Ausiello is reporting that a bit of an unknown actress, Linda Purl will be playing Pam’s (Jenna Fischer) mother on The Office and make her debut next moth at Pam and Jim’s (John Krasinski) wedding. B.J. Novak told Ausiello that Mrs Beasley would not get an A list actress to do the roll and his reasoning was that that cast of The Office are supposed to be regular people and an A lister might not work.
I am actually a huge fan of this news, because I am one of those A list haters that feels that sometimes a really famous person can ruin the immersion of a show for me. Well I never watched Matlock so I do not have to worry about Linda Purl being very well known to me. What do you think? Should she have been a famous A lister since it is such a huge spotlight role for the show?
Ausiello also reminds us that Pam’s mom was shown in season two and played by Shannon Cochran.
Source: ausiellofiles.ew.com
Well, Linda is on MY “A-List”. I have never watched “The Office” before, but I’m going to now, just because of her.
while linda purl certainly isn’t A-List, she’s hardly an unknown actress either. any female who has seen her share of made-for-tv movies (usually ones that wind up on the lifetime network, despite their original origin) has seen linda purl. she used to garner “feature star” status. my favorite linda purl movie (the name escapes me, it might have been titled, “the assistant” or “the secretary”) starred heather locklear and linda purl. linda played an overly-ambitious secretary who was willing to do anything to climb the corporate ladder and she worked for heather locklear. a campy, wonderful d-list thriller that has been in repeats for over well10 years.
it’s great to see her again. she did a fabulous job on “the office.”
Linda Purl was very well known in her time (the 70′s). She was, more or less, Queen of the Lifetime Movies.
The strength of The Office resides in its ensemble cast… and therefore, even if A List Actors were commissioned, and Linda Purl (in my mind) remains an A List Actor, the show will survive even if any single show boasts a major show. For example, in the movie Broadcast News, Jack Nicholson simply offered a cameo role.
So…. pleased to see Linda Purl, and anyone who has seen Happy Days will recall her contribution with fondness.