Paul Linke (born May 6, 1948) is an American actor, known for his role as Officer Arthur "Artie" Grossman in the television series ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

''. Linke has worked in film and extensively in television, mostly portraying mild-mannered

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

roles.

Life and career

Linke was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the son of Richard O. Linke, a personal manager, producer, and partner of

Andy Griffith Andy Samuel Griffith (June 1, 1926 – July 3, 2012) was an American actor, comedian, television producer, southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his Southern drawl, his characte ...

.Paul Linke Biography (1948-)
/ref> After roles in films such as ''

The Baby Maker ''The Baby Maker'' is a 1970 American drama film that was directed and co-written by James Bridges and released by National General Pictures. Plot Tish Gray is a flower child who is hired to have the baby of a middle-class couple, Suzanne and ...

'' (1970), ''

Big Bad Mama ''Big Bad Mama'' is a 1974 American action-crime- sexploitation comedy movie produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. This movie is about a mother, Wilma (played by ...

'' (1974), ''

The Strongest Man in the World ''The Strongest Man in the World'' is a 1975 American science fiction comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety, produced by Walt Disney Productions and starring Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Eve Arden. It is the second sequel to the 1969 film '' ...

'' (1975) and ''

Moving Violation A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

'' (1976), Linke appeared in the 1977 movie ''

Grand Theft Auto ''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is a series of action-adventure games created by David Jones (video game developer), David Jones and Mike Dailly (game designer), Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan Hous ...

''. During the timeframe of his character on the television series ''

'', Linke played a similar role as Sheriff Bruce Smith in the

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

Motel Hell ''Motel Hell'' is a 1980 American comedy horror film directed by Kevin Connor and starring Rory Calhoun, Nancy Parsons, and Nina Axelrod. The plot follows farmer, butcher, motel manager, and meat entrepreneur Vincent Smith, who traps travele ...

'' (1980). He also appeared in another Ron Howard-directed movie, the film '' Parenthood'' (1989). His other film credits have included roles in ''

Space Rage ''Space Rage'' is a 1985 American space Western film directed by Conrad E. Palmisano. Premise Two centuries in the future, a dangerous lunatic named Grange (Paré) is sentenced to a penal colony, Botany Bay, on the planet Proxima Centauri 3. ...

'' (1985), LAFD Battalion Chief Powers in '' Fire, Trapped on the 37th Floor'' (1991), ''

Shrunken Heads A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes. Headhunting has occurred in many regions of the world, but the practice of headshrinking has only been documented in the northwest ...

'' (1994) and ''

K-PAX ''K-PAX'' is an American science fiction novel by Gene Brewer, the first in the ''K-PAX'' series. The series deals with the experiences on Earth of a being named Prot. It is written in the first person from the point of view of Prot's psychiat ...

'' (2001). His career has included appearances on many television series, including ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book ''Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 film ...

'', ''

Laverne & Shirley ''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' star ...

'', ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

'', ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. The ...

'', ''

Knots Landing ''Knots Landing'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on CBS from December 27, 1979, to May 13, 1993. A spin-off of ''Dallas'', it was set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles and initially centered on the lives of ...

'', '' St. Elsewhere'', ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physi ...

'' and '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''. He appeared in a 1985 episode of ''

Three's a Crowd ''Three's a Crowd'' (also known as ''Three's Company, Too'' in the ''Three's Company'' syndication package) is an American sitcom television series produced as a spin-off continuation of ''Three's Company'' that aired on ABC from September 25 ...

'', a short-lived

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

spinoff of ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom ''Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single roomma ...

'' starring

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

. Three years later, Linke would work with Ritter again when he joined the cast of ''

Hooperman ''Hooperman'' is an American comedy-drama television series which aired on ABC from September 23, 1987, to July 19, 1989. The show centered on the professional and personal life of San Francisco police Inspector Harry Hooperman, played by John Ri ...

'', the ABC dramedy series that Ritter subsequently headlined. In 2003, Linke spoke at Ritter's memorial service. In 2000 Linke co-wrote and directed the stage play "Save it for the Stage: The Life of Reilly" with actor

Charles Nelson Reilly Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, which was later made into the 2006 film " The Life of Reilly". Linke also appeared in the 2016 family-drama film '' An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas'', playing the role of Maryellen Larkin's grandfather. Linke met his first wife, Francesca "Chex" Draper, a musician and composer, at a party in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1976. They married in 1978 and had three children together, Jasper, Ryan and Rose. When his wife died of cancer in 1986, Linke channeled his grief into writing and performing a play called ''Time Flies When You're Alive''. First presented as a one-man show in Los Angeles and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

drama, the work was then developed into the book ''Time Flies When You're Alive: A Real-Life Love Story''. In 2016, he did a follow-up one-man show ''It's Time'', continuing with the theme of tragedy, death and coping. Linke later married Christine Healy in 1991. They have one child together, a daughter named Lily.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Linke, Paul 1948 births American male film actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors