DESCRIPTION:
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974 to September 24, 1984 on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America.
Set in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the series revolves around teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) and his family: his father, Howard (Tom Bosley), who owns a hardware store; mother Marion (Marion Ross); younger sister Joanie (Erin Moran); and high school dropout, biker and suave ladies man Arthur "Fonzie"/"The Fonz" Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), who would eventually become the Cunninghams' upstairs tenant. The earlier episodes revolve around Richie and his friends, Warren "Potsie" Weber (Anson Williams), Ralph Malph (Donny Most) with Fonzarelli as a secondary character. As the series progressed, Fonzarelli proved to be a favorite with viewers and soon more story lines were written to reflect his growing popularity.
Fonzie befriends Richie and the Cunningham family, and when 'Richie' (Ron Howard) left the series following his character's wedding to his long-time college sweetheart, Winkler's Fonzie became the central figure of the show. In later seasons, other characters were introduced including Fonzie's young cousin, Charles "Chachi" Arcola (Scott Baio), who became a love interest for Joanie Cunningham after Joanie initially resisted his charms.
Originally spun off from a one-episode teleplay on the anthology series Love, American Style, the series spawned several other television shows, including Laverne & Shirley, Mork & Mindy, and Joanie Loves Chachi. The show is the basis for the Happy Days musical touring the United States. The leather jacket worn by Winkler during the series currently hangs in the Smithsonian Institution.