Happy Days free essay sample

Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1974 to 1984 on ABC. The show presents an idealized vision of American life in the 1950s and early 1960s America. The family consists of Howard, a hardware store owner, Marion, his homemaker wife, and the couples teenage children, Richie (who has an optimistic if somewhat naive outlook on life), Richies sweet and beautiful but feisty and clumsy younger sister Joanie, and Richies older brother Chuck (a character who abruptly disappeared during the second season). Most of the early episodes revolve around Richie (often with his best friend Potsie); as the series progressed, more and more stories were written to revolve around Arthur Fonzie Fonzarelli, who was originally portrayed as a local dropout but soon befriended Richie and family, and became a huge hit with viewers. The focus would also occasionally shift to other additional characters, such as Fonzies cousin Chachi, who became a love interest for Joanie Cunningham. The long-running show also spawned several spinoff shows, some of which were highly successful in their own right, including Laverne Shirley, Mork Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. 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 roughly around 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 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 [hide] 1 Cast 1. 1 Cunningham family 1. 2 Others 2 Cast stats 3 History 4 Production styles 5 Sets 6 Coined neologisms 6. 1 Jumping the Shark 6. 2 The Fonzie Effect 6. 3 Chuck Cunningham Syndrome New characters 7. 1 Season 4 7. 2 Seasons 8 onward 7. 3 Guest stars 7. 4 Anachronisms 8 Decline in popularity 9 Theme music 10 Production scheduling 11 Ratings 12 Episodes 13 DVD releases 14 Spin-offs 14. 1 Animated spin-offs 15 Legacy 15. 1 Pop Culture References 15. 2 Trivia 16 References 17 External links [edit]Cast [edit]Cunningham family Howard (Mr. C) (Tom Bosley)- Husband, father and hardware store owner. Most often seen reading the daily newspaper in his eas y chair. Marion (Mrs. C) (Marion Ross) Wife, mother and homemaker. She was the only character whom Fonzie allowed to call him by his real first name, Arthur, which she always did affectionately Richie (Ron Howard) Son and high school student. The protagonist for the first six years of the series. The character was written out of the show, leaving to join the United States Army, after Ron Howard decided to leave the show to pursue his desired (and ultimately highly successful) career as a director, rather than an actor, although he returned to make guest appearances as Richie during the shows final season. 1974-1980) Joanie (Erin Moran) Daughter. Chuck (Gavan OHerlihy, Randolph Roberts) Eldest son written out of series with no explanation. Fonzie became the shows breakout character and took on a big brother role to Richie, leaving Chuck with nothing to do. Roger Phillips (Ted McGinley) Marions nephew and coach and teacher at Jefferson High. Introduced after Richie left the show. (1980-1984) Flip Phillips (Billy Warlock) Rogers brother. Seen only during 10th season. Krystal KC Cunningham (Crystal Bernard) Howards niece. Seen only during 10th season. [edit]Others Arthur Fonzie / the Fonz Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler) First written in as a minor character, but became a hugely popular breakout character and was made a series regular. The Fonz was a big fan of his â€Å"veggies† when he ate dinner at the Cunningham house. Many said this was an attempt by the show’s producers to get kids to eat their vegetables using the Fonz as an advocate. In an episode filmed in the late 1970s, Fonzie obtains a library card and declares, â€Å"Reading is cool. † The following week there was a 500% increase nation wide of children obtaining library cards. citation needed] At one point, ABC pushed to change the name of the series to Fonzies Happy Days. The cast (including Henry Winkler) strongly opposed. Charles Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio) Fonzies younger cousin; and, later, Al Delvecchios stepson. Dated, and eventually married, Joanie Cunningham. Warren Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) Richies closest friend. Somewhat more carefree than Richie in early seasons, he gradually becomes slightly dimwitted and, in the later seasons, quite so. Ralph Malph (Donny Most) Richies friend; left with Richie to join the army (1974-1980). Returned as a guest star in the final season. Matsumoto Arnold Takahashi (Pat Morita) First depicted owner of Arnolds Drive-In (1975-1976), he obtained the moniker when he purchased the resturant and people addressed its new owner as Arnold. He moonlighted as a martial arts instructor, teaching self-defense classes at the drive-in after hours. Returned after Al Molinaro departed (1982-1983). Al Delvecchio (Al Molinaro) Drive-in owner/cook (1976-1982). Married Chachis mother, thereby becoming Fonzies uncle. Marsha Simms (Beatrice Colen) Carhop in first two seasons. Spike (Danny Butch) Fonzies even younger cousin. Made fleeting appearances before the introduction of Chachi. Wendy (Misty Rowe) Another carhop from Arnolds in the first two seasons. Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly) Former girlfriend of Fonzie. Leather Tuscadero (Suzi Quatro) Musician. Sister of Pinky Tuscadero. Jenny Piccalo (Cathy Silvers) Joanies best friend (1980-1983). Mentioned often in early episodes, but never appeared in person until the 1980 season. Returned as a guest star in the series finale. Jennys father appeared in one episode, played by Silvers real-life father Phil Silvers. Lori Beth Allen Cunningham (Lynda Goodfriend) Richies girlfriend and later his wife (1977-1982). Returned as a guest star in the final season. Louisa Arcola / Louisa Delvecchio (Ellen Travolta) Mother of Chachi Arcola and Fonzies aunt. Married Al Delvecchio. Melvin Belvin (Scott Bernstein) nerdy classmate of Joanie and Chachi. Eugene Belvin (Denis Mandel) twin brother of Melvin Belvin. Also a nerd. Bobby (Harris Kal) friend of Chachi and Joanie seen in episodes after Richie and Ralph left the show. Gloria (Linda Purl) Richies occasional girlfriend in the second season. Ashley Pfister (Linda Purl) Divorced mother who becomes Fonzies steady girlfriend, but later broke up with him (offscreen) (1982-1983). Heather Pfister (Heather ORourke) Ashley Pfisters daughter (1982-1983). Danny Fonzarelli (Danny Ponce) Fonzies adopted son in the series finale. Police Officer Kirk / Army Reserve Major Kirk (Ed Peck) Fonzie’s nemesis; eager to demonstrate his inflated sense of authority, and on the watch for delinquents and pinkos (communists). [edit]Cast stats Another television dad, Harold Gould (of Rhoda), was cast as Howard Cunningham in the Love, American Style episode sub-titled Love and the Happy Days. Donny Most was originally cast to play Potsie Weber. The Ralph Malph character was added to the show after producers decided to cast Anson Williams as Potsie. Marion Ross and Anson Williams are the only cast members who stayed with the show from its pilot, an episode of Love, American Style, to its conclusion. Not including the pilot, Henry Winkler and Tom Bosley are the only two actors to appear in every episode of the series. edit]History Happy Days originated during a time of 1950s nostalgic interest evident in film, television, and music. The show began as an unsold pilot called New Family in Town, with Harold Gould in the role of Howard Cunningham, Marion Ross as Marion, Ron Howard as Richie, Anson Williams as Potsie, Ric Carrott as Charles Chuck Cunningham, and Susan Neher as Joanie. While Paramount passed on making it into a wee kly series, the pilot was recycled with the title Love and the Happy Days, for presentation on the television anthology series Love, American Style. In 1972, George Lucas asked to view the pilot to determine if Ron Howard would be suitable to play a teenager in American Graffiti, 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. [edit]Production styles The first two seasons of Happy Days were filmed using a single-camera setup and laugh track. 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 Happy Days is filmed before a studio audience at the start of most episodes), giving these later seasons a markedly different style. [edit]Sets The show had two main sets: the Cunningham home, and Arnolds Drive-In. 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. [1] The address, although fictitious, suggests that the Cunninghams lived on the citys east side. 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 Glendale (Milwaukee), now Kopps, was the inspiration for the original Arnolds Drive-In. The Milky Way has since been demolished. The exterior of Arnolds 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 shows 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 taping, the set was redesigned and became the Arnolds 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 jukebox was positioned camera right, and a pinball machine was positioned far camera right, (anachronistically a 1973 Nip It machine, contrary to the shows 50s setting). College pennants adorned the walls including Marquette and UWM, 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 Arnolds 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 Arnolds 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 Arnolds. 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. [edit]Coined neologisms [edit]Jumping the Shark Main article: Jumping the shark The most famous of these plots involved Fonzie performing a water ski jump over a shark in an episode aired on September 20, 1977, during the shows 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 Fonzs 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 Arnolds 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) the Woman from Kathmandu (portrayed by Quantum Leap actress/producer Deborah Pratt) and Mork from Ork. Interestingly, although the series dipped slightly in viewership after Ron Howards 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 1980 departure of Ron Howard, and the introduction of Ted McGinley who would similarly serve as a replacement castmember on The Love Boat and Married†¦ with Children thereby becoming inexorably associated with the term jumping the shark. edit]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 the 1950s and early/mid 1960s Milwaukee, along with peripherally seen peers such as Ralph Malph, Bag, et al. During the first season, the character Arthur Fonzie/The Fo nz Fonzarelli was becoming a fan favorite, though he was originally intended to be a local high school dropout who was only occasionally seen. The Fonz character was given progressively more screen time by the writers, becoming a permanent cast member displayed in the second season opening credits. The Fonz quickly became the shows most popular character, and many episodes came to revolve around him. When the ABC management considered changing the name of the show to Fonzies Happy Days, the cast, including Fonzie player Henry Winkler, protested along with producer/creator Garry Marshall, and the shows title remained unchanged. [2] [edit]Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Main article: List of television show casting changes The first two seasons of the series also featured Chuck, the Cunninghams eldest child and Richies older brother. The Fonzie character was initally 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 Whos Coming