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| Linda Purl and Henry Winkler on Happy Days. |
Even after doing a Happy Days podcast for almost five years, I know very little about the real-life city of Milwaukee where the sitcom is set. One thing I do know about Wisconsin's famous Brew City, however, is that a luxury hotel called the Pfister is one of its most famous landmarks. I know this because Happy Days references the Pfister Hotel frequently. But the references don't stop with just the hotel itself. No, no. On Happy Days, seemingly everything in town is named Pfister -- parks, orphanages, department stores, etc.
Happy Days' obsession with the name Pfister peaked in Season 10 with the addition of two characters actually named Pfister: Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley Pfister (Linda Purl) and Ashley's daughter Heather Pfister (Heather O'Rourke). And all this led to an episode called "Hello, Pfisters," in which Ashley attempts to reconcile with her estranged parents (Peter Gunn's Craig Stevens and soap opera legend Marla Adams). Since Ashley's family (or pfamily?) is supposed to be very wealthy, it's possible that all those parks and stores and whatnot were named after Ashley's grandparents or great-grandparents.
Silly title aside, is "Hello, Pfisters" any damned good? Find out on the latest installment of These Days Are Ours: A Happy Days Podcast.