One of the most successful series of the 1970s is Happy Days, which is set in the late 1950s, early 1960s in Milwaukee, the heart of middle-class America. Happy Days tells the story of the Cunninghams, one of America's most beloved TV families played by Tom Bosley (Howard), Erin Moran (Joanie), Marion Ross (Marion), and Ron Howard (Richie). Richie and Joanie had an older brother, Chuck (Gavan O'Herlihy and Randolph Roberts), but he was phased out by the third season. Richie, who hangs out at Arnold's Drive-In with his buddies Potsie Weber (Anson Williams) and Ralph Malph (Donny Most), forms a close bond with neighborhood greaser, the Fonz (Henry Winkler). Living in an apartment above the Cunningham garage, the Fonz gives Richie advice on just about everything that he wants to know. Wearing his leather jacket atop his motorcycle while saying phrases like "aaaayyyy" and "sit on it," the Fonz is the king of cool and quickly became a cultural icon.

As time passed, additional characters were introduced. Al Delvecchio (Al Molinaro) replaced Arnold (Pat Morita) as owner of Arnold's Drive-In in season 4. He would remain until the end of season 9. Season 5 saw Fonzie's cousin, Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio), and Richie's love interest, Lori Beth Allen (Lynda Goodfriend), come onto the scene. When Ron Howard and Donny Most left the show after season 7, the producers felt that they needed to add some characters to fill the void. Enter Cathy Silvers (as Jenny Piccalo - the never-before-seen-but-often-talked-about best friend of Joanie) and Ted McGinley (as Roger Phillips - Marion's nephew). The focus of the series shifted to the relationship between Joanie and Chachi.

Season 10 saw Fonzie get a season-long love interest in the person of Ashley Pfister (Linda Purl). Other recurring characters added during the last four seasons were Roger's brother, Leopold "Flip" Phillips (Billy Warlock), Howard's niece, K. C. Cunningham (Crystal Bernard), Ashley's daughter, Heather Pfister (Heather O'Rourke), and Joanie and Chachi's classmates, Eugene Belvin (Denis Mandel), Melvin Belvin ( Scott Bernstein), Bobby Milner (Harris Kal), and Tommy (Kevin Sullivan). In addition, Pat Morita returned during season 10 (and the first episode of season 11) to reprise his role as Arnold.

By the end of the series, Richie had married Lori Beth and had two children, Al had married Chachi's mother, Louisa, Potsie was, presumably, still in college, and Ralph was training to be an optometrist. In the series' finale, "Passages," Joanie and Chachi were married, and Fonzie (owner of Fonzie's Auto Repairing and Arnold's as well as Dean of Boys at Patton High) adopted an orphan boy named Danny. Howard thanked the audience for being a part of their family, and a sentimental clip montage was shown to Elvis Presley's "Memories."

I am in no way associated with the Happy Days Tv Show or any of it's actors/affiliates. I am merely a fan, trying to gather all of the fans for this subject. All copyrights go to their respective owners.