The first season of ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'', an American television sitcom, originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in the United States between January 15 and May 7, 1974. The show was created by

Garry Marshall Garry Kent Marshall (November 13, 1934 – July 19, 2016) was an American screenwriter, director, producer and actor. Marshall began his career in the 1960s as a writer for ''The Lucy Show'' and ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' until he developed the T ...

, under the production company

Miller-Milkis Productions Miller-Boyett Productions (or simply Miller-Boyett) is an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s. It was responsible for family-oriented hit series such as ''Happy Days'', ...

, in association with

Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...

Background

Before the show was picked up, it was initially filmed in 1971 as a pilot for ''New Family in Town''. However, it was rejected by most networks at the time. However, a year later, ABC picked it up and the pilot for the series was aired it as part of an episode of ''

Love, American Style ''Love, American Style'' is an American anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969, to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a pa ...

'' in a segment titled "Love and the Television Set", originally aired on February 25, 1972. For syndication reruns, this was retitled "Love and the Happy Days." The role of sister Joanie was played by 12-year-old

Susan Neher Susan Marie Neher (February 22, 1959 – August 2, 2022) was an American actress, active as a child, best known for originating the role of Joanie Cunningham on ''Happy Days'' in its first iteration as a segment of the anthology series ''Love, A ...

; while father Howard was played by

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

; and brother Chuck (Charles) was played by Ric Carrott. The story opens with the Cunninghams buying their first television set, an expensive novelty in the 1950s. Potsie convinces Richie to use that as an enticement to get a girl to agree to a date, which he does but in the end Richie gets crushed. His father uses his wisdom of experience to console him. Howard is so entranced by his new TV that he sits alone in the living room watching nothing but a test pattern and tone. A newly recorded version of "

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

" by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

was used as the opening theme song for this and the following season; while the show's closing theme song was a fragment from "

" (although in a different recording with a different lyric from that which would become the standard version used since

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

), whose music was composed by Charles Fox and whose lyric was written by

Norman Gimbel Norman Gimbel (November 16, 1927 – December 19, 2018) was an American lyricist and songwriter of popular songs and themes to television shows and films. He wrote the lyrics for songs including " Ready to Take a Chance Again" (with composer Cha ...

. The series premiered at mid-season during the 1973-74 television season, replacing ''

Temperatures Rising ''Temperatures Rising'' is an American television sitcom that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from September 12, 1972 to August 29, 1974. During its 46-episode run, it was presented in three different formats and cast l ...

'' which was faltering on ratings during its second season. The first season of the show, which consisted on 16 episodes, proved to be a hit for the network, ending at the 16th most-watched show in the US for that season. Airing on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM, it remained on that timeslot for ten consecutive seasons until 1983.

Cast and characters

Main cast

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. Howard started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, Howard has received List of awards and nominations r ...

Richie Cunningham Richard J. Cunningham is a fictional character in the 1970s TV sitcom ''Happy Days,'' played by Ron Howard. Richie is Howard and Marion Cunningham's son and Joanie Cunningham and Chuck Cunningham's brother. He is friends with Fonzie, Ralph Mal ...

Marion Ross Marion Ross (born Marian Eileen Ross; October 25, 1928) is an American actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham (Happy Days), Marion Cunningham on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television sitcom ''Happy Days'', on which ...

as Marion Cunningham *

Anson Williams Anson Williams (born Anson William Heimlich; September 25, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as gullible, well-intentioned singer Warren "Potsie" Weber on the television series ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), a role for wh ...

Warren "Potsie" Weber Warren "Potsie" Weber is a fictional character from the sitcom ''Happy Days''. He was played by Anson Williams. Anson also played the character in several other shows; he appeared in guest appearances on ''Love, American Style'' and ''Laverne & ...

Tom Bosley Thomas Edward Bosley (October 1, 1927 – October 19, 2010) was an American actor, television personality and entertainer. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham (Happy Days character), Howard Cunningham on the American Broadcasti ...

as Howard Cunningham

Recurring cast

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...

as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli *

Don Most Don Most (born August 8, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series ''Happy Days''. Early life Most was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. He lived in Flatbush, Br ...

Ralph Malph Ralph Hector Malph is a character on ''Happy Days'' played by Donny Most. Background of character He usually had two things on his mind, girls and jokes. His jokes usually got little or no reaction from any other character, yet he continued his ...

Erin Moran Erin Marie Moran-Fleischmann (October 18, 1960 – April 22, 2017) was an American actress, best known for playing Joanie Cunningham on the television sitcom ''Happy Days'' and its spin-off ''Joanie Loves Chachi''. Early life Erin Marie ...

Joanie Cunningham Joanie Louise Cunningham is a fictional character, played by Erin Moran on the sitcoms ''Happy Days'' and '' Joanie Loves Chachi''. Her first appearance was on one episode of ''Love, American Style'', where she was played by Susan Neher. The cha ...

* Gavan O'Herlihy as

Chuck Cunningham ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...

Beatrice Colen Beatrice Colen (January 10, 1948 – November 18, 1999) was an American television and film actress. She may be best known for her television roles as roller-skating carhop Marsha Simms on ''Happy Days'' and as Etta Candy on the first season of ' ...

as Marsha Simms * Neil J. Schwartz as "Bag" Zombroski *

Tita Bell Tita Bell is an American television soap opera writer. Besides working on soap operas, Bell also wrote a scenario for a '' Bednaya Nastya'' in 2003, and had a recurring role as Trudy on ''Happy Days'' from 1974 to 1977. Positions held '' The Cit ...

as Trudy * Barry Greenberg as Moose

Broadcast history

The season aired Tuesdays at 8:00-8:30 pm (EST).TV Listings for May 7, 1974
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Episodes

References

{{Happy Days Happy Days 01 1974 American television seasons