Paul Linke

Paul Linke (born May 6, 1948) is an American actor best known for his role as Officer Artie Grossman in *CHiPs*, a television series centered on the motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol. Linke has appeared in film and on television, frequently playing mild-mannered, everyman characters.

Born in New York, New York, Linke is the son of Richard O. Linke, a personal manager, producer, and business partner of Andy Griffith. During the run of *CHiPs*, Linke also portrayed a similar character in *Motel Hell* (1980), a cult classic slasher film parody. He also appeared in the film *Parenthood* (1989).

Linke has made appearances on numerous well-known television series, including *The Waltons*, *Laverne & Shirley*, *Happy Days*, *MAS*H*, *Knots Landing*, *St. Elsewhere*, *Quantum Leap*, and *Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman*.

He appeared in a 1985 episode of *Three's a Crowd*, a short-lived sitcom spinoff of *Three's Company* starring John Ritter. Linke later spoke at Ritter's memorial service.

In 2000, Linke co-wrote and directed the acclaimed stage play *Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly* with actor Charles Nelson Reilly. The play was later adapted into the 2006 film *The Life of Reilly*.

Linke met his first wife, Francesca "Chex" Draper, a musician and composer, at a party in Los Angeles in 1976. They married in 1978 and had three children: Jasper, Ryan, and Rose. After his wife died of cancer in 1986, Linke channeled his grief into writing and performing a play titled *Time Flies When You're Alive*. Initially presented as a one-man show in Los Angeles and later as an HBO drama, the work was developed into the book *Time Flies When You're Alive: A Real-Life Love Story*. The emotionally resonant work has received critical acclaim.

Linke later remarried Christine Healy in 1991. They have one child together, a daughter named Lily.