Happy Days is an American Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 For the American TV schedule, see: 1974-75 American network television schedule to 1984 on ABC The American Broadcasting Company is an American television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. It first broadcast on television in 1948. Corporate headquarters are in Manhattan in New York City, while programming offices are in Burbank,. The show presents an idealized vision of life in mid 1950s to mid 1960s America The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the.

The family consists of Howard Cunningham, a hardware store Hardware stores sell household hardware including: fasteners, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, cleaning products, housewares, tools, utensils, paint, and lawn and garden products directly to consumers for use at home or for business. Many hardware stores have specialty departments unique owner, his homemaker Traditionally the role of "housewife" has been filled predominantly by women. Even to this day, housework is perceived by many societies as the natural role for women. In recent years there has been some political and societal backlash against feminist criticism regarding traditional roles for women. This backlash may be attributed to wife Marion and the couple's two children, Richie, an optimistic if somewhat naive teenager, and Joanie, Ritchie's sweet but feisty younger sister. The Cunninghams also had an older son named Chuck, a character who disappeared during the second season.

The earlier episodes revolve around Richie and his friends, Potsie Weber, Ralph Malph and local dropout Arthur "The Fonz Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days (1974–1984). He was originally a secondary character but became the lead. By the mid 1970s, he dwarfed the other characters in popularity. Winkler received top billing once Ron Howard left in 1980" Fonzarelli, but as the series progressed, "Fonzie" proved to be a favorite with viewers and soon more story lines were written to reflect his growing popularity. Soon Fonzie befriended Richie and the Cunningham family. The focus would also occasionally shift to other additional characters, such as Fonzie's cousin Chachi, who became a love interest for Joanie Cunningham.

This long-running show spawned several other television series, including Laverne & Shirley Laverne & Shirley was an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983. It starred Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, roommates who, as the series began, worked in a Milwaukee brewery, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi, and is currently a musical touring the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the.

Despite some inconsistencies, it is generally indicated that the events of the series begin in 1955 and, after eleven seasons, end in 1965. Most episodes take place about 19 years before the year of their first air date. The second season episode "The Not Making of the President" revolves around the 1956 presidential election, while the sixth season episode "Christmas Time" ends with a photo dated Christmas 1960. In the 10th season episode "Babysitting", Fonzie watches the first heavyweight championship fight between Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round. Liston was one of the most powerful punchers and jabbers in the history of boxing. He was number 15 on Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time on television. This boxing match occurred on February 25, 1964. In the first part of the series finale "Passages", Joanie and Chachi are wearing T-shirts that say "The Kinks – Summer 1965 Tour".

Contents

Cast

Full character list

Minor characters

Cast stats

History

Happy Days originated during a time of 1950s nostalgic The term nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form. The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of . It was described as a medical condition, a form of melancholy, in the Early Modern period, and came to be an important topic in Romanticism interest evident in film, television, and music. The show began as an unsold pilot A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. It is an early step in the development of a television series, much like pilot lights or pilot studies serve as precursors to the start of larger activity, or pilot holes prepare the way for larger holes. Networks use pilots to discover whether an entertaining concept can be filmed in late 1971 called New Family in Town, with Harold Gould in the role of Howard Cunningham, Marion Ross as Marion, Ron Howard Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an Academy Award-winning American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show (credited as Ronny Howard), and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best as Richie, Anson Williams as Potsie, Ric Carrott as Charles "Chuck" Cunningham, and Susan Neher as Joanie. While Paramount Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is the oldest existing American film studio, beating NBC Universal's Universal Studios by a month; it is also the last major film passed on making it into a weekly series, the pilot was recycled with the title Love and the Happy Days, for presentation on the television anthology An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts. In genre fiction anthology is used to categorize collections of shorter works such as short stories and short novels, usually collected into a single volume for publication series Love, American Style Love, American Style is an hour-long television anthology which was produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974. For the 1971 and 1972 seasons it was a part of an ABC Friday prime-time lineup that also included The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Room 222, and The Odd Couple. In 1972, George Lucas George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American film producer, screenwriter, director and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the epic Sci-Fi franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. Today, Lucas is one of the American film industry's most financially successful asked to view the pilot to determine if Ron Howard would be suitable to play a teenager in American Graffiti American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age comedy-drama film co-written/directed by George Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford. Set in 1962 Modesto, California, American Graffiti is a study of the cruising and rock and roll cultures, then in preproduction. Lucas immediately cast Howard in the film, which became one of the top-grossing films of 1973. Show creator Garry Marshall and ABC recast the unsold pilot to turn Happy Days into a series.

