97 Fun Facts About Happy Days

Which actor played Howard Cunningham, Richie's father, on Happy Days?

Tom Bosley took over the role from Harold Gould, who had played Howard in the unsold 1972 pilot, and then stayed with the show for all 11 seasons.

Which put-down became Fonzie's signature comeback on Happy Days?

'Sit on it' was a put-down invented for the show by producer and writer Bob Brunner, who also came up with the nickname Fonzie for the character.

Who created Happy Days?

Garry Marshall, who had adapted The Odd Couple for television, created Happy Days and then spun Laverne & Shirley out of it, with his sister Penny Marshall starring as Laverne.

Happy Days began life as an unsold pilot shown on which ABC anthology series?

Love, American Style aired the unsold pilot on February 25, 1972 as a segment called 'Love and the Television Set'; the series was only made after Ron Howard's next film turned 1950s nostalgia into box office.

Which 1973 George Lucas film, starring Ron Howard, revived ABC's interest in the Happy Days pilot?

American Graffiti, set over one night in 1962, grossed more than $100 million on a $777,000 budget; its success, and Ron Howard's role as Steve, sent ABC back to the shelved pilot.

What business does Richie's father Howard Cunningham own?

A hardware store, Cunningham Hardware, supports the family; when a rival starts cutting into business in season three, Howard has to go looking for extra income.

What is Fonzie's real first name?

Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli began as a minor character billed only in the end credits; viewers took to him so strongly that the show was retooled around him and Henry Winkler ended up with sole top billing.

Where does Fonzie live once he becomes part of the Cunningham household?

In the flat over their garage: Howard wants a tenant to bring in extra money, Richie talks Fonzie into taking the room, and Fonzie's grandmother gets his old apartment instead.

Which actress played Richie's sister Joanie Cunningham?

Erin Moran got the part after Susan Neher played Joanie in the 1972 pilot; she stepped away only to lead the spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi and came back for the final season.

Which former Monkee says the role of Fonzie came down to him and Henry Winkler?

Micky Dolenz, the Monkees' drummer, was the other finalist; he recalls Winkler spotting him in the waiting room and assuming the part was lost, and has since said Winkler deserved it.

Which museum asked Henry Winkler to donate one of Fonzie's leather jackets in 1980?

The Smithsonian put the jacket in its National Museum of American History, a turnaround for a costume the network had at first resisted because it made Fonzie look like a hoodlum.

What is Fonzie riding when he makes the leap that gave us 'jumping the shark'?

Fonzie jumps the shark on water-skis, leather jacket and all, in 1977's 'Hollywood: Part 3'; the phrase came out of a 1985 college conversation between roommates Sean Connolly and Jon Hein, who later popularised it.

Robin Williams's breakout role came on Happy Days in 1978 playing which character?

Mork from Ork first appeared in 'My Favorite Orkan' in February 1978; Williams won the audition by sitting on his head when asked to take a seat, and Mork & Mindy premiered that September.

Richie's older brother, who vanished without explanation after season two, was named what?

Chuck, a rarely seen college basketball player, was dropped after season two and never mentioned again; his vanishing gave television the term 'Chuck Cunningham Syndrome'.

What is Potsie Weber's real first name?

Warren 'Potsie' Weber explains the nickname himself in season one: as a boy he liked making things with clay, and one day his mother called him Potsie.

Which actor played Arnold, who ran Arnold's Drive-In before Al took over?

Pat Morita played Arnold, whose real surname was Takahashi, in season three; when Al Molinaro's Al left for Joanie Loves Chachi in 1982, Morita came back for season ten.

Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio, is Fonzie's what?

His younger cousin: Chachi arrived in season five (1977) as a teenage protégé who copied Fonzie's swagger, later dating Joanie and marrying her in the 1984 finale 'Passages'.

What nickname does Fonzie give Richie's little sister Joanie?

Shortcake is first heard in the season-three premiere, when Fonzie moves in with the Cunninghams and starts treating Joanie as a kid sister.

How was Richie Cunningham written out when Ron Howard left the show in 1980?

He joined the Army: Ron Howard and Don Most both left in 1980, so Richie and Ralph were sent off to military service together, and Richie came back only as a guest in the final season.

Richie marries his girlfriend Lori Beth in season eight by what unusual means?

By telephone: Richie was far from home, so the 1981 ceremony went ahead over a long-distance line, with Fonzie standing beside Lori Beth as the stand-in groom.

