In its 10 years on the air, Happy Days established itself as one of those shows that infiltrate every area of pop culture. It reminisced on the simpler days of the mid-'50s to mid-'60s while taking over TV from the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s. The nostalgic series produced huge stars in Ron Howard and Henry Winkler. As Ron is now revealing, it almost didn't happen.
In a 2019 reunion sit-down with Entertainment Tonight, Ron and Henry got together with Anson Williams (Potsie), Don Most (Ralph), and Marion Ross (Marion Cunningham) at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles for the Garry Marshall Theatre's Third Annual Founder's Gala. Garry, who died in 2016, was the show's creator.
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During their conversation, Ron revealed that he almost quit Happy Days early on. As the show's popularity soared, producers looked to rework things that he didn't agree with. He was content to go back to film school, but ultimately execs decided they didn't want to move forward without Richie Cunningham.
Happy Days is one of the quintessential shows in American television history. The show, which aired from 1974 to 1984, became a pop culture phenomenon. The cast still remains close to this day.
Members of the cast recently reunited. Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Anson Williams, Don Most, and Marion Ross got together at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles. They were in attendance to honor the show's creator, Garry Marshall, at the Garry Marshall Theatre's Third Annual Founder's Gala.
"We acted together, we played charades together, [we played charity] softball all over the world together," Henry said of how they've stayed so close over the years.
"It feels like if somebody had a script and put some marks on the ground we could just do an episode," Ron joked.
"That's the one reason the show was so successful too," Anson added. "There was chemistry, there's just immediate connection. The minute we're together there's just that it factor."
The cast reminisced on their memories of the show and of Garry's impact on them all. "It was an amazing change in your life," Henry said of his role as the iconic Arthur Fonzarelli. "People wanted my socks without taking off my shoes."
"It was kind of like the boy band of the moment. It was that kind of pandemonium," joked Ron, recalling his time as Richie Cunningham. "And a lot of it was just focused on trying to get his socks."
"Somebody grabbed my hat and, even back when I had hair I liked to wear a hat, but they grabbed my hat [and] I actually went and got it," Ron recalled. The level of fame they had wasn't always easy to deal with, clearly. "That's the only time I've lost my temper in a situation like that."
The escalation of the Happy Days fandom led to some trouble behind the scenes. When Fonzie emerged as the cast's most popular character, executives wanted to rework the show to focus on him. The decision nearly led Ron to quit.
"They did come to me and said, 'Well the network would kind of like to change the name of the show to Fonzie's Happy Days,'" he recalled. "And I said, 'Well, I don't think I wanna be in that show. I wanna be in Happy Days and I think Henry should have, you know, every opportunity to do everything — that's fantastic — but you know, I signed on for this other thing and I just really don't wanna do that.'"
Ron figured he'd go back to film school if the show took that direction. "The one producer who wasn't there was Garry Marshall," he recalled. "In fact, he was standing outside and he said, 'How'd that go in there?' And I said, 'Well, I don't wanna upset everybody and disappoint everybody, and I love Henry and I love the show, but I just, I just don't feel good about that.' And he said, 'It's not gonna happen then.' And that was that."
Garry wasn't just responsible for keeping Ron on the show. He was also responsible for Henry's signature look as the Fonz, which execs wanted to tone down. They "thought [the Fonz] would be associated with crime" if he wore a leather jacket.
"So he went to ABC said, 'You know, he could be hurt if he wears the cloth and is riding a motorcycle.' And they said, 'Okay, when he's with his bike, he can wear leather!'" Henry recalled. "And Garry [just] went down to the payphone, he called the writers room, he said, 'Never write another scene without his bike.'"
"He really cared about us. More than [as] actors. He really inspired us to learn," Anson remembered fondly. "Because he said [we might] 'Wanna wear many hats.'"
"Garry was … a natural teacher and he loved collecting theories and axioms about life but also making a show," Ron noted. "They were all hilarious but they all rang true and they were great lessons." It's clear that Garry's memory will never be forgotten, by either those he worked with or the fans who he captivated with his work.
