During the eleven years that Matlock was on the air four women played his
assistants - Linda Purl, Nancy Stafford, Brynn Thayer and Carol Huston. I've
always wondered how they got along with Andy Griffith and if he had a favorite among them. I liked them all and they all brought something new to the show, but my favorite was Brynn Thayer. She and Andy seemed to have
a certain kind of chemistry that he lacked with the other three. Does anyone know why Nancy Stafford left the show? I remember reading somewhere that
the reason Keene Holiday left the series was that there was bad blood between him and Andy.

I did not know that was The reason why Ken Holiday Left Matlock because there was bad Blood between Ken and Andy

new Yahoo group called The Matlock Women. I's great!!!!

Oh cool. Oh I never knew that. Yeah, Brynn's probably my favorite too. :D I need to go check out that group!

if my memory is Correct I think Bryann was in a movie with Chuck Norris but I am not sure witch movie it was

new Yahoo group called The Matlock Women. I's great!!!!

I was just on Yahoo and didn't find it. I'll try again, though.

if my memory is Correct I think Bryann was in a movie with Chuck Norris but I am not sure witch movie it was

An hour or so ago I looked up her on IMDB and I'm looking again to see for you...

Ah, was it called, "Hero and the Terror" from 1988?

http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=3298

thanks I belived it aired on WGN

thanks I belived it aired on WGN

welcome ah okay neat

Bringing back an old thread --

I've been watching the episodes again and here is what I think of the Matlock women:

Linda/Charlene: Probably the most pretty face of all. Her character is an appealing mix of pleasantness with just a little feisty nature at times. Deserves credit for a solid performance and helping get the series off to a good start. Linda did not seem as comfortable in the series as the others, though. Outfitted nicely overall, but I preferred her with longer hair (like she had on Happy Days).

Julie/Julie: A perfect choice for prosecuting D.A. and a great addition to the cast. Worked very well as Ben's girlfriend -- great chemistry between Andy and her. Good to see someone of her age group in an important role. Julie Sommars is one of the better all-time TV people as far as overall ability. Julie is also well-known for her carefully coiffed red hair!

Nancy/Michelle: Nancy was a key addition to the series. Beautiful and confident in her character, she was just the absolute right person as attorney Michelle. Nancy interacted very effectively with all cast and guests. Outfits tended to be too conservative for her, but nonetheless usually striking, and the professional look was sometimes supplemented with blue jeans. Her "big hair" look could have been better at times, but was preferable to the short cut she received prior to leaving the series -- and Nancy did have all the attributes of a model, such as a lovely face and attractive hair. (In answer to the question of the OP, Nancy's departure had to do with the change of filming location, IIRC.)

Brynn/Leanne: Brynn did some fine work on the series. As with Nancy, her outfits tended to be a little dowdy and plain, not giving her a chance to look her best. Her character was written as a little too harsh, especially in how she treated Les (Don Knotts). But she brought us a character with great confidence and a committed approach that exceeded what had been previously established on Matlock. Although Leanne as a character tends to be eclipsed by Michelle when people think back on the series, the Leanne period was very significant and memorable in its own right. Brynn showed very good dramatic range, such as in the episode in which her diary is stolen. Brynn's long hair suited her, but we rarely had a chance to see it worn 100% loosely.

Carol/Jerri: Underrated as far as appeal, partly because the very late episodes are not appreciated as compared with earlier seasons. Carol too was beautiful and stepped into her role comfortably. Once again the outfits could have been better, although scripts did not call for Jerri to be "dressed up" all that often. But one could become lost in her long, beautiful brunette hair with bangs -- very cute.

One thing to watch for: On so many episodes, at least one woman wears a bright blue blazer/jacket. Linda and Nancy probably the most. It's an inside thing, I suppose.

Finally, I wanted to add that both Brynn and Nancy had appeared in other roles on Matlock prior to their permanent ones -- and it's a shame that both of them were wearing more attractive outfits and hairstyles BEFORE they got their permanent roles...!

I think Nancy was on one episode when Brynn Joiend The Show

I have to go to that webpage and check it out. My favorite was Leanne. How was she with Don Knott's character Les Calhoun. I missed the eps with her having scenes with him.

Nancy Stafford - hands down.

