‘Happy Days’ cast on sitcom fame 50 years later: ‘It was like The Beatles’
The ABC series, set in Eisenhower-Era Milwaukee, materialized on the heels of the 1950s nostalgia craze generated by the movie “American Graffiti.“The show revolved around the all-American, middle-class Cunningham family: loving parents Marion (Marion Ross) and Howard (Tom Bosley), their good-natured teenage son, Richie (Ron Howard, who co-starred in “American Graffiti”) and his kid sister, Joanie (Erin Moran).Howard, the future Oscar-winning director (“A Beautiful Mind”), was already familiar to television viewers as Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” in the 1960s; both Ross and Bosley were seasoned showbiz veterans whose resumes dated back to the 1950s. The supporting cast members, though, were largely unfamiliar to viewers: Henry Winkler as loyal, tough-guy greaser with a heart of gold Arthur Fonzarelli — aka “Fonzie,” aka “The Fonz” (“Aaayyy!”) — and Richie’s pals, wide-eyed Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) and wiseguy Ralph Malph (Don Most).In its third season, the series went from a single-format sitcom (shot like a movie) to a three-camera setup with episodes filmed before a live audience — adding electric energy to a surging show already ingrained in American pop culture.By its fourth season, “Happy Days” shot to No.