https://www.irishecho.com/2021/11/death-of-irish-actor-gavan-o-herlhy

November 09, 2021 by Irish Echo Staff

Pic of Day: Veteran Irish actor Gavan O'Herlihy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavan_O%27Herlihy) has died aged 70. The Dublin-born actor and son of Oscar nominee Dan O'Herlihy covered a broad variety of roles in a career spanning five decades. There will be a fuller report in this week's print issue of the Irish Echo.

:( He did a great job as Chuck in a short time on the show.

R.I.P., Gavin O'Herlihy

He played Dan Suggs in Lonesome Dove, a role about as far from Chuck Cunningham as you could get. RIP.

RIP, Gavan! I thought you were awesome as Chuck!

https://www.irishecho.com/2021/11/death-of-irish-actor-gavan-o-herlhy

Was he the eldest brother?

Was he the eldest brother?

Yes, for the first half season.

Rest in peace.

I never cared for him on Happy Days but I thought he did a fantastic job in Willow, rest in peace Gavan

Yes, for the first half season.

Gavan O’Herlihy, who played Happy Days' missing eldest brother Chuck Cunningham for 7 episodes, dies at 70 (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/gavan-oherlihy-dead-happy-days-missing-big-brother-1235047063)

In Happy Days' first season, the Irish actor played Chuck Cunningham (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5yPgcRp-K8), a basketball star at Jefferson High who goes off to college. But after seven episodes, O'Herlihy had had enough. Randolph Roberts replaced him for two episodes of Season 2, but the character of Chuck famously disappeared from the show. “I pulled out of it, I didn’t want to do it,” he said in an interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA0MnoZq1-k). “They had me at college, I was going to grunt and bounce a basketball once every couple of weeks for probably three or four years. And at 20 years old, that’s not the gig you want to be doing. But that was my big break; that got me established around town as a kid who got hot in a hurry.” Happy Days star Ron Howard later reunited with O'Herlihy by casting him in his 1988 film Willow.

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I never cared for him on Happy Days but I thought he did a fantastic job in Willow, rest in peace Gavan

Which was directed by his TV brother, Ron Howard.

Dont you think the last episode of Happy Days he should have come into the scene at the end of Joanie's wedding dribbling a basket ball asking everyone where they'd been?

It would have been like a Newhart ending and so brilliant.

Dont you think the last episode of Happy Days he should have come into the scene at the end of Joanie's wedding dribbling a basket ball asking everyone where they'd been?

It would have been like a Newhart ending and so brilliant.

It would have been hilarious but it would have also ruined the spirit of the episode, which was bittersweet.

Which was directed by his TV brother, Ron Howard.

Yeah, I knew that, it is really cool that Howard asked Gavan to join Willow since they have not seen each other since Happy Days

:rip:

Very sad :(

He played Dan Suggs in Lonesome Dove, a role about as far from Chuck Cunningham as you could get. RIP.

Among other things, he was also the main villain (https://deathwish.fandom.com/wiki/Manny_Fraker) in Death Wish 3 opposite Charles Bronson, Superman III as Clark Kent's childhood bully, Brad Wilson (https://superman-anthology.fandom.com/wiki/Brad_Wilson), and he was in the "unofficial" James Bond movie (the one with Sean Connery in 1983) Never Say Never Again as Kim Basinger's brother (https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Jack_Petachi_(Gavan_O%27Herlihy)). He also reunited with Ron Howard, who directed him (https://willowufgood.fandom.com/wiki/Airk_Thaughbaer) in Willow.