Kari Lizer, who played young Cassie Phillips, should also be mentioned -- she was one of the featured cast members circa Season 2. If I'm not mistaken, she is currently the producer and creator of The New Adventures of Old Christine. She was a lovely youngster on Matlock (I think she was around 25 or 26 years old actually).

My favorite was Brynn as well! :)

I loved her as LeeAnn. I wish she had stayed on one more season.

I'm kinda digging the Carol/Jerri episodes as well now that I'm getting a chance to see them as an and fulling processing them (I watched as a kid. But, haven't seen these since. Until now)

Kari Lizer as Cassie:

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19870922-218.jpg

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19880202-218.jpg

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19880209-218.jpg

Oh yeah, baby. If there were only a few things I could change about Matlock history, one would be for her to have continued.

And have a look at the beautiful face of Linda Purl as Charlene:

http://j.static-locatetv.com/images/content/4/44510_matlock.jpg

These attorney-type women can look over my "briefs" any day of the week!

As we've passed the quarter-century mark since Matlock debuted, it just doesn't seem that long ago that I began being wowed by the show's women in first-run primetime.

Have a look at this "big hair" photo -- I think this is about as long as it ever got on the series for Nancy Stafford ("Michelle Thomas"), SEXY!:

http://timstvshowcase.com/matlock5.jpg

As this 2011 photo reveals, Nancy hasn't been adverse to wearing relatively long hair:

http://img.spokeo.com/public/900-600/nancy_stafford_2011_02_20.jpg

I just saw Kari Lizer on Who's the Boss (1987 ep) and she was smokin' hot. Nice look for her hair, braided.

Wow!! I've hardley watched the but after seeing these pictures, I want to get the dvds.

I don't know if ya'll remember this but Nancy Stafford played a prostitute on Matlock on the first season before she came on the show in season 2. Matlock had paid her for a date at her hotel room because he was trying to get some evidence from her so he could prove that she was the killer and it would prevent his football player client from going to prison for murdering a white woman that was part owner of the football team he played for. Nancy was sitting on Matlock's lap in her hotel room while they talked and she was touching his hair LOL. She told him she was gonna go to the bathroom and change clothes. While she was in the bathroom, Matlock was going through her purse looking for some evidence and he found what he was looking for. He also left her some money. When she came outta the bathroom, he was gone. She had only a bra and panties on and she was looking good. She saw he left some money on the bed and she counted it LOL. Nancy was hot and if i had been Matlock, i would've stayed there and had sex with her LOL.



I wanna ask ya'll who was the cute white woman that played Matlock's daughter on the pilot episode? She only lasted one episode because Linda Purl took her place as his daughter. I wonder why she only played on one episode because i liked her. Does anybody know what her name is? I would have to choose Linda Purl as the best woman on Matlock. She did a good job as his daughter and she was a good lawyer.

I have a major crush on Leanne. She was goregous.

Here's Brynn Thayer, who played Ben's daughter Leanne McIntyre:

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BODE4OTAxNjgzM15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTUyMTY1MTE@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg

Showing a very nice rack in this next photo:
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/190/1362606806_5.jpg

It was very common for the Matlock women to be seen in a blue jacket:

http://cache3.asset-cache.net/gc/106063509-the-play-the-dinner-airdate-september-23-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=R4V%2FQay2ANwpmCZhkZDSEgHTgvD2sQG8PfJIQQu73jX5XuaasliVGI7CpOS7Fpv7

Finally, a later look for Brynn:

http://image.qpicture.com/image/b/artist-brynn-thayer/349119.jpg
http://img2.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/v/o/voswa5w12nbj5a1o.jpg?si78bvc2

From the late episodes, Carol Huston:

http://cdn.moviestillsdb.com/sm/815ac5d566abca36279ed847add4d30d/matlock.jpg

http://cache4.asset-cache.net/gc/106062877-gallery-shoot-date-june-13-1994-carol-huston-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=R4V%2FQay2ANwpmCZhkZDSEupxX5TQ6vTlKHUeWtQcUivql4bC0cddKgLO7DsVFAoU7YrZBbnNmL7LxbyRIzJoGA%3D%3D

She is hot.

Honestly, I'd take Leanne over Carol.

From Season 1:

261108

Linda Purl with an attractive, professional look post-Matlock (from Murder, She Wrote). This lady means business. Love the earrings:

261109

This next photo has been dated 1988, so also after her Matlock work. I've never seen her with such a curly hairstyle, pretty hot...!