Ted McGinley joined the cast in 1980 as Roger Phillips, who is related to the Cunninghams how?

He is Marion's nephew: Roger arrives in 1980's 'Hello, Roger' to teach and coach basketball at the local high school, filling the gap Richie left, and later becomes a principal.

Which school do Richie, Potsie and Ralph attend?

Jefferson High is where Richie, Potsie and Ralph study until they graduate in season four; Fonzie, who dropped out, later comes back to the school as its auto shop teacher.

Fonzie's nemesis, the officious lawman forever hunting delinquents and "pinkos", is called what?

Officer Kirk, played by Ed Peck, turns more dangerous when Sheriff Flanaghan dies and he takes over as acting sheriff, with Fonzie high on his list of troublemakers to run out of town.

Fonzie's old flame Pinky Tuscadero has what unusual job?

Demolition derby driver: Pinky, played by Roz Kelly, returns in 1976's three-part 'Fonzie Loves Pinky' and bristles when Fonzie objects to a woman driving in his derby against the ruthless Malachi brothers.

Which real-life rock singer played Leather Tuscadero?

Suzi Quatro, a Detroit-born bassist whose hits had mostly come overseas, played Leather Tuscadero in seasons five and six; her only American top-40 hit, the duet Stumblin' In, came after she took the role.

Which 1950s hit was the opening theme of Happy Days in its first season?

'Rock Around the Clock' opened the first two seasons in a version Bill Haley re-recorded for the show, and the exposure sent his original 1954 record back onto the American charts in 1974.

The "Happy Days" theme song, a Top 5 single in 1976, was recorded by which duo?

Pratt & McClain recorded a full-length version for release once the song had become the show's opening theme; it reached number five in 1976 and was the duo's only hit.

When Happy Days finished the 1976–77 season at number one, whose five-year run at the top did it end?

All in the Family had led the Nielsens for five straight seasons, 1971-72 through 1975-76; Happy Days, retooled around Fonzie and shot before an audience, took the crown for 1976-77.

Which of Richie's friends follows his own flopped jokes with "I still got it!"?

Ralph Malph is the gang's self-styled comedian, armed with whoopee cushions and Groucho glasses; in the final season he comes home and decides to become an optometrist like his father.

Which director of The Dick Van Dyke Show helmed nearly every Happy Days episode from season three on?

Jerry Paris, who had played dentist neighbour Jerry Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show and won an Emmy directing it, directed nearly every episode from season three until the series ended in 1984.

Laverne and Shirley debuted on Happy Days as double dates arranged by which of the guys?

The Fonz set up the double date in November 1975's 'A Date with Fonzie', bringing Laverne and Shirley along for himself and a Richie stuck in a dating slump; their own series followed in January 1976.

In their own series, Laverne and Shirley work as bottle-cappers at which fictional company?

Shotz Brewery kept Laverne and Shirley on its bottle-capping line for five seasons, until the series uprooted them from Milwaukee and moved them to California in its sixth.

The spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi followed the couple to which city as they chased a music career?

Chicago: the pair moved there to sing at a restaurant run by Chachi's new stepfather Al Delvecchio; ABC cancelled the show after 17 episodes and the characters returned to Happy Days in 1983.

Which failed Happy Days spin-off starred Nancy Walker as Howard's cousin?

Blansky's Beauties cast Nancy Walker as Nancy Blansky, den mother to a troupe of Las Vegas showgirls; she was introduced on Happy Days as Howard's cousin a week before the 1977 premiere, and the show lasted 13 episodes.

Hanna-Barbera's animated spin-off starring Fonzie was called what?

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang ran from 1980 to 1982 and sent Fonzie, Richie, Ralph and a dog called Mr. Cool hopping through history in a faulty time machine, trying to get home to 1957.

A public statue known as the Bronze Fonz was unveiled in 2008 where?

On the Milwaukee Riverwalk: Henry Winkler unveiled the bronze himself in August 2008, with several of his castmates looking on, and it strikes Fonzie's two-thumbs-up pose.

Michael Eisner says the 1950s show idea came while snowed in with Tom Miller at which airport?

Newark: Eisner, then an ABC programming executive, says he and producer Tom Miller sketched a 1950s family comedy while stranded there by snow; ABC's research then said nobody cared about the fifties.

In a Happy Days episode set during the 1956 election, Richie campaigns for which candidate to impress a girl?

