As one of the greatest sitcoms ever made, “Happy Days” seems in retrospect as if it should have been no-brainer for ABC execs (who originally wanted to give the show a hilariously bad title). But it actually took some time for the series to make it to air, with “Happy Days” going through several iterations before it debuted in its final form. One of those was as part of the TV series “Love, American Style.” ABC’s comedy anthology show ran from 1969 to 1974 and comprised multiple romantic comedy tales, with several recurring performers portraying different characters. The show featured guest stars that included Diane Keaton and Harrison Ford, but it’s also noteworthy for giving audiences the very first version of “Happy Days.”
The sitcom that would become beloved by boomers of the 1970s eager to relive their 1950s childhoods started life as a pilot spearheaded by Michael Eisner and former Paramount development head Tom Miller. According to Eisner, the pair developed the story idea while snowed in at the Newark airport, in an attempt to capitalize on the rise of 1950s nostalgia. They brought in Garry Marshall (eventual creator of “Happy Days”) to further develop and write the pilot for their show.
This original vision for the series was entitled “New Family in Town,” and focused on a minister and his family in the 50s. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to make it. Eisner remained persistent, however, and eventually managed to push through a pilot based on his script. It was filmed in 1971 with several actors that would ultimately form the central cast of “Happy Days.” Before that seminal sitcom could actually materialize, however, Eisner’s original pilot had to air, and with Paramount reluctant to order a series based on the episode, it was repurposed as part of “Love, American Style.”
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Love and the Television Set was a proto-Happy Days
Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham talks to Anson Williams’ Potsie Weber in Love and the Happy Days – ABC
“Happy Days” started its on-screen life as an episode of “Love, American Style” entitled “Love and the Television Set” (later renamed to “Love and the Happy Days” to capitalize on the sitcom’s eventual success). The episode aired on ABC on February 25, 1972, and followed the Cunningham family as they became the first in their Milwaukee, Wisconsin neighbourhood to get a television set. Naturally, both Richie Cunningham and Potsie Weber saw the TV as a way to get girls more than anything else, with Richie inviting Tannis G. Montgomery’s Arlene Nestrock over to watch the new set instead of Potsie, leading to a rift between the best friends. By the end of the episode, however, Arlene has revealed that she’s actually going steady with William Jack “Bag” Zombrowski, ending Richie’s hopes of starting a relationship. Potsie then returns to Richie’s house (via Richie’s bedroom window, of course) and the pair reconcile.
Several of the characters were played by the same actors who portrayed them on “Happy Days,” with Ron Howard portraying Richie Cunningham, Marion Ross playing his mother, Marion, and Anson Williams as Potsie Weber — all of whom remain among the only major actors still alive from “Happy Days.” Patriarch Howard Cunningham, meanwhile, was played by Harold Gould who would ultimately be replaced by Tom Bosley for the show proper. Chuck Cunningham was played by Ric Carrott, who would later be replaced by Gavan O’Herlihy and Ralph Roberts, and Joanie Cunningham was portrayed by Susan Neher, who was replaced by Erin Moran for the debut of “Happy Days.” “Love and the Television Set” also featured a character named Grandma (Nellie Burt) who didn’t form part of the sitcom when it debuted in 1974. The original pilot also notably lacked Arthur Fonzarelli, the iconic greaser ultimately portrayed by Henry Winkler in “Happy Days.”
From Love, American Style to Happy Days
Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham talks to Harold Gould’s Howard Cunningham in Love and the Happy Days – ABC
How did Garry Marshall eventually go from an unsuccessful pilot that was repurposed for an anthology series to “Happy Days?” Well, as it turns out, without that repurposing the seminal sitcom would never had happened.
It was actually “Love and the Television Set” that partly inspired George Lucas to cast Ron Howard as Steve Bolander in his 1973 pre-“Star Wars” masterpiece “American Graffiti.” The coming-of-age comedy drama was actually set in the early 60s, but it took place amid the vestiges of 50s culture, following Steve and his band of friends on their last night of summer vacation. Made for just $777,000, the movie made $140 million at the global box office, prompting ABC to rethink their approach to Marshall’s repurposed pilot.
If 50s nostalgia was as popular as “American Graffiti” seemed to suggest it was, surely a sitcom that featured one of the movie’s leads in what was essentially the same role was going to hit. And hit it did, but not before a new pilot titled “All the Way” was produced. “Happy Days” finally got the green light from ABC (despite Marshall’s original idea for the show’s title being terrible) and “All the Way” served as the inaugural episode. While Harold Gould was initially supposed to remain as Howard Cunningham, he was replaced by Tom Bosley after his schedule wouldn’t allow him to return for the show proper. Erin Moran replaced Susan Neher in the role of Richie’s sister, Joanie, with several new characters being introduced, most notably Henry Winkler’s Fonzie.
Having been through its unorthodox journey to air, then, “Happy Days” finally debuted in January 1974. Interestingly enough, the show would later use footage from “Love and the Television Set” for flashback scenes in the season 2 episode “Who’s Sorry Now,” and even brought back Tannis G. Montgomery as Arlene Nestrock.
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