Production styles

The first two seasons of Happy Days were filmed using a single-camera setup The single-camera setup is a method of shooting films and television programs. A single camera—either film or video—is employed on the set and shots are often taken out of order. An alternate production method is the multiple-camera setup, which uses two or more cameras running simultaneously and laugh track A laugh track, laughter soundtrack, laughter track, LFN , canned laughter or a laughing audience is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into TV comedy shows and sitcoms. The first American television show to incorporate a laugh track was the.

One episode of Season 2 ("Fonzie Gets Married") was filmed in front of a studio audience with three cameras as a test run.

From the third season on, the show was a three-camera production in front of a live audience (with the announcement by Tom Bosley that "Happy Days is filmed before a live audience" at the start of most episodes), giving these later seasons a markedly different style. A laugh track A laugh track, laughter soundtrack, laughter track, LFN , canned laughter or a laughing audience is a separate soundtrack invented by Charles "Charley" Douglass, with the artificial sound of audience laughter, made to be inserted into TV comedy shows and sitcoms. The first American television show to incorporate a laugh track was the was still used, but only to sweeten Sweetening is a term in television that refers to the use of a laugh track in addition to a live studio audience. The laugh track is used to "enhance" the laughter for television audiences, especially in cases where a joke or scene intended to be funny does not draw the expected response the live reactions.

Sets

The show had two main sets: the Cunningham home, and Arnold's Drive-In A drive-in is a facility such as a bank, restaurant, or movie theater where one can literally drive in with an automobile for service. It is usually distinguished from a drive-through. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk out to take orders and return with food, encouraging.

In season 1 & 2, the Cunningham house was arranged with the front door on the left and the kitchen on the right, in a sort of triangle. Beginning with season 3, the house was radically rearranged to accommodate multiple cameras and a studio audience. However, the second season episode (mentioned above) in which Fonzie gets engaged was shot on the old set, but with multiple cameras.

The Cunninghams' official address is 565 North Clinton Drive, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and 23rd largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 596,974. Its estimated 2008 population was 604,477. Milwaukee is the main cultural and economic center of the.[1] Within the actual Milwaukee street grid, this would put the address somewhere in the center of Milwaukee County near the current day Interstate 94 Interstate 94 is the northernmost east-west Interstate Highway, connecting the Great Lakes and Intermountain regions of the United States. Its western terminus is in Billings, Montana at a junction with Interstate 90; its eastern terminus is the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, at the Sarnia, Ontario, Canada border,.

The house that served as the exterior of the Cunningham residence is actually located at 565 North Cahuenga Blvd (south of Melrose Avenue) in Los Angeles, just a few blocks from the Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue.

The Milky Way Drive-In, located on Port Washington Road in the North Shore suburb of Glendale Glendale is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 13,367 at the 2000 census, now Kopps, was the inspiration for the original Arnold's Drive-In. The Milky Way has since been demolished. The exterior of Arnold's was a 'dressed' area on the Paramount Studios lot, that has since been demolished, very close to the Stage 19, where the rest of the show's sets were located.

