JuicyTalk
Happy Days is one of TV’s most popular shows to emerge from the 1970s, and its star, Ron Howard, recently disclosed that he would have quit the show if the original title had been changed. Happy Days aired for 11 seasons between 1974 and 1984 on ABC. In addition to Howard, the sitcom starred Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Tom Bosley, and Henry Winkler as Fonzie, among others.
Happy Days initially followed Howard’s Richie Cunningham, the innocent boy next door, as he dealt with teenage life. However, after declining ratings, the show’s main plotline was reimagined in the third season, with Fonzie, who previously had a recurring role, becoming a central character. Howard eventually did leave the show after season 7, but returned in season 11 as a guest.
During an interview with Vulture, Howard discussed how, at the time that Happy Days was in production, he was comfortable with the fact that Fonzie ended up as a major character in the series, even though Richie was originally the lead. However, Howard added that he wouldn’t have continued to be involved in the show if they decided to change the series’ name to “Fonzie’s Happy Days.”
“I never, ever challenged what they were doing creatively. It made perfect sense that you’d build this Fonzie character and maximize that. But the optics of now being in a show called Fonzie’s Happy Days, my ego wouldn’t allow for that. I wasn’t bluffing. I would’ve left. And my contract, I’m sure, had no clause connected to titles. They could have said, ‘F–k you. We changed the title, and we expect you to show up Monday morning.’ But thank God for great bosses. Garry Marshall said, ‘If you’re not cool with it …’ I later found out Henry himself thought it was a terrible idea. I think the position I took made it easy for both Garry and Henry to also say, ‘No, let’s not do that.’ Years later, Henry said they were ready to do a spinoff and other things for Fonzie and he just said, ‘Why fix it if it’s not broken? My success depends on the ensemble I’m in.'”
What This Meant For Happy Days
When producers wanted to change the title of the popular sitcom to Fonzie’s Happy Days, not only did Howard protest, but so did Winkler. Winkler thpught changing the title to feature his bad boy character’s name would be offensive to the rest of the ensemble cast, who he felt put their all into the series.
Happy Days first premiered on January 15, 1974, on ABC
Eventually, like Howard said, Gary Marshall, the series’ creator, agreed with Howard and Winkler and did not change the name. The show was in danger of losing some of its stars if the title was changed, but after not altering the name, the series went on for a very fruitful run with all the main cast members returning for most of the show’s 11 seasons.
Changing the name of what is probably one of the best TV shows of all time seems like it would have been unnecessary and could have killed the classic show. Happy Days was popular because of its ensemble and not just Fonzie, and the title switch could have deterred people from watching the show by causing them to think it was a spinoff instead of the same series.
Changing something too much from its original formula can hinder its quality. With this in mind, it is quite fair for Howard not to want to be involved with Happy Days if the name was changed, because something as simple as a title change could have impacted the overall vibe and eventual legacy of the show.