Adlai Stevenson gets Richie's support because a cute blonde is campaigning for him, which sets Richie against his father's politics; Fonzie, meanwhile, backs Eisenhower.

In the 1984 Happy Days finale, how does Fonzie's story end?

He adopts a son: Fonzie becomes a Big Brother to an orphan named Danny, nearly loses him to a rule against single parents adopting, and ends the series as a father.

The discovery of Happy Days slot machines in casinos led several cast members to sue CBS in 2011 over unpaid what?

Merchandising revenues: their contracts promised 5% of net proceeds when an actor's image was used alone, and the slot machines set off a $10 million suit that was settled in 2012; Ron Howard and Henry Winkler took no part.

Fonzie's motorcycle was a 1949 model from which British maker?

Triumph: Fonzie's bike was a 1949 Trophy TR5 supplied and customised by stuntman Bud Ekins, Steve McQueen's motorcycle double in The Great Escape; the machine was put up for auction in 2011.

In the band the gang forms on Happy Days, what is Potsie's role?

Lead singer: Anson Williams sang Potsie's vocals himself across dozens of episodes, while Richie played guitar and saxophone, Ralph the piano and Chachi the drums.

Which Happy Days character is the only one Fonzie allows to call him by his real first name?

Marion Cunningham alone is allowed to use it, and does so affectionately; the Cunninghams become a surrogate family to Fonzie, and to him she is always Mrs. C.

Which two characters appear in every single episode of Happy Days?

Howard and Fonzie are the only characters in all 255 episodes: Richie left after season seven, and Marion, the next closest, missed three.

In the final season of Happy Days, Richie turns down a newspaper job to chase which career in California?

Screenwriting pulls Richie west: his parents line up a job at the Milwaukee Journal, but in the two-part 'Welcome Home' he leaves for California with Lori Beth and their son instead.

Which Weezer music video, set at Arnold's Drive-In, features Al Molinaro reprising his role as Al?

'Buddy Holly' cuts new footage of Weezer into old Happy Days clips; Spike Jonze shot it in a single day, and it reached far more people when Microsoft put it on the Windows 95 disc as a bonus file.

On Happy Days, Richie breaks into the opening line of which 1950s hit whenever he feels lucky with a girl?

'Blueberry Hill' is Richie's victory song: he croons Fats Domino's 'I found my thrill' when a date looks promising, and the old gang sings it together when he comes home in the final season.

Which future Oscar winner guest-starred on Happy Days as an old enemy seeking revenge on Fonzie?

Tom Hanks turned up in season ten, and Ron Howard, the sitcom's original lead, later directed him in the space drama Apollo 13.

In Happy Days' two-part 'Fearless Fonzarelli', Fonzie tries to jump his bike over fourteen of what?

Garbage cans, all fourteen, are cleared on television, but Fonzie crashes into Arnold's chicken stand on landing and needs surgery on his knee.

Henry Winkler played Fonzie on Happy Days for a decade but never learned to do what?

He could not ride a motorcycle: Winkler almost crashed the bike on his first try and never rode it again during the series.

Fearing typecasting as a greaser after Happy Days, Henry Winkler turned down which role in Grease?

Danny Zuko would have followed his greaser in The Lords of Flatbush and then Fonzie, so Winkler said no rather than play the same type for life.

Before Happy Days, Richie Cunningham actor Ron Howard spent eight seasons as Opie on which sitcom?

The Andy Griffith Show billed him as Ronny Howard, the sheriff's son, from 1960 to 1968, so Richie was his second long-running television role.

In the 'Hollywood' episodes of Happy Days, talent scouts offer Fonzie a screen test as the next who?

James Dean is who they see when their limousine breaks down in town, so Fonzie takes the Cunninghams, Potsie and Ralph west with him for the audition.

Before his leather jacket was allowed, what did Fonzie usually wear in season one of Happy Days?

A windbreaker was all executives would allow, because they thought black leather suggested criminality; the cloth jacket was later thrown away.

In which Quentin Tarantino film does a hitman defuse a diner hold-up by invoking Happy Days' Fonzie?

Pulp Fiction has Samuel L. Jackson's hitman Jules use the reference to calm Amanda Plummer's robber, a sign Fonzie was still shorthand for cool a decade after the sitcom ended.

Happy Days star Henry Winkler based his Hank Zipzer children's books on his own struggle with what?

Dyslexia went undiagnosed until he was filming the sitcom, when his stepson's diagnosis made him realize why he kept stumbling over scripts.

