MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — A line backed up through a store at a Mt. Juliet Kroger. They all stood waiting at a blue carpet leading up to two familiar faces.
"I had a crush on him when I was, like, 13!" one woman in line laughed.
Greeting fans of classic TV was Patrick Duffy. Duffy's known for Dallas, Man From Atlantis, and as a 90s TV dad on Step By Step. Standing with him was Linda Purl who's recognized from Happy Days, Matlock, and The Office.
They were on the shows people still love.
"Shows you couldn't wait to come on every week!" a man in line told me.
They're also the shows with the moments people still talk about. That includes the time on Dallas when Duffy's character seemingly died, but it turned out to be a dream.
"He was in the shower, so he never actually died," a woman in line said with a laugh. "That was the story!"
There is something to why people love those shows so much.
"The interchange has always been, 'I sat with my parents or my grandparents and watched this show,'" Duffy explained. "It was back when families watched."
Being familiar faces has led Duffy and Purl on an unexpected new adventure, one called Duffy's Dough.
"This sourdough starter was gifted to my mother in Alaska in 1952," Duffy explained. "It stayed in our family as a staple, producing memories for the past 70 years."
"As Patrick often says, we're at the legacy stage of our life," Purl added. "We want to be making a difference if we possibly can."
Duffy and Purl decided to launch a company and partner with Kroger. Packages of the Duffy's Dough breads were gathered in baskets all around this Mt. Juliet Kroger. Each package carried a picture of Duffy.
"The thing I think that pushed it over the edge was the fact we said we want to give it all away," Duffy said. "100% of the profits. We don't want to keep nothing for ourselves. They said, 'we can do this.'"
"In our case, we thought it'd be best to focus on food scarcity," Purl continued.
They do that by giving to hunger relief organizations. Duffy and Purl have been going to things like mobile food pantries. They say the experiences have been eye opening.
"As we've gone, neither one of us really had any concept of the crucial need," Purl said.
On Tuesday, Kroger and Duffy's Dough donated $5,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
Duffy's Dough has already rolled out in Ohio, Texas, and southern California. Duffy and Purl's appearances mark the arrival of Duffy's Dough in Tennessee.
All of us are interested in how we're known and how we'll be remembered. Though it's been wonderful to be on multiple beloved shows, Duffy and Purl's hope is Duffy's Dough has a lasting impact too.
"There's going to come a time when I'm gone, and Duffy's Dough is still out there on the shelves," Duffy said. "They're going to look at that picture, and they're not going to know who that is. They're just going to know that's the product that gives back the money to charities. It's a handing off of my celebrity-dom to the actual product that's going to make a difference."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
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