnaz's wife, Amy, is the founder of the Boulder City Ballet. The first time Purl performed in Boulder City was in 1999, at a benefit to raise funds for the dance company.

She and Desi Arnaz starred in "Love Letters," which was directed by actress Stephanie Zimbalist, who co-starred in the TV series "Remington Steele" with Pierce Brosnan.

Purl is known to millions of fans of the TV series "Matlock" as Charlene Matlock, daughter of Ben (Andy Griffith).

She co-starred in the inaugural season, 1986-'87. The program was on NBC from '86-'92 and on ABC from '92-'95.

But "Matlock" is a very small item on Purl's extensive resume.

Over the past 30 years she has acted in dozens of other series (from "Secret Storm" to "Happy Days" to "Second Monday") and films ("Mighty Joe Young," "Leo and Loree").

In addition to her drama roles in film and television, she has performed in numerous plays ("Hedda Gabler," "Romeo and Juliet") and musicals ("Grease," "Oliver").

"I always sang," Purl said. "Music was always a big part of my life. I did musicals as a kid."

Purl was born in Connecticut and raised in Japan, where she trained at the Toho Geino Academy.

At the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, she played the role of Louis in "The King and I" and Helen in "The Miracle Worker."

From Japan, Purl moved to England to study acting under Marguerite Beale before returning to the United States, where she studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute. When she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting career, she missed the musical aspect of her many talents.

"Living in L.A. there is not much of a chance to do musicals, per se," Purl said. "That's when I discovered cabarets, where you have complete autonomy."

She brought a few musician friends together, put together a cabaret act and started booking clubs around Los Angeles.

"That's how it came about," Purl said. "It was my desire to keep singing."

Eventually, she began performing her cabaret act in clubs around the nation.

She says she does it for the love of singing, not for the money.

It's an avocation, rather than a source of income.

"I have never counted on it for my bread and butter," Purl said. "It's an arena for me. I have the freedom to do what I want, when I want."

She's been doing it for 15 years.

"At least once a year since I began," Purl said. "Sometimes more than that, depending what else is going on."

Which is a lot these days.

Purl has founded the Colorado Festival of World Theatre, which is consuming most of her time.

The inaugural season will be in the summer of 2005, but Purl is planning a "mini-festival" July 14-18 as an advance for the real deal.