At his audition for a Happy Days guest role, what did Robin Williams do when asked to take a seat?

He sat on his head, and the producer hired him as a last-minute replacement for a departing actor; four days after his performance, network executives had him under contract.

Henry Winkler won his first Primetime Emmy in 2018, decades after Happy Days, for which HBO comedy?

Barry cast him as acting teacher Gene Cousineau and finally brought the Emmy that three nominations for playing Fonzie never did.

In which sitcom did Henry Winkler, as an inept lawyer, hop over a shark in a nod to Happy Days?

Arrested Development, narrated by his old co-star Ron Howard, had him hop over a shark on a pier, a wink at the phrase his 1977 stunt inspired.

After Happy Days, Henry Winkler became executive producer of which 1980s adventure series?

MacGyver kept him busy at a time when the fame of Fonzie made acting work hard to find, so he spent most of the decade behind the camera.

Happy Days' Heather O'Rourke, who played young Heather Pfister, starred in which 1982 horror film?

Poltergeist made her famous as Carol Anne; on the sitcom she is the daughter of Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley, and slowly comes to accept him as a father figure.

For Fonzie's birthday in season nine of Happy Days, the gang arranges a meeting with which hero?

The Lone Ranger was played by John Hart, who had the part in 1952–53, because a legal dispute kept the better-known Clayton Moore from appearing.

Which baseball great played himself in a Happy Days episode about Howard Cunningham's TV commercial?

Hank Aaron was a fitting cameo: he was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1957, when his Braves won the World Series for the sitcom's home city.

In season three of Happy Days, Fonzie is horrified when Ralph's father says he must wear what?

Glasses are prescribed by Ralph Malph's optometrist father, and it takes all his friends to persuade Fonzie that he can wear them and keep his image.

On Happy Days, Chachi's mother Louisa was played by the older sister of which 1970s heartthrob?

John Travolta's sister Ellen played Louisa; she had earlier appeared in three episodes of his own sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter.

Fonzie joins Richie's band to impress girls in season two of Happy Days, playing which instrument?

The bongos are the only instrument he has the talent for, a rare case of the gang finding something Fonzie cannot do effortlessly.

Scott Baio followed his years as Chachi on Happy Days with the title role in which 1980s sitcom?

Charles in Charge began in 1984, the year his run as Chachi ended; his screen debut had been the title role in the children's gangster musical Bugsy Malone.

Which 1982 comedy directed by Ron Howard starred his old Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler?

Night Shift also featured a then-unknown Michael Keaton and Shelley Long, and it earned Winkler a Golden Globe nomination.

In the final season of Happy Days, Richie Cunningham moves to California to pursue which career?

Screenwriter is the dream that upsets his parents when he comes home, in a two-part story that brought Ron Howard back as a guest star.

The sitcom Robin Williams earned from his Happy Days guest spot is set in which Colorado city?

Boulder is where his alien character lands to study humans in the 1970s, two decades after the era of the sitcom that introduced him.

Laverne DeFazio, who first appeared on Happy Days, wears which trademark on her shirts and sweaters?

A monogrammed L was the actress's own idea, borrowed from a vintage sweater in the wardrobe department so that viewers would remember which friend was Laverne.

How does dropout Fonzie earn the right to graduate with Richie's class in Happy Days?

Night school was his secret until Richie's mother let it slip; he is then told that evening students cannot take part in the graduation ceremony.

After quitting his garage job in Happy Days, Fonzie briefly sells what door-to-door?

Encyclopedias become his trade when an eccentric new owner takes over the garage and nobody else will hire him as a mechanic, until a pep talk from Howard.

Howard Cunningham holds the title of Grand Poobah in which Happy Days fraternal order?

The Leopard Lodge supplies several plots: when the hired performers miss its fundraiser, Richie's gang has to step in and take over the show.

Howard Cunningham's beloved family car on Happy Days is a model from which defunct American make?

DeSoto is the car his wife crashes into Arnold's in season seven, a mishap that lands her behind bars.

Richie's school newspaper threatens to reveal that Happy Days' Fonzie has a phobia of which food?

Liver is the fear that ends their friendship for a while when Richie refuses to cut it from his report; Fonzie conquers it by eating a whole plate.

Arnold's burns down in season seven of Happy Days after Chachi leaves what on a hot grill?

His apron is forgotten in his joy at finally winning a date with Joanie, and the fire let the show unveil a new 1960s-style Arnold's set in the next episode.

