One of the most unintentionally funny things on the show was a brief clip of the spinoff The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang, which was apparently thought up by someone at Paramount who had been doing some heavy drinking at the time. It was a show exactly like Happy Days…except it was animated…and the Fonz had a funny dog named Mister Cool…and a time machine…and a girlfriend from the future. Who said cartoon shows had to make sense?
I didn’t remember the Love: American Style connection at all. However, I have some very strong memories of the pilot episode that aired as a full stand alone pilot.
Especially the closing moments. Fonzie is accused of cheating ( something he did not do ). He and Ritchie talk about it, as he holds the supposedly cheated on test in his hands. He jumpstarts his bike and tells Ritchie that he’s going to drop out, that high school isn’t for him.
Ritchie is wanting to go to bat for him against the unfair accusation, but…Fonzie lets it go. He is wearing a beige windbreaker, as is noted on the Net he didn’t wear leather right away.
Fonzie crumples the paper, and rides away on his bike as the camera cranes up slowly above Ritchie. It was not a comedic moment- Winkler did a really nice turn as a young man who just had to decide to finish growing up fast.
When the t.v. show “Early Edition” was shooting in Chicago a bunch of years ago, I was offered some work as the Steadicam Operator on it. The Exec Producer was an old friend, and he threw me a bone. The Director of that episode was an older gentleman. Someone on the crew mentioned that his Hollywood t.v. directing credits were amazingly deep. The man had directed Gilligan’s Island, Brady Bunch, etc. Then a guy said, " Hell, he directed the Pilot of Happy Days too". That got me. During lunch I went over to him and asked him if I could ask him about that show.
I described my memories as shared above, and he smiled hugely. He said I more or less had it right. That the character was more interesting than the others ( Fonzie ), but they were not clear where to take him. He said that his single biggest memory of working on Happy Days ( apparently he directed more than just the pilot ) was that Ron Howard’s agent did a brilliant move. Before the show started out at all, he negotiated a Favorite Son clause. That is to say, Ron Howard can never be paid less on a per episode basis than any other actor on the series. Not necessarily more, but never ever less.
The show was a hit into the 2nd season, and Henry Winkler re-negotiated. For every huge jump in weekly fees that he got, Ron Howard tracked him dollar for dollar. Favorite Son clause. This man laughed and said, Ronnie’s agent earned his fee that year. He guaranteed such a huge fee per episode as it turns out, that Ronnie made out extremely well on the series. ( Not to mention re-run fees ).
He did remark that it was a nice set to be on. Then, lunch wrapped and I proceeded to disappoint him badly all afternoon. Oh well. Some days you’re the hero, some days you’re the villian.
Cartooniverse
Great anecdote, Cartooniverse!
The show received a letter from a group of people who worked with troubled or delinquent or abused children (I can’t remember exactly which), describing how all the kids loved Fonzie. They said the kids really related to him, because they too tried to be tough all the time and never cried or showed their feelings in any way. Marshall showed the letter to the writers and asked them to make Fonzie cry, so these kids would see that that’s okay. Hence the Richie Almost Dies episode.
I see. Thank you.
TO further blur the goods on Erin Moran, I read a tabloid article years ago in which she rambled on in a semi-Fundamentalist semi-LaRouchian vein about Gov’t run drug cartels & Satanic Television networks. I also recall she & Baio were involved in a way she regarded as predatory & manipulative on his part (I’ve heard Nicole Eggers/t? from Charles in Charge make the same comment about him.) AND finally that Erin viewed some private affectionate moments between her & Winkler as being inappropriate.
I was out of the heavy cartoon-watching stage during that period, but I seem to remember that animated shows based on prime-time sitcoms and featuring talking or flying pets and someone from the future/with magical powers (or both) wasn’t exactly rare diuring that period.
I have a very strong memory of an animated Punky Brewster like that.
Wasn’t there a Laverne and Shirley cartoon at the same time where they joined the army and served under a Pig?
(I didn’t catch the special. How did they handle Chuck? Was he (they?) bitter?)
How is it that I’ve lived these 38 years and am only hearing about this for the first time now?
To be fair, the pig belonged to their sargeant. It was not in the actual chain of command.
All in all it was a better cartoon rip-off of **Private Benjamin ** than the actual Private Benjamin cartoon.