Who created the show Happy Days?
458216#9
Garry Marshall, creator and then part-time writer for "Happy Days", cast Marshall and Cindy Williams to guest on an episode of the show. The installment, titled "A Date with Fonzie", aired on November 11, 1975 and introduced the characters Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney (played by Marshall and Williams, respectively). In that episode, Laverne and Shirley were a pair of wisecracking brewery workers who were dates for Fonzie (Henry Winkler) and Richie (Ron Howard). The pair were such a hit with the studio audience that Garry Marshall decided to co-create and star them in a successful spinoff, "Laverne & Shirley" (1976–1983). The characters of Laverne and Shirley appeared in five more episodes of "Happy Days". In 1982 at the beginning of "Laverne & Shirley"s eighth season, Williams left the show due to her pregnancy. Marshall continued with the show, but it was canceled after the season's final episode aired in May 1983.
Penny Marshall
21049039#19
The "New York Times" reviewer wrote of the Goodspeed Opera production of 2008: "If you’re going to make a stage musical out of a television show, 'Happy Days' is not a bad choice. All that cheerful white-bread 1950s innocence. All those instant audience associations with beloved characters and the actors who played them. The show won’t ever win a Pulitzer Prize (or the musical-comedy equivalent), but the Goodspeed Opera House’s bouncy new production delivers a pleasant if not transporting evening, and – most important – the Fonz (Joey Sorge) is cool" and "Michele Lynch's choreography is one of the show's real assets".
According to the show's official site, the "NY Daily News" wrote: "If you like GREASE you will LOVE Happy Days" – A powerhouse rock and roll trip down memory lane". However, TheatreMania.com panned the musical in 2007, calling it bland.
Happy Days (musical)
4079536#10
After more than two years off screen, Taylor made her return television appearance on "In Melbourne Tonight" in August 1999, singing "I Want You Back". Taylor joined the cast of the Australian stage production, "Happy Days: The Arena Mega Musical" in October 1999. Taylor played Laura, a character created for the stage show, who was in cahoots with Jon Stevens' Frank (also an original character) to put the famous diner out of business. The music selected for the "Happy Days" production was almost entirely from the 1960s. Taylor's songs included "Stand By Me", "You Don't Own Me" and "Smell Him".
Jo Beth Taylor
171103#3
The series' pilot was originally shown as "Love and the Television Set", later retitled "Love and the Happy Days" for syndication, a one-episode teleplay on the anthology series "Love, American Style", aired on February 25, 1972. "Happy Days" spawned the hit television shows "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork & Mindy" as well as three failures, "Joanie Loves Chachi", "Blansky's Beauties" featuring Nancy Walker as Howard's cousin, and "Out of the Blue". The show is the basis for the "Happy Days" musical touring the United States since 2008. The leather jacket worn by Winkler during the series was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution for the permanent collection at the National Museum of American History.
The original tan McGregor jacket Winkler wore during the first season was eventually thrown into the garbage after ABC relented and allowed the Fonzie character to wear a leather jacket.
Happy Days
39675028#0
"Happy Days" is a song written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox. It is the theme song of the 1970s television series "Happy Days". It can be heard during the TV show's opening and closing credits as it runs in perpetual rerun syndication.
Happy Days (TV theme)
171103#22
From seasons three to ten inclusive, a longer version of "Happy Days" 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 at #1, ending the five-year Nielsen reign of "All in the Family". On the Season 2 DVD set release and later re-releases of the Season 1 DVD set, the song "Rock Around the Clock" was replaced with a reconstructed version of "Happy Days" because of music rights issues.
Happy Days
37766221#5
Notably, Brunner contributed to American popular culture by creating the nickname "Fonzie" for Henry Winkler's iconic character, Arthur Fonzarelli, who was originally just a minor player on the show. Brunner also created Fonzie's iconic phrase, "Sit on it," used by Fonzie as a comeback on the show. Fonzie, and his catchphrase, made Happy Days the number one show in the United States at the time.
Bob Brunner
171103#1
The series began as an unsold pilot starring Howard, Ross and Anson Williams, which aired in 1972 as a segment entitled "Love and the Television Set" (later retitled "Love and the Happy Days" for syndication) on ABC's anthology show "Love, American Style". Based on the pilot, director George Lucas cast Howard as the lead in his 1973 hit film "American Graffiti", causing ABC to take a renewed interest in the pilot. The first two seasons of "Happy Days" focused on the experiences and dilemmas of "innocent teenager" Richie Cunningham, his family, and his high school friends, attempting to "honestly depict a wistful look back at adolescence". Initially a moderate hit, the series' ratings began to fall during its second season, causing Marshall to retool it emphasizing broad comedy and spotlighting the previously minor character of Fonzie, a "cool" biker and high school dropout. Following these changes, "Happy Days" became the number-one program in television in 1976–1977, Fonzie became one of the most merchandised characters of the 1970s, and Henry Winkler became a major star. The series also spawned a number of spin-offs, including the hit shows "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork & Mindy".
Happy Days
171103#24
On April 19, 2011, "Happy Days" co-stars Erin Moran, Don Most, Marion Ross and Anson Williams, as well as the estate of Tom Bosley (who died in 2010), filed a $10 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS, which owns the show, claiming they had not been paid for merchandising revenues owed under their contracts. The cast members claimed they had not received revenues from show-related items, including comic books, T-shirts, scrapbooks, trading cards, games, lunch boxes, dolls, toy cars, magnets, greeting cards and DVDs where their images appear on the box covers. Under their contracts, they were supposed to be paid 5% of the net proceeds of merchandising if their sole image were used, and half that amount if they were in a group. CBS said it owed the actors $8,500 and $9,000 each, most of it from slot machine revenues, but the group said they were owed millions. The lawsuit was initiated after Ross was informed by a friend playing slots at a casino of a "Happy Days" machine on which players win the jackpot when five Marion Rosses are rolled.
Happy Days
7344950#2
Originally titled "New Orleans Frolic", the story centers around Margie (played by Marjorie White), a singer on a showboat who, when she hears that the showboat is in financial trouble, travels to New York City in an effort to persuade all the boat's former stars to perform in a show to rescue it. She is successful and the stars all fly to New Orleans to surprise the showboat's owner, Colonel Billy Blacher, with a grand show, the proceeds of which will go to rescue the showboat.After a preview on September 17, 1929, "Happy Days" premiered at the Roxy Theater in New York City on February 13, 1930 with a Niagara Falls widescreen short on a Grandeur screen of 42x20 ft, compared to the standard 24x18 ft screen. It was also shown in Grandeur at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, from February 28, 1930.
Happy Days (1929 film)