What began as a single segment titled “Love and the Television Set” on the anthology series “Love, American Style,” grew to become a top ten sitcom that lasted 11 seasons and defined “cool” for a generation. Set in 1950s Milwaukee, “Happy Days” debuted on January 15, 1974, and, although it was only a moderate success initially, became one of the most iconic TV series of its time.
Ron Howard was already a well-known TV star from his days as Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show,” so it’s not surprising this series centered around his all-American teenage character Richie Cunningham and his middle-class family. In fact, Howard’s appearance in the “Love, American Style” episode led to his casting by George Lucas in the equally nostalgic “American Graffiti” in 1973 — the success of which prompted ABC to pick up “Happy Days.” But it was the character of greaser Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler...
Ron Howard was already a well-known TV star from his days as Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show,” so it’s not surprising this series centered around his all-American teenage character Richie Cunningham and his middle-class family. In fact, Howard’s appearance in the “Love, American Style” episode led to his casting by George Lucas in the equally nostalgic “American Graffiti” in 1973 — the success of which prompted ABC to pick up “Happy Days.” But it was the character of greaser Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler...
- 1/14/2024
- by Susan Pennington, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Realizing they needed a voice over actor to provide the narration for a new show in development called Arrested Development, producer Ron Howard looked around the empty recording studio, finding no voice over actor in sight. So this Oscar winning former child star stepped in to provide a temporary voice track, you know just as a filler until they could find a better voice, of course. But a better voice never came because Ron Howard’s comforting and gentle tone mixed with a dry yet kinda goofy speech pattern was the perfect fit for the sense of humor of this show. But this was not the only time Ron Howard stepped up and became an unexpected perfect fit, he’s been doing that all his life – from being in front of the camera in classic TV shows and behind the camera for a hefty handful of wonderful motion pictures… and more!
- 12/15/2023
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Unlike other TV comics of his generation, the late Friends actor could never transfer his small-screen fame to cinema – the film industry was the worse for it
‘An alcoholic from the age of 14’: Matthew Perry’s troubled life and foreshadowed death
Dr Doug Ross from TV’s ER made it in the movies. Wisecracking, balding private detective David Addison from TV’s Moonlighting made it in the movies. West Philadelphia-born-and-raised-kid Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made it in the movies.
So why not Chandler Bing? Why couldn’t Matthew Perry, that brilliant performer whose glorious TV character became everyone’s ideal friend and the very dating-app epitome of Gsoh, have joined George Clooney, Bruce Willis and Will Smith in the cinema? Or as a shrewd, smart writer, could Perry have followed Richie Cunningham from TV’s Happy Days – director Ron Howard – for a career behind the camera?...
‘An alcoholic from the age of 14’: Matthew Perry’s troubled life and foreshadowed death
Dr Doug Ross from TV’s ER made it in the movies. Wisecracking, balding private detective David Addison from TV’s Moonlighting made it in the movies. West Philadelphia-born-and-raised-kid Will Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made it in the movies.
So why not Chandler Bing? Why couldn’t Matthew Perry, that brilliant performer whose glorious TV character became everyone’s ideal friend and the very dating-app epitome of Gsoh, have joined George Clooney, Bruce Willis and Will Smith in the cinema? Or as a shrewd, smart writer, could Perry have followed Richie Cunningham from TV’s Happy Days – director Ron Howard – for a career behind the camera?...
- 10/30/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
To find inspiration for Riverdale‘s future, the show’s writers looked back to the past.
When the CW drama returns for its seventh and final season this Wednesday (9/8c), it’ll take its boldest storytelling leap yet (and that’s saying something): Archie and the gang have been zapped back to the gee-whiz 1950s and are juniors in high school again, with no one having any memory of their former lives. (Well, no one except Jughead.) It brings Riverdale back to the world of the classic Archie comics, with jukeboxes and sock hops, and it allows the long-running...
When the CW drama returns for its seventh and final season this Wednesday (9/8c), it’ll take its boldest storytelling leap yet (and that’s saying something): Archie and the gang have been zapped back to the gee-whiz 1950s and are juniors in high school again, with no one having any memory of their former lives. (Well, no one except Jughead.) It brings Riverdale back to the world of the classic Archie comics, with jukeboxes and sock hops, and it allows the long-running...