The set of the diner in the first season was a room with the same vague details of the later set, such as the paneling, and the college pennants. When the show was changed to a studio based filming, the set was redesigned and became the Arnold's that is most remembered. The set was largely opened to show the audience the scenes that took place within it. The Diner entrance was hidden, but allowed an upstage, central entrance for cast members. The barely seen kitchen was also upstage and seen only through a pass through window. The diner had orange booths, downstage center for closeup conversation, as well as camera left. There were two bathroom doors camera right, labeled 'Guys' and 'Dolls'. A Seeburg Seeburg manufactured jukeboxes under the JP Seeburg and Company name for most of its early years. Until 1956, the company was family owned. The company was founded by Justus Sjöberg from Gothenburg, Sweden. He moved to USA after graduating from Chalmers and used an americanised spelling of his name for the company jukebox was positioned camera right, and a pinball machine was positioned far camera right, (anachronistically An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος (chronos: time)—is an error in chronology, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other. The item is often an object, but may be a verbal expression, a technology, a philosophical idea, a musical style, a material, a custom, or a 1973 'Nip It' machine, contrary to the show's '50s setting).

College pennants adorned the walls including Purdue Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six campuses within the Purdue University System. Purdue currently ranks 9th among America's Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs according to U.S. News & World Report. Though Purdue offers many diverse majors, it is perhaps best known for the and UWM The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a public research university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. As Wisconsin's urban university, UW-Milwaukee is one of the two doctoral granting public research universities in the state. It is also the second largest university in the state of Wisconsin, with a total student enrollment of 29,0, along with a blue and white sign reading 'Jefferson High School'.

Storylines dictated that the set would be destroyed by fire, and so in later seasons, a different Arnold's Drive-in emerged and lasted through the later years of the show. Differing in design, with wood paneling and stained glass, the set was not popular amongst viewers[citation needed], and was not how Arnold's was remembered[citation needed].

In 2004, two decades after the first set was destroyed, the Happy Days 30th Anniversary Reunion requested that the reunion take place in Arnold's. The familiar set was rebuilt by Production Designer James Yarnell. Built from the original ground plan, this was the first time that the Happy Days cast had been in this set since the 1970s.

Coined neologisms

"Jumping the Shark"

Main article: Jumping the shark Jumping the shark is a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations. This usually corresponds to the point where a show with falling ratings apparently becomes more desperate to

This term has been used as a metaphor to describe something that had become an unintended mockery of itself. The term arose from one of the most famous of these plots, which involved Fonzie performing a water ski Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a motor boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water wearing one or more skis. The surface area of the ski (or skis) keeps the person skimming on the surface of the water allowing the skier to stand upright while holding the tow rope jump over a shark Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. They respire with the use of five to seven gill slits. Sharks have a covering of dermal denticles that protect their skin from damage and parasites and improve fluid dynamics. They have several sets of replaceable teeth. Sharks range in size from the small in an episode aired on September 20 September 20 is the 263rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 102 days remaining until the end of the year, 1977, during the show's fifth season. In later years, this episode has often been cited as the point where the series had passed its peak of quality and popularity. The phrase jumping the shark was later applied to popular culture phenomena in general. While the Fonz's literal shark jump gave rise to the phrase, some fans consider Happy Days to have had more than one such moment, occurring both before and after the stunt in question. Of particular note are the fire that destroyed the original Arnold's Drive-In and the departure of leading man Ron Howard, both of which happened after the notorious stunt involving the shark. Prior to this, the Fonzie character had become almost a comic book version of himself, battling alongside with (and subsequently romancing) a woman named Kat Mandu (portrayed by Quantum Leap actress/producer Deborah Pratt) and encountering space alien Mork from Ork (in a backdoor pilot for Mork and Mindy). Interestingly, although the series dipped slightly in viewership after Ron Howard's departure in 1980 (the show still remained a Top Thirty hit for three of its last four seasons), the Fonzie character became more grounded and "human" again—even venturing into a season of exploring domesticity and the trials of approaching middle age. Another figurative jumping of the shark occurred with the introduction of Ted McGinley, now notorious for serving as a replacement castmember on The Love Boat and Married… with Children as well.

