In the 1980s and 1990s, “Dallas” and “Step by Step” kept Patrick Duffy on television. He’s added 80 more acting credits and directed several films since then.
Duffy announced his relationship with “Happy Days” actress Linda Purl in November. Duffy, who was filming “Once Upon a Main Street” for Lifetime, said they had been casual friends for years before taking the next step while everyone was quarantined.
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We’ll discuss their budding romance further, but the actor said, “We’re very pleased. This was not something I expected.” Duffy had lost several of his closest friends before finding love.
Patrick Duffy’s acting career hit a snag before college. “I was about to graduate from the University of Washington when I ruptured my vocal cords from a lack of judgment, vocal abuse, no rest, and too much drinking,” Duffy told Deseret News in 1991, recalling how he lost his voice two decades before. “That was the end of my career.”
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According to his IMDb page, the future star adapted by teaching mime and movement classes. After that, Duffy interpreted ballet and opera performances by visiting groups in Washington. As a Buddhist, he only repaired his vocal cords by chanting every day. According to Deseret News, he recovered in five months.
Duffy would come to rely on the woman who introduced him to Buddhism.
Patrick Duffy and Carlyn Rosser, one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples, had an unusual first date. After graduating, Duffy began touring with a group of entertainers, according to Closer Weekly.
“I was an immature college graduate touring as a narrator with this dance production, and she was a lovely dancer ten years older,” he recalled his first encounter with Rosser. “We met on the tour bus and became lifelong friends.” Her abilities enchanted the young actor. “My wife had a great pitch, concert piano, was a dancer, and lived a creative life,” he explained. “I was drawn to that.”
The dancer had gotten married. They fled together after Rosser converted Duffy to Buddhism. “I wrote, “Dear Mom and Dad: I’m relocating to New York with a married woman ten years my senior, and I’m a Buddhist. What would I do as a parent if my son sent a similar letter?” Duffy made a joke in Deseret News. “I’d fall.”
Patrick Duffy rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the star of “Dallas,” a film about the Ewing family’s struggle to control a large oil company. His career outside of his famous role, however, failed.
“I thought if there was ever a time at the peak of that show’s popularity when I might be able to launch into something more of a single, starring venue, that would be the time to do it,” Duffy told HuffPost in 2014, recalling how Bobby Ewing was killed off so he could pursue other projects. “Typical Patrick Duffy business decision disaster,” he remarked.
When Duffy couldn’t find his ideal star drive, he returned to his first soap, forcing the writers to improvise. They mistook the previous season for a nightmare, including his death scene. Duffy reprised the role in 2012 and told TV Insider that he might return in April 2021. “I tried putting Bobby Ewing behind me twice, and it didn’t work,” he explained. “I never say the words “never again.” If it was an incredible next step in those characters’ stories, I’d do it.”
Patrick Duffy’s portrayal of Bobby Ewing in “Dallas” in 1986 was his career high. Then his parents were murdered. Duffy’s parents were shot to death in their Montana pub by two 19-year-old gunmen.
The actor described his parents as “very average, decent people” and “social” in Closer Weekly. As a result, Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz’s heinous murder of them was a terrible shock.
“Later that evening, my father removed these two young men from the tavern. They drank somewhere else before returning to the bar to kick his a**.” The actor described their heartbreaking encounter. “He was shot in the bar. Because the bar was empty, they shot my parents.”
Kenneth Miller and Sean Wentz were quickly apprehended after murdering Patrick Duffy’s parents, shocking everyone who knew them. According to the Associated Press, the teens were convicted and sentenced to 75 years in prison for murder and 30 years for robbery and assault in 1987 (Wentz later received an additional ten years, explaining that “the Miller jury sent a message that Sean Wentz was the triggerman.”
Joanne, Duffy’s sister, and a police officer expressed disappointment that they were not executed. The legendary actor found peace. “My sister immediately embarked on a crusade, seeking punishment,” Patrick Duffy told The New York Times in 2012. “They have already been punished. They caused them to suffer in the future.” Miller’s parole in 2007 didn’t shake the “Step by Step” alum after Wentz admitted to being the sole gunman.
