 |
| Anson Williams on Happy Days |
In his later years, Happy Days creator Garry Marshall maintained in interviews that Ron Howard's departure from the series in 1980 was not such a big deal because, by that point, Scott Baio's character, Chachi, had largely replaced him. And it's true that Chachi does serve as an eager protegee to Fonzie (Henry Winkler) in the middle and later seasons, just as Ron's character, Richie Cunningham, had done in the early seasons of Happy Days.
But Marshall must've been in denial, because Ron's departure had a seismic impact on the show. One need only look at the episodes from Happy Days' eighth season to see that. For the first few post-Richie shows, it seems like all the other characters are reminiscing about Richie and worrying about him and speculating about what he's doing now that he's in the army and stationed in Greenland thousands of miles away. He's like a ghost haunting the show, invisible yet omnipresent. As for Chachi, he starts wearing some of Richie's old outfits, including his iconic Jefferson High letter sweater. He even plays on the Jefferson High basketball team, just like Richie did. He's essentially had to make himself over in Richie's image.
This obsession with Richie reaches a peak with the December 1980 episode "White Christmas," in which Richie's mother, Marion (Marion Ross), is experiencing severe seasonal depression because of her son's sudden absence. All she wants is a phone call from her beloved red-headed child. Does she receive it?
There are other Christmas crises afoot in this traumatic episode. Can Fonzie make it through the snow to deliver toys to the Pfister Orphanage? Can Potsie (Anson Williams) forgive his father for making him wear a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer mask? And what about the Christmas Lunatic? Will he strike again?
You can find out the answers to all these questions when we review "White Christmas" on These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast. Join us!