- 3/26/2023
- by Dave Nemetz
- TVLine.com
The hit TV show Happy Days aired on ABC from 1974 to 1984. Here’s what we know about the cast today.
Henry Winkler Henry Winkler and the ‘Happy Days’ cast | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Henry Winkler played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. After Happy Days,, Winkler appeared in One Christmas (1994), Monty (1994), and The Waterboy (1998). He is currently starring in the HBO series Barry.
Don Most
Don Most played the character Ralph Malph. After Happy Days, he continued his acting career. Some of Most’s acting credits include appearances in The Munsters Today (1989), Charles in Charge (1989), The New Lassie (1991), and Bones (2010). His most recent role was in the 2022 film County Line: No Fear.
Ron Howard Ron Howard | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Ron Howard played the character Richie Cunningham. After Happy Days, Howard pursued a directing and production career. Some of his credits...
Henry Winkler Henry Winkler and the ‘Happy Days’ cast | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Henry Winkler played Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. After Happy Days,, Winkler appeared in One Christmas (1994), Monty (1994), and The Waterboy (1998). He is currently starring in the HBO series Barry.
Don Most
Don Most played the character Ralph Malph. After Happy Days, he continued his acting career. Some of Most’s acting credits include appearances in The Munsters Today (1989), Charles in Charge (1989), The New Lassie (1991), and Bones (2010). His most recent role was in the 2022 film County Line: No Fear.
Ron Howard Ron Howard | ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
Ron Howard played the character Richie Cunningham. After Happy Days, Howard pursued a directing and production career. Some of his credits...
- 3/23/2023
- by Sheiresa Ngo
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Cindy Williams, who starred in the smash Happy Days spinoff Laverne & Shirley after appearing in two Best Picture Oscar nominees — George Lucas’ American Graffiti and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation — has died. She was 75. Her family told the Associated Press today that the actress died Wednesday after a brief illness.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” reads the statement from her children, Emily and Zak Hudson, relayed through a spokesperson. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Laverne Cox & George Wallace Comedy 'Clean Slate' Produced By Norman Lear Gets Amazon Freevee Series Order Related Story Laverne...
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” reads the statement from her children, Emily and Zak Hudson, relayed through a spokesperson. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Laverne Cox & George Wallace Comedy 'Clean Slate' Produced By Norman Lear Gets Amazon Freevee Series Order Related Story Laverne...
- 1/31/2023
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Cindy Williams, the energetic actress who appeared in a pair of Oscar best picture nominees before starring as the idealistic Shirley Feeney on the beloved ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley, has died. She was 75.
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released Monday.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
After popping up as a pot-smoking hippie in the Maggie Smith-starring Travels With My Aunt (1972), one of the last films directed by George Cukor, Williams took her first big turn in the spotlight when she portrayed Laurie,...
Williams died in Los Angeles on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released Monday.
“The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed,” the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”
After popping up as a pot-smoking hippie in the Maggie Smith-starring Travels With My Aunt (1972), one of the last films directed by George Cukor, Williams took her first big turn in the spotlight when she portrayed Laurie,...
- 1/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hollywood is an unforgiving place for children and teens, and there are plenty of cautionary tales that serve as evidence. For every Neil Patrick Harris, there seem to be a dozen who struggle. It's been proven time and time again: Hollywood is not a place where children thrive.
Fortunately, the statistics can be overcome. Director Ron Howard might as well be the flagbearer for child stars who transitioned to successful, well-adjusted adults in Hollywood. He might have had a leg up as both of his parents were in the industry, but Howard made his onscreen debut at the tender age of 1 in the film "Frontier Woman." As a child actor with a distinct mop of red hair and a freckled face, he was best known as Opie Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" and Richie Cunningham on "Happy Days."
As an adult, Howard would transition to behind the camera, becoming a revered writer,...
Fortunately, the statistics can be overcome. Director Ron Howard might as well be the flagbearer for child stars who transitioned to successful, well-adjusted adults in Hollywood. He might have had a leg up as both of his parents were in the industry, but Howard made his onscreen debut at the tender age of 1 in the film "Frontier Woman." As a child actor with a distinct mop of red hair and a freckled face, he was best known as Opie Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" and Richie Cunningham on "Happy Days."
As an adult, Howard would transition to behind the camera, becoming a revered writer,...