To Christmas, Fonzie — recalling h is 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, wheres 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. See also the character of Eugene Barkley in The Big Valley and Kevin Swanson in Family Guy. [edit]New characters Later seasons saw the addition of other characters. Introduced in the second season episode Not With My Sister, You Dont, Danny Butch played Fonzies 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, Fonzies long-term girlfriend. Commercials for the subsequent season even began promoting Kellys 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 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 Richies band, on drums, and the gang at Arnolds 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 Richies 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 admited 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 Richies 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 Fonzies 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 Fongs. [edit]Season 4 The most major character changes occurred after Season 4 with the addition of Scott Baio as Fonzies cousin, Chachi Arcola. Originally the character Spike, mentioned as Fonzies nephew (whos 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 Arnolds after Pat Moritas 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 Blanskys Beauties). Al Molinaro also played Als twin brother Father Anthony Delvecchio, a Catholic priest. Al eventually married Chachis mother (played by Ellen Travolta) and Father Delvecchio served in the wedding of Joanie to Chachi in the series finale. [edit]Seasons 8 onward Lynda Goodfriend joined the cast as semi-regular character Lori-Beth Allen, Richies 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, Joanies 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 Ralphs 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 Rogers brother Flip, along with Crystal Bernard as Howards and Marions 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. [edit]Guest stars Tom Hanks appeared in an episode as a character seeking revenge on Fonzie for pushing him off a swing when the two of them were in the 3rd grade. The confrontation occurs just as Fonzie was about to be given a community leader award. Years later in 1987, Hanks asked Winkler to direct his comedy Turner and Hooch, but creative differences between the two stars led to Winkler being fired from the job. Milwaukee Braves home run king Hank Aaron appeared in one episode. Ralphs father was an optometrist, played by Jack Dodson, who also played Howard Sprague on Ron Howards previous sitcom, The Andy Griffith Show. Lorne Greene made a brief walk-on cameo during the first episode of Season 5, which took place in Hollywood. [edit]Anachronisms Various pinball machines manufactured in the early 1970s were seen in Arnolds, including a 1972 Bally produced machine called Nip-It. It is possible that the shows producers may have overlooked this, as pinball machines from the 1950s commonly known as woodrails, have a more wooden look, compared to the machines used in the show. The show, along with its spin off Laverne Shirley, took progressively more liberties in terms of hair and clothing styles, which began to look more contemporary with the shows 1970s and 1980s production years. The hairstyles of Potsie, Ralph Malph, and (later) Chachi were not reflective of 1950s era for men. The characters all had hair over their ears, something that would have been considered very unmasculine during the era previous to 1964 and the Beatles haircuts and longer hair that followed. The cars used in the Smash-up Derby sequence of the Pinky Tuscadero episodes would have been brand new or not even released yet when the episode was set. [edit]Decline in popularity Despite having the dubious honor of coining the phrase Jumping the Shark, 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 arry 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 Mosts Ralph Malph character) plus the finale, Passages), the 11th season is arguably forgotten as a return to deeper storylines, stronger writing, and poignant moments. [edit]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 1971) 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 initial 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 new version). The shows 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 shows 11th and final season (1983-84), the theme was redone 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 that incorporated 1980s sensibilities with a still 1950s nostalgia (although the show was now supposedly taking place in 1965). [edit]Production scheduling Jerry Paris, who co-starred on The Dick Van Dyke Show and directed several episodes of that series, directed every episode of Happy Days from the third season on, except for three episodes in Season 3 (Jailhouse Rock, Dance Contest and Arnolds Wedding). [3] Happy Days became one of the first series to have early seasons in syndication while the series itself was still producing new episodes (a common practice with long-running shows today). Until the show went out of production, most syndicated versions carried the title Happy Days Again. The ending theme lyrics were edited instead of Saturday, what a day/Racing to be with you they were changed to Saturday, what a day/Grooving all week with you to reflect the daily nature of syndicated airings. CBS programming head Fred Silverman scheduled Good Times directly against Happy Days during their respective second seasons in an attempt to kill the ABC shows growing popularity. However, he was named president of ABC in 1975, and so was given the task of saving Happy Days during its third season (which saw a rapid increase in ratings).