who is the movie the pursuit of happiness based on
Chris Gardner Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954) is an American businessman, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher Gardner Jr.[1] Gardner's book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness, was published in May 2006.[2] The 2006 motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriele Muccino and starring Will Smith is based on the book.[3][4] He was CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, which he founded in 1987, based in Chicago, Illinois until he sold his share in 2006 to found Christopher Gardner International Holdings. Then in 2012, just before his wife's death, she challenged him to find true happiness and fulfillment in the remainder of his life. He now travels all over the world 200 days a year as a motivational speaker. Gardner has spoken in over 50 countries.[5]
Happy Days Happy Days is an American television sitcom that aired first-run from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984 on ABC, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning eleven seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presented an idealized vision of life in the mid-1950s to mid-1960s Midwestern United States, and starred Ron Howard as teenager Richie Cunningham, Henry Winkler as his friend Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli, and Tom Bosley and Marion Ross as Richie's parents, Howard and Marion Cunningham.[1] Happy Days became one of the biggest hits in television history and heavily influenced the television style of its time.[2]