According to Patrick Duffy, Buddhism, which his wife, Carlyn Rosser, introduced him to, helped him cope with his parents’ murders.
“I only converted because I wanted to sleep with her,” he explained their chance meeting on the tour bus. “And now I do it because it’s such an important part of my life,” Duffy said. Nichiren Buddhism aided both his vocal cords and his attitude. “I’m immune to suffering,” the celebrity said while still grieving his parents’ deaths. “Pain isn’t in pain. Self-inflicted.”
“When my parents were murdered, I went through all the emotions of the terrible shock and rage and everything,” the actor said, “but I never felt distant from them.” His faith assisted him in comprehending life and death. “There is no immediate loss. I had no idea why, but 15 years of Buddhism had.” In an interview with the Guardian, Duffy stated that he was “fully accountable for his pain.” “If I’m suffering due to it, my karma manifests in this incarnation under these conditions.”
Patrick Duffy paid tribute to his on-screen mother, Barbara Bel Geddes, after her death from lung cancer in 2005.
“When Barbara joined the cast of ‘Dallas’ as Miss Ellie, I thought of her as a real ‘name’ in American theater, like Helen Hayes, Katherine Cornell, and Ethel Barrymore,” he told Entertainment Weekly, recalling Bel Geddes’ initial intimidation. “You wouldn’t have guessed. Despite her pedigree, she was outstanding.” “Dallas” cast and crew referred to Duffy as “BBG” on set, she revealed. “She was mama,” he explained.
Duffy stated that the 2012 revival was not the same without Bel Geddes. “Barbara is a significant part of our history,” he told TV Week. “Coming back with Linda Gray as Sue Ellen and Larry Hagman in his J.R. hat and seeing Ellie Southworth Ewing Farlow on the gravestone made me realize, ‘Oh, that’s right—gone.’” she’s
Patrick Duffy found peace in Carlyn Rosser, but she also caused him pain. Rosser died of cancer in 2017 at the age of 77. “She died suddenly. You become older and realize the road ahead is shorter than behind.”
He tweeted that his wife would be with him “eternally” after her death. “On this day six months ago, my heart stopped,” Duffy wrote in June. “I live as she wishes.” The former “Step by Step” star thanked fans for their “love and care” and said he would be OK.
“Life is error-free. If given enough time, I can fix every fence and make my work valuable, “Duffy later told Closer Weekly.
In 2019, Patrick Duffy crushed fans’ hearts by saying he still considered Carlyn Rosser, his wife. “Hearing her. I see her,” the actor told Closer Weekly. “I attempt to meet her expectations.” However, Duffy said he occasionally missed Rosser. “I miss her touch,” he said. “I still feel married.”
The actor also mentioned how crucial his kids Padraic and Conor were during his grieving. According to Closer Weekly, Duffy’s older son, Padraic, has written and directed theater, while his younger son, Conor, has acted in “Arrested Development” and “Good Girls.”
“My lads were stalwarts,” Duffy said. “I also recognized that, as much as they were trying to bolster old Dad, I’m probably more attuned to this set of circumstances than they are.”
In late 2020, People claimed that Patrick Duffy was dating “Happy Days” star Linda Purl. “I never believed for a minute this would happen again,” Duffy said of their “very joyful connection.”
In June 2021, “Doomsday Mom” co-stars told Closer Weekly that they grew closer during the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown by talking on Zoom every night. “We examined our past, loves, and histories. We listened to music and covered the usual ground throughout months of dating, “Duffy saw. “We got to know each other without outside influences.” Linda called their early connection “a very Victorian process” and life “filled with surprises.”
“Patrick and I didn’t want this. Our paths intersected unexpectedly. Never quit, “insisted. Duffy told the outlet he was excited for every moment together and added, “Every time this great woman loves me, I’m stunned. Amazing!”
Patrick Duffy doesn’t regret his life’s tragedies. “I’ve worked hard to make the best of life, and it’s been wonderful to me,” he told Closer Weekly.