The "Fonzie Effect"

Main article: List of breakout characters

The early Happy Days episodes centered on Richie and teenage friend Warren "Potsie" Weber, dealing with typical adolescent woes in 1950s Milwaukee, along with peripherally seen peers such as Ralph Malph, Bag, et al. During the first season, the character Fonzie was becoming a fan favorite, though he was originally intended to be a local high school dropout who was only occasionally seen. The character was given progressively more screen time by the writers, becoming a permanent cast member displayed in the second season opening credits. He quickly became the show's most popular character, and many episodes came to revolve around him. When the ABC management considered changing the name of the show to "Fonzie's Happy Days", the cast, including Winkler, protested along with producer/creator Garry Marshall, and the show's title remained unchanged.[citation needed]

"Chuck Cunningham Syndrome"

The first two seasons of the series also featured Chuck, the Cunninghams' eldest child and Richie's older brother. The Fonz was initially meant to be a "juvenile delinquent" that Richie and his friends would encounter, with Chuck taking on the mentoring role to Richie. After Fonzie attained breakout success and was repurposed to be more sympathetic and closer to Richie, the Chuck character was nearly superfluous, and his scenes were usually brief appearances "on his way to basketball practice." In fact, Chuck was originally a student at Marquette University on a basketball scholarship.[citation needed]

Chuck was written out during the series' second season with no explanation and was rarely referred to again. Scripts from later seasons implied the Cunninghams had two, not three children. However, in the third and fourth season recap versions of the Christmas episode, "Guess Who's Coming To Christmas", Fonzie—recalling his first Christmas with the Cunninghams—tells Arnold, and later, Al, that Chuck was "away at college." In a Happy Days reunion show from 2005, the cast mentioned that Chuck had won a scholarship to the "University of Outer Mongolia" to play basketball, as a sort of an inside joke. An officially circulated outtake from the final episode has Mr. Cunningham raising a glass to the entire cast and saying "to Happy Days." After taking a sip, he blurts out in mock surprise "Wait, where's Chuck?!" In the aired version, Mr. Cunningham specifies that he has two children (Richie and Joanie). The unexplained removal of a character in a TV series has come to be known as "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome".[citation needed]

New characters

Later seasons saw the addition of other characters. Introduced in the second season episode "Not With My Sister, You Don't", Danny Butch played Fonzie's similarly dressed and mannered young cousin Raymond "Spike" Fonzarelli. Although he went on to make several more appearances, the character was felt to never completely catch on, and was reworked into that of Chachi at the start of the fifth season (see below).

At the start of the fourth season, Roz Kelly was brought in as Pinky Tuscadero, Fonzie's long-term girlfriend. Commercials for the subsequent season even began promoting Kelly's new character, but when discord occurred between her and the cast and producers, her character was dropped; the character was briefly mentioned in two subsequent episodes, one where her sister Leather Tuscadero (played by singer Suzi Quatro) came to town to start anew out of reform school, and when Fonzie was out of town at a demolition derby with Pinky.

Bill "Sticks" Downey, played by John-Anthony Bailey, was supposed to be added to the cast as a new member of Richie's band, on drums, and the gang at Arnold's but the character never caught on and only stayed for a few episodes.

During the first two seasons, a few actresses were brought in as potential long-term girlfriends for Richie. Laurette Spang was Richie's girlfriend Arlene in a couple of first season episodes. Richie dated Arlene Nestrock (Tannis G. Montgomery) in the pilot episode which only aired as an installment of Love American Style who admitted to Richie the only reason she dated him was because he had a television set. Arlene would return in the second season and through the use of flashbacks to the "Love American Style" pilot Richie explains to Potsie and Ralph how their date went. Later in the second season Linda Purl was brought in as Richie's girlfriend Gloria. Neither caught on storywise and Richie did not have a steady girlfriend until going to college and meeting Lori-Beth Allen (Lynda Goodfriend), a former classmate from Jefferson High. Linda Purl returned to the Happy Days fold in Season 10 as Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley Pfister (a divorced socialite of the wealthy Milwaukee Pfister family). The Pfisters were often also referenced on Laverne & Shirley as owners of many Milwaukee establishments, ie, Chez Pfister, The Hotel Pfister, Pfister Fong's.

