Words For Your Enjoyment: Amy Linker
June 11th, 2004
What ever happened to Square Pegs co-star, Amy Linker?
That’s what our good friend Kristi suggested we take a look at for today’s “Words For Your Enjoyment.” And you’ve got to figure, when a good friend of WFME suggests a Friday topic, it’s got to be damn good.
And it is.
Amy Linker (top left in above picture, next to Sarah Jessica Parker) played Lauren Hutchinson, a brace-wearing, chubby sidekick to Parker’s character of Patty. She was, if you can believe this, not really fat or in need of braces whatsoever. The braces and the padding were all fake (an 80’s version of CGI)! She was, for all intents and purposes, a true teenage fake. (And a damn good actress.)
But these days, where has little old Amy Linker gone and why would she give up such a promising acting career to take a job as an Elementary School Teacher in Santa Monica, California?
She got sick of the drama.
Amy wasn’t so pleased with the kinds of roles she was offered after Square Pegs did it’s run. She was offered other fatty teenager sidekick roles that never really caused her acting chops to salivate. Sure, there was the periodic “I’ve just hit puberty” afterschool special and the requisite “I’m being teased by the popular girls” Sunday night network movie… But Amy didn’t want to play a part in any of it. She wanted to be a positive role model for other young women who were looking to television for the answers.
That’s right, I’ll say it again for emphasis: Amy didn’t want a part of it.
And so, what did our friend Amy do? She set out to teach. To go after a profession where she could honestly give something back to the children of the world. Where she could shed the padding and rip off the plastic/metal-spray painted braces and smile brightly and confidently. Where she could mold young impressionable minds and show them that no matter what they looked like on the outside, they would eventually be able to outgrow such teasable features with the help of the gym and Extreme Makeover on ABC.
And finally, in the year 2000, Amy Linker was happy.
—
To this day, Amy and her family live in Santa Monica, California where they enjoy the surf and the sun and the beach and the boardwalk with their famous little acting dog, Tutu. Tutu’s claim to fame is the Alpo commercial where the dog chases the mini-animated chuck wagon across the kitchen floor.
As for Sarah Jessica Parker, she currently is out of work and her movie career has hit a brick wall as a result of contract negotiations with one of her old television co-stars. Parker, it seems, has decided to throw her entire career away by becoming the spokesperson for a company (The Gap) that strangely, makes clothing reminiscent of the styles she used to wear on an old show called Square Pegs…
If you ask me, Amy Linker was the smarter one.
Very cool, thanks for the update. I used to love that show!
But Pauly…intensive purposes…again…say it ain’t so.
Comment by Hilary — June 11, 2004 @ 8:38 am
If you’re going to do a VH1 Where Are They Now, how about doing one on the baby from those Michellen tire adds? Or the surfer guy that stared in the movie “Airborn!”
Comment by Tito — June 11, 2004 @ 9:47 am
pfft! i couldn’t stand that show.
Comment by Enigma — June 11, 2004 @ 2:22 pm
I liked her and thought she was very talented.
I would agree that she got disappointed with the biz and I am glad you wrote about her.
Myabe she will do some acting again, anyway.
Comment by hoola — August 11, 2004 @ 5:05 pm
just cauhgt D.A.R.Y.L. today and thought i would check on what the actress was up to these days (had a crush on her when i was young lol) glad to hear she is doing well , though i realize this article is old, too bad we haven’t seen her talent lately. but as for the comment about parker, ever hear of sex in the city ? if that was her only claim to fame (which it isn’t) that would be enough. how many of us (including you ) can say we have had (or even done anything more than watch) a hit series on any tv? not to put down mrs. linker , but i think mrs. parker is doing ok as well. i wish them both the best, thanx for the time , PJ
Comment by PJ — December 11, 2005 @ 11:34 am
I was Amy Linker,s Math teacher when she was in 7th grade at Halsey JHS in Queens,NY. I remember Ammy As being one of the sweetest students I have had the pleasure to teach.I retired in 2001 and am living in Lake Worth Florida. If this gets to her she can e-mail me at my e-mail address. I was thrilled tohear that she is is teaching!!!
Comment by Herb Stahl — April 28, 2006 @ 9:29 pm
I am Amy Linker’s friend from grade school - P.S. 196 in Forest Hills, Queens. (Susan Emhoff…formerly known as Susan Schwartz.) Amy really enjoyed acting when I knew her. She was pretty good in Square Pegs. Amy, if you are out there…I am glad to hear that you are happy and teaching in CA. I am currently married and living in a very normal suburban life in Vernon, Connecticut. I would love to hear from you someday. It would be a hoot!
Comment by Susan Emhoff — January 16, 2008 @ 2:30 pm