Before befriending Richie on Happy Days, Fonzie ran with which street gang, rivals of the Dragons?

The Falcons are the gang Richie later describes to Chachi, who has turned up in a gang jacket, as proof that such clubs bring nothing but trouble.

In the Happy Days episode 'Be the First on Your Block', Howard Cunningham decides to build what?

A bomb shelter causes trouble once Richie tells his friends, because each of them assumes a place will be reserved for them if the worst happens.

Which veteran TV star played Howard's father, retired detective 'Cap' Cunningham, on Happy Days?

Danny Thomas plays a police detective forced into retirement at 65, who arrives announcing that he is already bored and plans to look for a job.

Jenny Piccalo's father was played in one Happy Days episode by which comic, the actress's real dad?

Phil Silvers guest-starred opposite his daughter Cathy, whose boy-crazy character had been talked about for years before she was finally seen in season eight.

Happy Days' Potsie, Anson Williams, is a relative of which famous American doctor?

Dr. Henry Heimlich, of the anti-choking maneuver, was a cousin of the actor's father; Williams was born Anson William Heimlich.

Before taking over Arnold's on Happy Days, Al Molinaro played Murray the cop on which sitcom?

The Odd Couple cast him as Officer Murray Greshler after its producer's sister introduced the two men in 1970.

Which arcade company turned Happy Days' Fonzie into a 1976 motorbike racing game?

Sega could license him because it then shared a parent company with the sitcom's studio; players steered with handlebars that shook in a crash.

A Happy Days episode in which Fonzie refuses to convict a black biker was based on which courtroom drama?

Twelve Angry Men supplied the plot: Fonzie alone holds out for a biker accused of purse-snatching, then clears him by showing how the bike's controls work.

In Happy Days' 'Southern Crossing', Fonzie and Al travel to Alabama to join which activists?

The Freedom Riders storyline has them help integrate a segregated diner, where Fonzie refuses to date a waitress because she will not serve black customers.

Crystal Bernard, niece K.C. Cunningham on Happy Days, later starred as Helen in which 1990s sitcom?

Wings kept her on screen for all eight of its seasons as lunch-counter operator and cellist Helen, far longer than her single year with the Cunninghams.

At a Colorado rodeo in season six of Happy Days, Fonzie tries to win $1,000 by riding what?

A killer bull is his last-ditch bid to save a dude ranch run by Mrs. Cunningham's Uncle Ben, which a crooked neighbor is trying to take over.

On Happy Days, Richie tries to snap Clarabell the Clown without makeup at which children's program?

The Howdy Doody Show's real host, Buffalo Bob Smith, appears as himself, and Ralph enters a lookalike contest to get Richie onto the set.

Fonzie is talked into impersonating which pop singer at a lodge musical on Happy Days?

Frankie Avalon, playing himself as Al's distant cousin, pulls out of the show; Fonzie's stand-in act is a disaster until the real singer arrives to perform 'Venus'.

Al's twin Anthony, also played by Al Molinaro on Happy Days, follows which calling?

Catholic priest Father Anthony is the man Fonzie turns to after nearly being killed in a stock-car race, and their talk leads him to be baptized.

Leather Tuscadero arrives on Happy Days with her own backing singers, a girl group known as what?

The Suedes back her at an audition for a gig at Arnold's, where Fonzie is wary of her: Leather once stole his wallet and comb.

Which hit songwriter wrote the music and lyrics for the 2000s stage musical based on Happy Days?

Paul Williams wrote the songs to a book by the sitcom's own creator; the production skipped Broadway and went straight out on a national tour.

The 1979 Happy Days spin-off Out of the Blue followed Random, who was what kind of being?

A guardian angel in training, he lived with a suburban family; a scheduling slip put his series on air before the Happy Days episode meant to introduce him.

While still starring in Happy Days, Ron Howard made his directing debut with which 1977 comedy?

Grand Theft Auto was a low-budget chase comedy in which he also starred, made from a script he wrote with his father, Rance.

Before Happy Days, Henry Winkler earned a master's degree from which university's drama school?

Yale admitted him in 1967 even though he forgot the Shakespeare monologue he was meant to perform at his audition and had to improvise.

Which future Charlie's Angels star played a movie starlet who dates Richie on Happy Days?

Cheryl Ladd played starlet Cindy Shea, who goes to the school dance with Richie, a few years before she joined the detective series in 1977.