Epic Win: Happy Days
One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock, rock
Four o’clock, five o’clock — what? oh…
I always confuse the Happy Days theme with this.
Sunday, Monday, happy days
Tuesday, Wednesday, happy days
Thursday, Friday, happy days
Saturday, what a day, rockin all week with you!
Happy Days was a classic ’70s sitcom about the ’50s (filmed in front of a live studio audience, no less!).
Ron Howard would go onto become an Academy Award-winning director (he won that for Angels and Demons right? I kid, I kid). Henry Winkler would go onto become, uh, “the guy who played the Fonz on Happy Days.”
Neat fact: Henry Winkler was afraid of motorcycles, so the only scene where he actually rode one was in the opening credits (I don’t think it’s in the clip above, though).
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Thanks to Jon for confirming that I’m not insane:
But “Rock Around the Clock” WAS the Happy Days opening music for the first season.
I hate the awful last couple of seasons, after Ron Howard left, where it’s supposed to be the mid-1960’s, but everyone looks like they’re from the late 70’s, except for the Fonz, who looks like a crazy person who thinks it’s still the 50’s.
The later seasons of Happy Days were notoriously bad. In fact, the term “jumping the shark” came from the episode where Fonz… jumped over a shark on water skis.
TheObject expands on the Winkler/motorcycle story:
The story is, that he sat on the motorcycle and they pushed him down the streetThe filmed part is when they let go and allow him to coast a ways. Winkler has stated that he then wrecked the bike because he didn’t know how to stop it. Likely that he just dropped it.
First! Sit on it!
First non-fággot.
This looks really boring
Okay, I had fond memories of Happy Days, especially the early days when it was filmed like a movie and not in front of an audience. Remember? When Rock Around The Clock was the theme, they hung out in front of Arnold’s a lot and the Cunningham’s house was different? For some reason, they moved the front door from the left side of the set to the right side (the same side that the back door is on). Anyway, fond memories driving me, I snagged the first season on DVD and painfully made it through about six episodes. Even though I still love the show, it simply isn’t funny anymore. But I’m definitely glad it exists, if only as the main influence on That 70’s Show.
I still love the fact that the older brother goes upstairs in the first episode and you never see him again. Must have been a magical portal up there.
Yeah, Chuck was there a few times and then was just gone. For the majority of the series, the Cunninghams only had two children. That 70’s Show payed homage in season one. Donna had a younger sister for one episode. A joke that casual viewers never picked up on.
I believe that in a later episode they went up to the attic and there was a skeleton near some skis – hadn’t Chuck been going on a ski trip in episode one?
You’re thinking of All My Children. In the early days, Joe Martin had a son named Bobby who went up to the attic to get his skis and was never seen again. More than 20 years later, Opal went up to the Martin attic and there was a skeleton wearing a ski cap with the name “Bobby” embroidered on it.
I know Chuck appeared in a handful of episodes because he was played by two different actors, but all I can remember about him was that he was always hungry and always bouncing a basketball.
And, without Happy Days, we would not have the phenomenon when our favorite, long-running TV series “jump the shark”, which our friend Fonzie literally did immediately prior to Happy Days taking its long slide into the silliness of “Joanie Loves Chachi”.
FYI, not only did Ron Howard become a director, so did Henry Winkler, Don Most AND Anson Williams….
You know Joanie Loves Chachi was the highest rated TV show in Korea, right? Somehow, “Chachi” in Korean translates into “Penis”. So… Yeah.
Is a myth, that.
My cat’s name is Tom Bosley, I think that says it all right there.
The Fonze by himself is a WIN.
I remember as a kid wondering what the rectangular white grid thing was in the opening and end credits. The funny camera angle made it look like it was hanging on a wall. “Huh, must be a big studio light… that doesn’t make much sense.” Took me about 10 years to realize it was the song listing in an old jukebox.
This show is also probably the most responsible for portraying people in the 1950’s as being white-bread naifs. In reality, life was more grim for people back then than it is today.
For everyone’s information, Henry Winkler comes over here to the UK every Winter to do the Pantomime season and get boo-ed by a theatre full of kids and their parents! Last season, I understand he played Captain Hook in Peter Pan over in the South East somewhere.
He also launched a book (last year?) about a boy who had Dyslexia, much like himself.
Gotta love a show that spawned so many others, too. Laverne and Shirley, to name a good one. Joanie Loves Chachi, to name a craptastic one.
There will always be the classic lines from this show quoted…
Laverne and Shirley was superior to Happy Days because it starred four very gifted physical comedians. Leonard and the Squigtones rocked.
But “Rock Around the Clock” WAS the Happy Days opening music for the first season.
I hate the awful last couple of seasons, after Ron Howard left, where it’s supposed to be the mid-1960’s, but everyone looks like they’re from the late 70’s, except for the Fonz, who looks like a crazy person who thinks it’s still the 50’s.
If I remember correctly, they (the producers) lost (or didn’t have) the rights to use Rock Around the Clock but got around it with having different lyrics and a slightly different tune.
I stopped watching just before ‘Ritchie’ left for college, so I was spared most of the worst of the series.
Oh, come on. The original Bill Haley song was way better than that cheese.
Henry became a producer. He produced some of my favorite shows
in the 90’s. Such as MacGyver, So Weird and Sightings.
The story is, that he sat on the motorcycle and they pushed him down the streetThe filmed part is when they let go and allow him to coast a ways. Winkler has stated that he then wrecked the bike because he didn’t know how to stop it. Likely that he just dropped it.
(The Fonz IS riding his motorcycle in this intro… in two spots – very likely the same ride, just different parts of it)
Winkler was also great as the lawyer on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. And when he he could not be the Bluth’s lawyer anymore, he was replaced by … Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw, who’s internet site was “Bob Loblaw’s Law Blog”
Best. Show. Ever. Launched some stars and gave Jason Bateman the career he always deserved.
My mother was on a game show with one of the guys from this show, and he made her lose…. $10,000? I can’t remember exactly.
Leonard and the Squigtones rocked! I have to agree with that! And not to mention helped Lenny (aka Michael McKean) move on with his own career in Broadway and who can forget “Spinal Tap!” EPIC WIN on his own!
Didn’t Mork & Mindy become a spin-off from Happy Days too?
it did – Mork first appeared on Happy Days.
LOL. I was so in love with Potsie.
Let’s go to Fonzie’s office (the bathroom)
winkler was afraid of motorcycles? impposible to tell from the show.
One of the writers of the intro, Jerry Mcclane, was my computers teacher in high school some 10 years ago. Nice guy, but he didn’t know much about computers :p
Make that Jerry Mcclain
I remember whenever this came on, it meant it was time for me to go to bed. D:
I had a crush on Potsie too.