- 11/10/2022
- by Travis Yates
- Slash Film
After bringing us some of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, Dale McRaven died on September 5, 2022 at the age of 83. His son, David McRaven, told The Hollywood Reporter that the creator of "Mork & Mindy" and "Perfect Strangers" passed away due to complications from lung cancer at his home in Porter Ranch, CA.
McRaven was born on March 5, 1939 in Pulaski, Illinois and was the fifth of six children. He lived with his family in Chicago and Phoenix before moving to Hollywood in 1957. Upon his arrival, he sold a script to Steve Allen, but his first major gig arrived in 1964 when he was hired by Gary Marshall and paired with Carl Kleinschmidt as staff writers on the final season of "The Joey Bishop Show" on NBC. After that show wrapped up, the duo would write for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and win a WGA award for their work before...
McRaven was born on March 5, 1939 in Pulaski, Illinois and was the fifth of six children. He lived with his family in Chicago and Phoenix before moving to Hollywood in 1957. Upon his arrival, he sold a script to Steve Allen, but his first major gig arrived in 1964 when he was hired by Gary Marshall and paired with Carl Kleinschmidt as staff writers on the final season of "The Joey Bishop Show" on NBC. After that show wrapped up, the duo would write for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and win a WGA award for their work before...
- 9/25/2022
- by Ben F. Silverio
- Slash Film
While the TV show Happy Days was originally spun off from an episode of the ’70s anthology series Love, American Style, it wound up spinning off a few hits of its own, including Laverne & Shirley and, oddly, a comedy about a visitor from space, Mork & Mindy. It wasn’t meant to be that way — the first appearance of “Mork from Ork” on Happy Days was supposed to be one-off oddity. But not only did Mork return to Happy Days for an encore, the character was given its own show. The actor playing the alien, of course, was a young Robin Williams, who was only brought in after another actor was fired. As Happy Days star Henry Winkler explained it at a fan event, as a replacement hire, Williams was brought into the rehearsal process later than usual, but Winkler says Williams made up for that lost time … and then some.
- 7/20/2022
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Bryce Dallas Howard dropped a bit of a bombshell on the hosts of “The View” on Friday, when she basically admitted that she still has not watched “Happy Days” — 18 years after her first appearance on “The View,” when she revealed she had never seen an episode of the sitcom.
While appearing on the talk show to promote “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which is now in theaters, Howard was shown a clip of her first time on “The View,” back in July of 2004. During that interview, she admitted that she had never seen an episode of “Happy Days.” Obviously, the hosts — and the audience — promptly freaked out, considering Ron Howard is her father and Henry Winkler is her godfather. Howard and Winkler, of course, starred on “Happy Days” as Richie Cunningham and Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli respectively.
So, during Thursday’s appearance, the hosts of “The View” tried to give Bryce Dallas Howard a chance to redeem herself.
While appearing on the talk show to promote “Jurassic World: Dominion,” which is now in theaters, Howard was shown a clip of her first time on “The View,” back in July of 2004. During that interview, she admitted that she had never seen an episode of “Happy Days.” Obviously, the hosts — and the audience — promptly freaked out, considering Ron Howard is her father and Henry Winkler is her godfather. Howard and Winkler, of course, starred on “Happy Days” as Richie Cunningham and Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli respectively.
So, during Thursday’s appearance, the hosts of “The View” tried to give Bryce Dallas Howard a chance to redeem herself.
- 6/10/2022
- by Andi Ortiz
- The Wrap
When an actor begins their career, they hope to find opportunities that help them establish themselves in the industry. Linda Purl was fortunate to get that kind of chance fairly early on in her career. When Linda Purl joined the cast of Happy Days in 1974, she never could’ve imagined the show would end up being a big part of what has defined her career. When she initially joined the cast, she was playing a character named Gloria who was dating the show’s main character, Richie Cunningham. After appearing in a handful of episodes, it seemed like her time on
Whatever Happened to Linda Purl?...
Whatever Happened to Linda Purl?...
- 2/1/2022
- by Camille Moore
- TVovermind.com
It's a story that could only happen in Hollywood: an American tough-guy film icon, nearing the end of a storied career, a plucky former child star just getting started, and their chance encounter. The meeting left an indelible mark on one of Hollywood's most accomplished figures.
Ron Howard is by no means an intimidating man. He's known by earlier generations as "Opie" for his role as the freckled Opie Taylor in the 1960s "Andy Griffth" TV series. Later he would play the squeaky clean, all-American Richie Cunningham in the popular "Happy Days" series in the 1970s. Howard's real-life personality is not that far from...