Season 4

The most major character changes occurred after Season 4 with the addition of Scott Baio as Fonzie's cousin, Chachi Arcola. Originally the character Spike, mentioned as Fonzie's nephew (who's actually his cousin as he made it clear in one episode), was supposed to be the character who became Chachi.

Al Molinaro was added as Al Delvecchio the new owner of Arnold's after Pat Morita's character of Arnold moved on (after his character got married; Pat Morita left the program to star in a short-lived sitcom of his own, Mr. T and Tina, which was actually a spin-off of Welcome Back, Kotter. Morita would also star in a subsequent short lived Happy Days spin-off series entitled Blansky's Beauties). Al Molinaro also played Al's twin brother Father Anthony Delvecchio, a Catholic priest. Al eventually married Chachi's mother (played by Ellen Travolta) and Father Delvecchio served in the wedding of Joanie to Chachi in the series finale.

Seasons 8 onward

Lynda Goodfriend joined the cast as semi-regular character Lori-Beth Allen, Richie's steady girlfriend, in season 5, and became a permanent member of the cast between Seasons 8 and 10, after Lori-Beth married Richie.

After Ron Howard (Richie) left the series, Ted McGinley joined the cast as Roger Phillips the new Physical Education teacher at Jefferson High and nephew to Howard and Marion. He took over from the departed Richie Cunningham character, acting as counterpoint to Fonzie. Also joining the cast was Cathy Silvers as Jenny Piccolo, Joanie's best friend who was previously referenced in various episodes from earlier seasons who remained as a main cast member until the final season. Both actors were originally credited as guest stars but were promoted to the main cast during the 10th season after several series regulars left the show. The real focus of the series was now on the Joanie and Chachi characters, and often finding ways to incorporate Fonzie into them as a shoulder to cry on, advice-giver, and savior as needed. The Potsie character who had already been spun off from the devious best friend of Richie to Ralph's best friend and confidante, held little grist for the writers in this new age, and was now most often used as the occasional "dumb" foil for punchlines (most often from Mr. C. or Fonzie).

Billy Warlock joined the cast in season 10 as Roger's brother Flip, along with Crystal Bernard as Howard's and Marion's niece K.C. They were intended as replacements for Erin Moran and Scott Baio (who departed for their own show, Joanie Loves Chachi) and were credited as part of the semi-regular cast. Both characters left with the return of Moran and Baio, following the cancellation of Joanie Loves Chachi. Also leaving Happy Days in Season 10 for Joanie Loves Chachi was Al Delvecchio; Pat Morita returned to the cast as Arnold in his absence.

Note: Gail Edwards who previously guest starred in the episode “A Potsie is Born” was offered the role that Crystal Bernard would fill but was never told so by her managers, as they knew she’d take the role and they didn’t want her to be a “new character on an old show.” Later, Edwards would appear with Bernard in 93 episodes of It's a Living.

Guest stars

Anachronisms

Decline in popularity

This section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (June 2009)

Happy Days remained a successful sitcom in terms of ratings for its entire run (far greater than the length of most sitcoms' full lives). One might point to the forward thinking of Garry Marshall who drafted a very young Scott Baio while the series was at #1 (in 1976-1977) without him, and seemingly in no need of a new, very young, character. Three years later, when Ron Howard and Donny Most left the series, the focal point of the show became the relationship of the Joanie and Chachi characters, helping to carry the series onward with ratings success. Of those final four seasons (the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th), Season 10 stands out as the oddest. Scott Baio and Erin Moran were spun-off into "Joanie Loves Chachi" (itself a rating success in terms of viewers, but failure in terms of the new-at-the-time "lead-in variable" - a gauge to see if a show is holding a high enough percentage of the show that aired just before it during the hour) and the production staff scrambled to bring in conspicuously similar Cunningham relatives to fill those spots. Season 10 marked the only full season where Fonzie entered into a monogamous relationship. With the return of the full cast (even including three guest spots by Ron Howard - a two-part episode (also strongly featuring Don Most's Ralph Malph character) plus the finale, "Passages"), the 11th season is arguably forgotten as a return to deeper storylines, stronger writing, and poignant moments.[citation needed]

Theme music

Seasons 1 and 2 of the series used a newly recorded version of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets (recorded in the fall of 1973) as the opening theme song. This recording was not commercially released at the time, although the original 1954 recording returned to the American Billboard charts in 1974 as a result of its use on the show. The "Happy Days" recording had its first commercial release in 2005 by the German label Hydra Records. (When Happy Days entered syndication in 1979, the series was retitled Happy Days Again and used an edited version of the 1954 recording instead of the 1973 version).

