I'm sorry if this has already been discussed on this board. I just started watching Happy Days. Was Fonzie on the show from the beginning? He's a great character. He enters a scene and the audience goes wild. He's written into mostly every storyline even if it's not about him.
Was HD originally a vehicle for Ron Howard? I'm guessing that Fonzie was a 'breakout character' like John Travolta on Kotter or Michael J. Fox on Family Ties.
If my guess is right, did it cause problems with the other actors, mainly Ron Howard? Fonzie steals every scene he's in.
Can someone please fill in the blanks for me on this? Thanks. :)

Originally posted by Janice
I'm sorry if this has already been discussed on this board. I just started watching Happy Days. Was Fonzie on the show from the beginning? He's a great character. He enters a scene and the audience goes wild. He's written into mostly every storyline even if it's not about him.
Was HD originally a vehicle for Ron Howard? I'm guessing that Fonzie was a 'breakout character' like John Travolta on Kotter or Michael J. Fox on Family Ties.
If my guess is right, did it cause problems with the other actors, mainly Ron Howard? Fonzie steals every scene he's in.
Can someone please fill in the blanks for me on this? Thanks. :)

Fonzie was on at the begining, But he was a minor character. He wore a White Windbreaker and barely said anything, But was still the cool guy on the show. Around the 2nd Season Fonzie started wearing the Leather Jacket and began talking more, But was still kind of mysterious. Around the 3rd and 4th Season Fonzies popularity began growing hugely and he became the character most people associated with the show. At one point they even wanted to rename it to "Fonzie's Happy Days" But Ron Howard didnt like that and complained about it, As did Henry Winkler and a few other characters. And even though i guess Ron was a little jealous when they wanted to change the name him and Henry are still good friends to this day and Happy Days is actually one of the few shows that didnt have many problems off the scenes.

Interesting side note: They were originally going to call him Masherelli instead of Fonzerelli.

Originally posted by Slayer Faith
Interesting side note: They were originally going to call him Masherelli instead of Fonzerelli.
I heard that. I'm glad they didn't though. Imagine Fonzie being called The "Mash" or "Mashie", that would have been, um, interesting...:eek:

Originally posted by Chad Doody


Fonzie was on at the begining, But he was a minor character. He wore a White Windbreaker and barely said anything, But was still the cool guy on the show. Around the 2nd Season Fonzie started wearing the Leather Jacket and began talking more, But was still kind of mysterious. Around the 3rd and 4th Season Fonzies popularity began growing hugely and he became the character most people associated with the show. At one point they even wanted to rename it to "Fonzie's Happy Days" But Ron Howard didnt like that and complained about it, As did Henry Winkler and a few other characters. And even though i guess Ron was a little jealous when they wanted to change the name him and Henry are still good friends to this day and Happy Days is actually one of the few shows that didnt have many problems off the scenes.
Thanks Chad. Great synopsis. I appreciate it. :)

Originally posted by Janice

Thanks Chad. Great synopsis. I appreciate it. :)

No Problem!

Great explanation, Chad!



By what I've heard, Fonziemanie broke out very early, but everyone thought it'd be a bad idea to suddenly give Fonzie these HUGE roles, because they feared he'd lose his cool "edge." That's why they added to his character gradually, until he finally became a star. Fonzie was so much cooler in those early days, but we never saw much of him. And Ron was absolutely fantastic about sharing the limelight. I've read that he even made Henry the godfather of his children. So, there was a pretty tight friendship there. Just another reason to love Ron and Henry (IMO).

Great topic here! Just want to add that Ron and Henry seem like very classy guys, that they always understood the ups and downs of fame, and its importance, or lack thereof. I think they both understood that the success of the show was more important that the success of any one actor. I think alot of the charm of the show was due to how they with their differences played off of each other. Although Henry's was the more showy and popular role, alot of opinion has also been written about how the show never was quite the same once Ron left. And it was also harder for Henry to live down his Fonzi image when he tried to move into other roles after Happy Days.

One year, both Ron and Henry were nominated for Golden Globes for best actor in a TV comedy, and Henry won. I saw a clip of that award show in a biography type show for either Ron or Henry a few years back, and part of Henry's speech (I am paraphrasing) was to the effect that he could not have achieved his success on the show without Ron's generosity. My understanding is that they were always friends and have remained so. Henry is usually listed as making an appearance at the premier of most of Ron's movies. It is nice to see a showbiz friendship remain so strong no matter whose star is shining brighter. Which most people would agree that Ron has achieved the greater fame at this time.

It is indeed heartening to hear these stories that there was no animosity between Ron and Henry.
I've heard stories of stars actually counting the lines in movie scripts to be sure a co-star doesn't have more lines or screentime.
I read that Steve McQueen made a big deal out of who got the most lines, him or Paul Newman, during the making of the movie, The Towering Inferno.
Some actors make a huge deal over how they're listed in the credits and whose photo is bigger in the movie poster.
I've read over and over that Meredith Birney and Michael Gross were not happy campers when Michael J. Fox's star cast a shadow on them. Family Ties was originally meant to focus on the married Keaton couple.
It's refreshing that these men were mature enough to handle the fickle dynamics of fame and preserve a strong friendship.

Well, the questions have already been answered (:thumbsup: ), I just wanna say :woohoo:!! You started watching HD!!! If you ever have a ?, ask us-- we know it!! LOl.

Welcome to the HD board, Janice!