The post John Wayne Once Taught Ron Howard A Very Important Lesson appeared first on /Film.
Ron Howard is by no means an intimidating man. He's known by earlier generations as "Opie" for his role as the freckled Opie Taylor in the 1960s "Andy Griffth" TV series. Later he would play the squeaky clean, all-American Richie Cunningham in the popular "Happy Days" series in the 1970s. Howard's real-life personality is not that far from...
The post John Wayne Once Taught Ron Howard A Very Important Lesson appeared first on /Film.
- 1/27/2022
- by Travis Yates
- Slash Film
Originally meant to be a secondary character on the hit show "Happy Days," fans loved Henry Winkler's Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli so much, he became a lead alongside Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham. Fonzie became the de facto "cool guy" character on television with Winkler coining catchphrases, signature hand gestures, and an iconic greaser look that is still referenced even today. Now, over four decades later, Winkler is auctioning off legendary pieces of Fonzie's costume at the Bonhams Los Angeles' TCM sale.
One of Fonzie's jackets was donated to the Smithsonian in 1980, but Winkler has had one of Fonzie's trademark dark brown leather jackets in his...
The post Aaaaaaay! Henry Winkler is Auctioning His Original Fonzie Jacket appeared first on /Film.
One of Fonzie's jackets was donated to the Smithsonian in 1980, but Winkler has had one of Fonzie's trademark dark brown leather jackets in his...
The post Aaaaaaay! Henry Winkler is Auctioning His Original Fonzie Jacket appeared first on /Film.
- 11/1/2021
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
Comedian Bill Burr joined Conan O’Brien’s farewell tour on Thursday with some hot takes that might get the TBS late-night host canceled if he weren’t already ending his talk show.
For starters, the two discussed a conspiracy theory that has gained some steam among anti-vaxxers, that the government is secretly trying to kill people through the Covid-19 inoculations. The goal, in this theory, would be population control as the Earth’s natural resources diminish.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Burr said. “They would be killing all what [conspiracy theorists] call ‘the sheeple.’ So all the people that go, ‘What are we supposed to do? Ok!’ They’re gonna kill all of us and then just be left with all the Fonzies with their leather jackets who are too cool to listen to people? They got a nightmare. Who’s gonna dig their ditches for ‘em?”
“So maybe they vaxxed...
For starters, the two discussed a conspiracy theory that has gained some steam among anti-vaxxers, that the government is secretly trying to kill people through the Covid-19 inoculations. The goal, in this theory, would be population control as the Earth’s natural resources diminish.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Burr said. “They would be killing all what [conspiracy theorists] call ‘the sheeple.’ So all the people that go, ‘What are we supposed to do? Ok!’ They’re gonna kill all of us and then just be left with all the Fonzies with their leather jackets who are too cool to listen to people? They got a nightmare. Who’s gonna dig their ditches for ‘em?”
“So maybe they vaxxed...
- 5/21/2021
- by Tony Maglio
- The Wrap
The SAG-AFTRA Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting performing artists with a vital safety net of programs and services, and People, the world’s most popular magazine brand, have joined together for a virtual table read of an episode of Happy Days to raise funds that will provide emergency financial and medical assistance, disaster relief, and scholarships to SAG-AFTRA artists and their families, as well as support the Foundation’s free educational programming including its children’s literacy program Storyline Online®.
Four-time SAG Award nominee Henry Winkler will reprise his iconic role as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli in a table read of the 1975 episode “The Motorcycle,” where “the Fonz” seeks revenge for the culprit who demolished his treasured bike. Two-time SAG Award winning actress Glenn Close steps into the role of Mrs. Marion Cunningham from the nostalgic television series, with John Carroll Lynch playing her husband, Mr. Howard Cunningham. Rounding...
Four-time SAG Award nominee Henry Winkler will reprise his iconic role as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli in a table read of the 1975 episode “The Motorcycle,” where “the Fonz” seeks revenge for the culprit who demolished his treasured bike. Two-time SAG Award winning actress Glenn Close steps into the role of Mrs. Marion Cunningham from the nostalgic television series, with John Carroll Lynch playing her husband, Mr. Howard Cunningham. Rounding...
- 3/26/2021
- Look to the Stars
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