The show's closing theme song in season 1 & 2 was "Happy Days," written by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel. According to SAG, this version was performed by Jimmy Haas (lead vocal), Ron Hicklin, Stan Farber, Jerry Whitman and Gary Garrett (backing vocals), plus studio musicians.

From seasons 3-10, this replaced "Rock Around the Clock" at the beginning of the show. Released as a single in 1976 by Pratt & McClain, "Happy Days" cracked the Top 5. The show itself finished the 1976-77 television season #1, ending the five-year Nielsen reign of All in the Family.

For the show's 11th and final season (1983-84), the theme was rerecorded in a more modern style. Featuring Bobby Arvon on lead vocals, with several back-up vocalists, this version of the theme song is arguably not as popular with Happy Days fans as versions from the 3rd-10th seasons (among which there were several slightly different versions and edits). To accompany this new version, new opening credits were filmed, and the flashing "Happy Days" logo was reanimated to create an overall "new" feel which incorporated 1980s sensibilities with 1950s nostalgia (although by this time the show was set in 1965).

Production & scheduling

This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the article; suggestions may be found on the talk page. (March 2009)

Ratings

Episodes

Further information: List of Happy Days episodes

DVD releases

Paramount Home Entertainment and CBS DVD have released the first four seasons of Happy Days on DVD in Region 1. Each release features music replacements due to copyright issues, including the theme song "Rock Around the Clock" for Season 2 (Season 1 retained the original opening which was released before CBS was involved).

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
The Complete First Season 16 August 17, 2004
The Second Season 23 April 17, 2007
The Third Season 24 November 27, 2007
The Fourth Season 25 December 9, 2008
The Fifth Season 27 TBA

Spin-offs

Happy Days, itself considered a spin-off from Love, American Style, spun off five different series, not including two animated spin-offs; Laverne & Shirley, Blansky's Beauties, Mork & Mindy, Out of the Blue, and Joanie Loves Chachi.

Animated spin-offs

There are two animated series. One was produced by Hanna-Barbera entitled The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang which ran from 1980–1982. There are also animated spin-offs of Laverne & Shirley and Mork and Mindy. Another is The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour (1982).[13]

Musical

In the late 1990s, a touring arena show called 'Happy Days, The Arean Spectacular' toured Australia's major cities. The story featured a property developer, and former girlfriend of Fonzie called Miss Frost (Rebecca Gibney) wanting to buy the diner and redevlop it. It starred Craig McLachlan as Fonzie, Max Gillies and Wendy Hughes and Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, Doug Parkinson as Al and Jo Beth Taylor as Richie's love interest Laura. Tom Bosley presented an introduction before each performance live on stage, and pop group Human Nature played a 50's style rock group. In 2008, a musical based on the sitcom began touring. Its name is also Happy Days.[14]

References

  1. ^ Wilcox's Soaps & More TV Character Address and Trivia Book (2004), (obtained here)
  2. ^ http://www.tv.com/happy-days/show/270/episode_guide.html?season=3&tag=season_dropdown;dropdown;2
  3. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  4. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  5. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  6. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  7. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  8. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1970's
  9. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1980's
  10. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1980's
  11. ^ ClassicTVHits.com: TV Ratings > 1980's
  12. ^ Thom Holbrook. Happy Days and Out Of The Blue. Crossovers & Spin Offs. Poobala.com. Retrieved on 2009-07-14.
  13. ^ "Happy Days" (1974) - Movie connections
  14. ^ Happy Days: The Musical nytheatre.com

External links

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