261107

Kari Lizer, that foxy young woman...!

261110

261111

Kari Lizer as Cassie:

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19870922-218.jpg

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19880202-218.jpg

http://www.wearysloth.com/Gallery/ActorsL/tve73344-19880209-218.jpg

Oh yeah, baby. If there were only a few things I could change about Matlock history, one would be for her to have continued.

And have a look at the beautiful face of Linda Purl as Charlene:

http://j.static-locatetv.com/images/content/4/44510_matlock.jpg

These attorney-type women can look over my "briefs" any day of the week!

As we've passed the quarter-century mark since Matlock debuted, it just doesn't seem that long ago that I began being wowed by the show's women in first-run primetime.

Andy Griffith pushed for Kari Lizer to join Matlock (https://www.metv.com/stories/andy-griffith-pushed-for-kari-lizer-to-join-matlock)

When Kari Lizer joined Matlock, she couldn’t believe her luck getting cast to play a law student named Cassie Phillips.

After eight long years of hard times scraping by in New York and L.A., sometimes holding down three waitress jobs at once, it was the first time she was getting paid every week for her acting.

"I really can’t yet fathom being in a series with a weekly income," Lizer told The Herald in 1987. "The job means everything to me and not just because of the money. The whole quality of my life has changed."

Lizer’s acting career started when she was in high school.

At the age of 15, she joined an acting workshop with a friend, and by the time the workshop had ended, the workshop teacher had become agent to both her and her friend.

Lizer got cast right away in commercials, mostly selling stuff like soda pop or cheesing for brands like KFC. She told the Chino Champion in 1978 that doing commercials taught her to respect everyone’s time onset.

"Filming commercials is fun and exciting, but it’s scary too," Lizer said. "There’s all this money and time being spent and everyone’s depending on you. But so far, it’s been very nice."

Lizer had hoped that her acting career would continue picking up, but unfortunately, she faced hard times instead.

A quirky young woman, when she couldn’t afford the fashionable clothes she wanted, she invented her own personal style.

"When I was starving, I bought a lot of secondhand men’s silk pajamas and boxer shorts," Lizer said. "I sewed up the flies and wore them in public because they were fun and unusual. I couldn’t afford to be fashionable, so I decided to go for laughs. But my parents don’t see the humor."

Before Matlock, Lizer featured in small roles in movies and TV shows like Who’s the Boss? and Growing Pains.

Then, her agent got her cast to guest star in an episode of Matlock called "The Angel," where Griffith’s character defends her character — a Madonna-like rock star — and she was so impressive that Griffith took notice.

That’s why when Linda Purl backed out of Matlock after the first season, Griffith personally recommended the series cast Lizer as her replacement.

For Lizer, catching Andy Griffith’s eye completely changed her life, but she said she was so determined to continue acting that even if she didn’t get offered the role of Cassie Phillips, "I would have kept trying."

She was happy for the opportunity when the Matlock role arose.

"This is a wonderful role for me," she said.

Lizer appeared on Matlock throughout the second season, with her final appearance in the episode "The Genius."

After Matlock, she joined The Van Dyke Show, playing Barry Van Dyke’s wife. She continued acting through 2011, more recently contributing to TV as a producer.

Although it took her time to find her footing as an actor, she said she was grateful she experienced so many growing pains when she was young because she felt it helped her grow into the person she became.

"In a way I’m happy I didn’t land in a television series when I was 15," Lizer said.

Thank you for posting those fascinating comments from Kari Lizer. I found it a little surprising that Andy recommended her to take the lead role vacated by Linda Purl after Season 1, so I wanted to compare the years of birth for that important casting:

1949 - Brynn Thayer
1954 - Nancy Stafford
1955 - Lori Lethin (pilot only)
1955 - Linda Purl
1959 - Carol Huston
1961 - Kari Lizer

So while the youngest, Ms. Lizer was certainly old enough to take on the big role in '87 and Andy had an interesting recommendation there. We may never know why Nancy Stafford got that while Kari was given a smaller role.

I have to say that time and again, the ladies Andy had found attractive are ones I've favored as well. I'm on Linda Purl's message list and also in the past exchanged a couple of emails with Nancy Stafford.